I was asked to make a post about this a couple of days ago and I thought it would take me a few hours to research and post, but has taken me through a rabbit hole and have done a great amount of research to get you, not the right answer (it's subjective, so there will not be a right answer) but the best answer. I feel like I have gotten the best understanding and feel like I understand from multiple point of views.

Let me give you some context to start this, so let's go back almost eleven years now to November 23rd, 2015 where the Cyclones are 3-8 and had just announced that they will part ways with Paul Rhoads after their final game after Rhoads coaching for seven seasons and replacing Gene Chizik. Everyone knew, but the firing solidified that Iowa State was by far the worst Big 12 school out there and people were debating which is worse, Kansas or Iowa State. Since 2006, they only made three bowl games winning one and since 1979, the made it eight. At that point, they only made twelve bowl games with a 3-9 record and their best HC in program history left the school for a position job at a downgrade school in South Florida. They lost his successor to Auburn after going 5-19 in a weird hire and that guy won the BCS two years later. That leads to Paul Rhoads dismissal and fans expecting him to turn the corner and have his Chizik or McCarney moment and find their second wind (he didn't).

Now, not only did the firing show they wanted a change of scenery and a new voice, they wanted a experienced leader who not only can but proved he has won games. That is why they hired Matt Campbell which was seen as a shock of a hire. He was one of the hottest G5 coaches out there behind Justin Fuente and Dino Babers. He could had any job he wanted and chose Iowa State. Back then, that was seen as a career ruiner in taking the Iowa State job. This is before NIL, the transfer portal was not as relevant because you had to sit and redshirt when you get there unless you go the JUCO route, and you will have a tough time recruiting because you will go against Iowa in your state and 9/10 they will choose Iowa over Iowa State, Kansas and Oklahoma were covered by Oklahoma mostly, sometimes Oklahoma State and Kansas State and another third party school will jump in, and the surrounding states like Nebraska and Wisconsin have blue bloods circling their recruits and it would be very difficult to best them for their prospects at that time. Campbell came in from Toledo and had success building a conference championship program, which he never made it to a conference championship game due to tiebreakers. Iowa State had the coach, but no one thought he had the players and they all thought they will get eaten alive in this all offense Big 12 controlled by Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and TCU. First season was a lackluster 3-9 with two good wins at the end of the season with a blowout 66-10 win against the 5,000 yard passing QB Patrick Mahomes and the Kliff Kingsbury Texas Tech with OC Eric Morris. The next season, everyone predicted them as the worst team in the Big 12, five games in 2017 and they just knocked No. 3 Oklahoma off their comfortable rocker and took the Big 12 by storm.

After that win, everyone knew the story. They kept putting themselves higher and higher on that Big 12 mountain and became the Iowa of the Big Ten. Not a CFP contender, but a consistent top 25 team and possible powerhouse from time to time. In his ten seasons there, he got eight bowl eligible berths and played in seven going 3-4 tying the same amount of bowl wins as they did without him. He forever changed Iowa State and have created a blueprint and a standard at a school not known for football and he also was one of a few schools able to keep his star players from transferring to bigger schools, which is where they are at now. With Matt Campbell, he had his QB, his RB, his defense and little bit of transfers sprinkled here and there, most were recruits that he developed. It's basically what Dabo has done at Clemson, but with less pressure to actually compete for the CFP spot. Now, that he is gone, the players that he recruited are all leaving with people pointing at the new era being the reason but in all reality, it's not about money for most, it's loyalty.

When Kansas State opted out of a bowl game, we expected a mass exodus. Instead we got about 23 players leaving and will probably end up somewhere between 25-35 players with the QB seeming to want to stay and play for the new HC and his old OC. Iowa State opted out for the same reason, and basically the entire roster is dipping with only one starter remaining. ONE STARTER REMAINING. Let me say it one more time for the people in the back, Iowa State has one starter remaining on scholarship for the 2026 season. None of them are going to leave Iowa State and get a fancy new car and a $3 million dollar deal outside a select few. Most of them will most likely end up at Youngstown State or Southeast Missouri State if Campbell doesn't offer them a scholarship. Rocco Becht, Carson Hansen, Abu Sama, Karon Brookins, Ben Brahmer, and Marcus Neal are all expected to follow Campbell to Happy Valley and I expect more of them will along with Campbell being able to bring other highly recruited players outside of his Iowa State 2025 roster. As most people are seeing this as a issue that players aren't loyal anymore and will give once their coach is gone, they don't see the full picture. Most of these guys are showing they might be the most loyal team a coach could ask for. Most will have a price tag higher than you can imagine, and some of them will likely take a lower amount just to follow their HC to a high level program.

On the other hand, as this is looking as if it will be a win for Matt Campbell, Iowa State has to rebuild an entire roster from scratch with a HC who just finished his singular year at Washington State. That means he will rebuild his team with guys from Washington State, right? Doesn't sound like it. He inherited that team from Jake Dickert and if most of them are leaving to follow their old coach, it will be to go to Wake Forest and not Iowa State. But, it might not be the end of the world. Looking back at Indiana a few years ago rebuilding their entire starting lineup with transfers and then making it to the CFP that same year, it's been done before but not to the same magnitude. At first, I thought he can probably fill in the pieces and go 7-5 next year and bounce back and keep the team at the same pace Campbell had it just off of his resume as a FCS Championship coach, I also thought more players from South Dakota State will announce they will transfer to follow him which does not seem the case. Now, I think Iowa State is going to add players just to get by for the season and hopefully pick up redshirt freshmen and sophomores that are willing to stay for the long term and not the short term as I now see this team just falling on purpose so this staff can use two seasons to build their team and not one transfer portal cycle. Expect Connor Moberly to compete against a Amari Odom or a Malachi Singleton for the starting job while they pick up some depth pieces that can help them for the next two or three years.

To conclude in short, Iowa State was once a dumpster fire of a program looking similar to the Jets or the Wizards in professional sports but Matt Campbell came in and injected tons of IV and solidified this program to be better than they were, Jimmy Rogers is coming in to keep it afloat but the true test is what will he do to fix the emptiness in the locker room and how long will it take to get them back in track? Would love some of y'all's thoughts on this situation as I am leaving this for y'all to form your own opinions.