AMES - The stat line only tells part of the story around Jaylen Raynor.
Iowa State’s first-year quarterback has seen the production dip in some areas, but head coach Jimmy Rogers says the bigger picture is getting lost. Raynor, the Arkansas State transfer, has started 42 straight games - second among FBS quarterbacks - yet he is tracking toward career lows in touchdown passes, completion percentage and passing yards.
Rogers pushed back on the idea that those numbers fully capture what’s happening in the offense.
“I don’t know if it’s a disconnect, but I think you guys look at a number and you’re not fully aware of what we’re asking the player to do,” said Rogers, whose team (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) faces No. 25 Arizona (5-1, 2-1) at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday (ESPN2) in Tucson. “There is no question that Jaylen needs to improve his accuracy and make plays and be an X-factor in the offense.
Like, I'm not blind to the fact of certain things, but there are also deficiencies in other areas that are leading to what looks like his mistake. It could be somebody else’s mistake.”
Rogers pointed to route timing as one reason some throws have gone awry. In those situations, he said Raynor is delivering the ball to a spot where the receiver is supposed to be, only for the route to break down or the target to be elsewhere. That can turn into an incomplete pass or even a turnover, even if the quarterback is doing what the play calls for.
“Does he need to get better? Surely,” Rogers said.
“But to just scrap everything that we’ve done - there’s certain situations where (backup quarterback Connor Moberly) has taken a huge step (and fellow backup) Zane Flores has taken a huge step. So, yeah, that competitive race is still there, but I’ve got a team to lead and Jaylen’s been the best leader.
He’s been the best manager of an offense. He understands it, probably, at the highest level and now he’s gotta go execute it.”
Raynor’s numbers are still carrying some positives. He has thrown a touchdown pass in eight straight games dating back to last season, the best stretch of his career in that category. He has also avoided the kind of mistakes that can sink a team, helping keep the Cyclones in games rather than putting them in a hole.
Still, Raynor isn’t pretending everything has been sharp. The senior from Winston-Salem, N.C., put his own midterm grade in plain terms.
“Not great, not terrible, kind of middle range,” Raynor said. “It’s all about consistency throwing the ball, getting everybody in where they’re supposed to be, but always improving the operation of the offense; creating a sense of urgency, getting in and out of the huddle, communication, speeding up my feet in the pocket, getting the ball out on time.
Just a lot of small things that kind of add up. But I think I’ve done all right.
So a lot more room for improvement, for sure.”
That next step matters because Iowa State has asked him to operate in a different style than the one he used before. At Arkansas State, Raynor played in a no-huddle, up-tempo system. The Cyclones will still speed things up at times, but they also want to lean on the run game and build drives with more structure.
That ground attack, led by Aiden Flora, is averaging 5 yards per carry. That’s the program’s best mark since the 2021 team, fueled by NFL star Breece Hall, averaged 5.1 yards per tote.
Tyler Roehl said the message for the offense remains the same.
“I’m not satisfied, but the mission doesn’t change for one second,” the first-year offensive coordinator said. “It’s almost double down on what we’re doing, and we need to do it better.”
Raynor echoed that mindset, and said the bye week helped sharpen the details. He described it as a chance to study the film, spot the little things and correct them before the season’s next stretch.
“(The bye week) was really a player development week of seeing what you needed to fix, really seeing yourself on the film, and being able to see and point out the small details (that) you need to improve and be consistent on,” Raynor said. “Because once we do that, and everybody’s doing their job on each play, we can be very explosive.”
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