New Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers ready to carry the standard

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

AMES — Iowa State's new football coach, Jimmy Rogers, had taken two trips to Jack Trice Stadium in the past, and he has vivid memories years later.

In both instances, he was the adversary.

The first trip came when he was a linebacker for South Dakota State in 2008. The Cyclones smashed the Jackrabbits, 44-17, but the atmosphere left an imprint in Rogers' mind. He used to take a photograph of every venue he played in, and Jack Trice Stadium was one of his most cherished.

The second visit came 10 years later, when he was an assistant coach for the Jackrabbits. Iowa State hosted South Dakota State for its 2018 season opener. The game featured three lightning delays over several hours before it was ultimately canceled, but the inclement weather never wore down Iowa State fans.

"The student section at this place was unbelievable," Rogers said. "Everybody goes into the locker room and the fans have to exit (for the lightning delay). They open it up again, the fans start screaming as they come down the stadium stairs, and then we have to go back inside, they have to leave and that went on for several hours. I couldn't believe it. These people are nuts, and it was awesome.

"That's what you want to be a part of as a coach, as a player, and I think Iowa State has everything and more to succeed. What we're doing across the street here with the facilities that's going on, it is unmatched. I was shocked by the growth of this place."

Now, the 38-year-old coach is back in Ames, but for a more permanent stay.

He officially arrived on the night of Dec. 6, flying in from Pullman, Washington. Despite the ongoing winter snow storm, dozens of fans tailgated and waited for his arrival at Iowa State facilities. He and his family were greeted with cheers and a warm welcome, providing another memorable moment to kick off his return to Story County.

He was officially introduced as the Cyclones' new head coach at a press conference on Monday, Dec. 8.

"I'm blessed to be a part of this," Rogers said. "What you'll get from me is consistency, authenticity and I will work extremely hard. I'm extremely focused. … I can promise that you will see a spirited team that comes out, plays physical, plays with passion, there's going to be a level of consistency of how we prepare and do things."

Rogers is the 34th head coach in Iowa State football history. He comes to Ames with more than a decade of college coaching experience, including the last three seasons as a head coach.

He served as the head coach at South Dakota State for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He compiled a 27-3 record, won a national title in 2023 and brought his team to the FCS final four the year after.

This past season, he made the leap for the FBS and coached at Washington State, where he went 6-6. Four of those losses were by four or fewer points, including near-upsets of CFP-bound Ole Miss and James Madison on the road, as well as a two-point loss at then-No. 18 Virginia.

He takes over for Matt Campbell, who became the winningest coach in school history over his 10-year tenure and brought consistent success to the program. Campbell went 72-55 overall and his teams were bowl-eligible in eight of 10 seasons.

Rogers made sure to praise his predecessor in his opening statements.

"What he's done for this university over the last decade, how he's built the program to want to aspire to be a part of, to build a culture that the players love their coach and walk into an unbelievable opportunity, I would say a large part of what Iowa State is and what the football program has become is due to Matt Campbell," Rogers said. "I'm thankful for him and that friendship."

Expect Rogers to be a good fit to maintain the Cyclones' strong defense in recent years. A former linebacker, Rogers stayed on the defensive side when he entered the coaching ranks. He was South Dakota State's defensive coordinator for several years before becoming head coach.

Iowa State will now run a four-man defensive front.

Offensively, he wants the Cyclones to be multiple, feature different personnel and be explosive.

He is still reviewing film of current players. Rogers met with the team on Sunday night for the first time.

"Meeting with the team last night, an unbelievable culture that I have just walked into, with players that love each other and you can tell," Rogers said. "A spirit that's going to be unmatched and hopefully, from the outside world, you don't see much change because this team is very competitive and driven to win the Big 12 championship and win championships moving forward. I believe we can do that, I believe in the players, I believe in this community. I believe in the spirit of what Iowa State football is."

Rogers hopes to bring a blue-collar, hard-working approach and have his players fit that mold. He has plenty of ties to the Midwest and is familiar with recruiting in the area during his time at South Dakota State. He mentioned linebackers Kooper Ebel and Beau Goodwin as examples of players he got to know well on the recruiting trail.

Rogers did yet disclose what his coaching staff will look like. It will be finalized in the coming days and weeks.

He did identify Ricky Ciccone as Iowa State's new general manager, and Jon Schaeffer as chief of staff. Ciccone and Schaeffer both held similar roles at Washington State.

He is unsure which players will stay, but he will be spending the days to come getting to know them. In his lone season at Washington State, Rogers led a massive roster rebuild that featured approximately 70 new players. He feels confident that he'll be able to deal with whatever changes and challenges may come.

"I've always been honest with players, I tell them exactly where they sit, I didn't promise them playing time," said Rogers, looking back at his approach at Washington State. "(The players) would always want to hear the truth and they got it from us, and our staff did a great job of really giving their best to them. Tried to get that many players ready that fast in a new scheme, so there was a lot of work that was put into just last year. We know how to do it now, I know little things to make it better than how we did and I'm excited to do it with this group."

The standards and expectations have risen at Iowa State over the years, and Rogers is embracing the challenge.

"I thank you for allowing me to be myself, because I'm going to allow our players to be themselves, who God meant them to be," Rogers said. "They will reach their potential and we will do special things here as a football program together. I'm excited to meet all you new faces and chase championships here for a long time to come."

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: New Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers ready to carry the standard

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos