The loss to Iowa in the Cy-Hawk game was bad enough for Iowa State. Losing Evan Boyd for the season made it worse.
Boyd went down after hauling in a pass and taking a tackle, and head coach Jimmy Rogers later said the wide receiver would not return this year. As the No. 1 WRX on the depth chart, his absence forces the Cyclones to reshuffle on the fly and ask other receivers to fill a major hole.
One obvious name is Dominic Overby. One of the few holdovers from the 2025 roster, he already flashed big-play ability in Week 1 against Southeast Missouri State, when he led Iowa State with 85 receiving yards and nearly matched his entire total from last season.
At 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, he gives the Cyclones their best shot at winning deep balls and contested catches. He also can help as a blocker in the run game, which is part of what Boyd was doing early.
Overby is listed at WRZ, but moving him into some WRX snaps could create more room for Cody Jackson and freshman Jamal Polite Jr. to get on the field. That brings Jackson into the spotlight, too.
The Tarleton State transfer has been largely absent through two games, with no catches and only 14 routes run, which ranks No. 7 on the team. He’s the most accomplished collegiate receiver on the roster along with Omari Hayes, so Iowa State needs more from him now that Boyd is out.
Polite’s role has already grown after not playing a snap in Week 1.
Then there’s Carter Pabst, who looks like the most natural fit to absorb Boyd’s snaps. He’s listed as the No.
2 WRX behind Boyd and is in his second year under Rogers after following him from Washington State to Iowa State. The staff clearly trusts him.
Through two games, no receiver has been used more often than Pabst in run-blocking situations; he has 26, with Ty Claiborne next at 25 and Overby at 22.
Pabst has also logged 19 routes, which puts him fourth on the team. The coaches are giving him work.
Now he has to turn that into production. Some of that falls on Jaylen Raynor, but Pabst also missed a chance against Iowa when he short-armed a target that could have gone a long way.
In Other News...
Iowa State Already Has One Early Rotation Question Fans Will Notice
Two games into the Jimmy Rogers era, Iowa State football is already showing some early signs of how this roster is going to be managed. The snap counts shifted from one game to the next, which is the sort of thing fans tend to notice quickly in September when coaches are still learning what they have and deciding who can handle more of the load.
For a program trying to establish identity under a new staff, those rotation clues matter because they hint at how roles could settle as the season moves forward. The Cyclones have had other headlines around campus too, including Lilly Wacholz being ruled out for the rest of volleyball season and a summer concert coming to Jack Trice Stadium, but the football side is where the immediate scrutiny lives, especially if those usage changes keep building. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State's Big 12 Path Looks Tougher Than Fans Expected
Iowa States Big 12 slate is now in full view, and it brings the kind of grind Cyclones fans expected when the conference schedule finally dropped. The men's basketball team now knows its home-and-home opponents, the single-date matchups on both sides of the ledger and the dates that will shape the heart of league play, with a few home games tied to fan event themes to help break up the chase through January and February.
The bigger concern may be what comes before the games even begin. Sophomore guard Killyan Toure is dealing with a shoulder injury that required surgery, leaving his availability uncertain as the Cyclones move into a conference schedule packed with consecutive road and home stretches. For a team trying to navigate one of the Big 12s tougher routes, any delay in getting healthy could matter just as much as the dates on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Offense Faces Its Biggest Early Test Against Bowling Green
Jaylen Raynor has brought an unusual amount of steadiness to Iowa States offense, and that matters this week as the Cyclones head into a nonconference matchup with Bowling Green. The Arkansas State transfer has started 37 straight FBS games, giving Iowa State a veteran presence under center even as the early season has shown some missed chances in the passing game and a few plays left on the field.
For Jimmy Rogers and offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl, the next step is less about shaking things up than tightening the details. They have stressed focus, communication and execution, the sort of basics that decide whether a promising drive turns into points or stalls out before the offense can finish the job. Against Bowling Green, Iowa State gets a chance to clean that up before the schedule gets any less demanding. [Read more 🡒]