AMES - At Iowa State, the scoreboard is only part of the picture.
For first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers and his revamped offense, “winning” starts long before the final whistle. It shows up in the way the line plays, the way the group carries itself, and whether the whole operation looks connected when the Cyclones open the season Saturday at noon against Southeast Missouri State at Jack Trice Stadium.
That mindset has put left tackle Jake Taylor at the center of everything. For the former Oklahoma starter, protecting the blind side is a new job, and one he says carries real weight.
“That means a lot to me,” Taylor said. “That’s not just another position.”
Taylor, a 6-6, 310-pound fifth-year player, had to earn his way into that role with position coach Jake Thornton and the rest of the offensive staff before becoming quarterback Jaylen Raynor’s primary protector. He also won over his teammates, who voted him one of six team captains.
“It just means that much more that my peers and (teammates) selected me for this opportunity,” Taylor said, adding that he feels the pressure that comes with the title. “It is a different title.
It’s a different job. I’m not just able to blend in on the hard days or something like that.
I need to man up - the most nice way of saying it - and be the guy that the team can count on. Lead when the days are hard, the days are hot, and it’s kind of fun in my opinion.”
Rogers has built this roster with an emphasis on the trenches, loading up on transfer talent up front on both sides of the ball and bringing in several former Washington State players to help stabilize the defense. For Taylor, who missed most of the last two seasons because of injury and had only played on the right side of Oklahoma’s line when healthy, the fit was an easy sell.
“(The Cyclones’ offensive coordinator Tyler) Roehl is bringing a whole different mindset that I’m not typically used to as an offense,” Taylor said. “I’m used to drop back 50 times a game and stuff like that.
Now we’re a head down, nose down kind of team, and we’re gonna be violent. We’re gonna play technically sound - all the right things - and one of the best things, and why we’re gonna succeed, is we’re gonna play together.”
That’s the job description now: open lanes for backs like Aiden Flora and Cameron Pettaway, then switch gears and keep Raynor clean when the offense asks for play-action or a deeper shot downfield.
Raynor, a three-year starter at Arkansas State who threw 52 touchdown passes and 28 interceptions there, has spent the offseason sharpening his deep-ball accuracy. He said his goal is to give his receivers a better chance when the ball goes up.
“My focus is definitely on just finding those landmarks,” Raynor said. “Knowing how people adjust to certain passes and throws, and just giving (receivers) a chance.
If it’s a 50-50 ball, I want it to be more shifted to our favor, like, a 70-30. So putting it in a good spot to where they’re able to go up and make a play, and if not, hopefully draw a penalty.”
Taylor is a big part of that equation, but he’s not doing it alone. Iowa State’s offensive line two-deep mixes veterans and younger players, and the chemistry is still being built. That process matters now, with the season opener looming and a Week 2 road trip to Iowa coming next.
For Roehl, the standard is simple: the whole thing has to look right.
“I want to come off the field Saturday afternoon and I just want everything to look like winning,” Roehl said, adding that ‘winning’ applies to everything from demeanor to execution. “If we come off the field and we have a very positive feeling about that, I’ll be really happy.”
In Other News...
Iowa State Fans Already Have A Defining Jimmy Rogers Era Debate
By the time Iowa State gets to the 2026 season, the conversation around Jimmy Rogers will already have a cast of familiar names. The new head coach is expected to lean on a core that includes wide receiver Omari Hayes, tight end Tyler Fortenberry, quarterback Jaylen Raynor, kicker Kyle Konrardy and defensive standout Isaac Terrell, a group whose recent production and projected roles give the program a clear starting point as Rogers begins shaping the roster in his image.
For Cyclones fans, the early debate is less about whether the talent is there and more about which side of the ball will define the Rogers era first. Raynor brings obvious importance under center, while Hayes and Fortenberry give the offense reliable options and Terrell anchors the defense, but the biggest question around the new staff is how quickly that mix turns into something more than a promising top five. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Faces Two Early Tests Jimmy Rogers Cannot Ignore
The first season under Jimmy Rogers begins with a reminder that September can expose a team quickly. Iowa State opens 2026 against Southeast Missouri, and the Redhawks will already have a game under their belts after beating Indiana State, while the Cyclones are still sorting through offseason changes on both sides of the ball.
For Rogers, the opener is less about easing in than about finding out where this team really stands. The new offensive line and the defensive secondary are both carrying questions into the year, and those concerns are the kind that can show up early if a sharp opponent forces the issue right away. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State's New Era Starts With One Player Under Pressure
Iowa State is heading into a new chapter under head coach Jimmy Rogers after the Matt Campbell era ended, and the roster looks different enough that the first few weeks will say a lot about how quickly this thing can settle in. Much of the rebuild came through the transfer portal, and at the center of it all is senior quarterback Jaylen Raynor, the Arkansas State transfer who is expected to guide the offense in Week 1.
Raynor does not just have to learn a new system and mesh with a reshaped group around him, he also inherits the pressure that comes with steering a team facing a difficult schedule right out of the gate. For a program trying to establish itself again under a new coach, the quarterback is never just another piece, and Raynors early play could go a long way toward defining how this season feels before it really gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]