Iowa

Titans Linked to Sleeper Iowa State WR

Published

12 months ago

December 25, 2024

Heading into the NFL offseason, the top question surrounding the Tennessee Titans will be about what they’re going to do at the quarterback position.

Will Levis and Mason Rudolph are clearly not clear-cut options long-term.

Outside of that question, the Titans will also need to figure out how to add more weapons for whoever their starting quarterback ends up being. Pursuing another quality wide reciever should be something that they try to do.

In the 2025 NFL Draft, there are ways for Tennessee to address both of those issues. Taking a look at wide receivers in the third or fourth round would make a lot of sense.

With that in mind, Justin Melo of Titan Sized has suggested a sleeper wide receiver out of Iowa State. In his recent five-round mock draft, Melo had the Titans taking Jayden Higgins in the fourth round.

“Are the Titans going to reunite Tee Higgins with Brian Callahan? Callahan’s offense will need an offseason addition to play “X” receiver next season. If Higgins proves to be too expensive, drafting a big-bodied weapon like Jayden Higgins offers an alternative route. Higgins does an outstanding job high-pointing the football at the catch point,” Melo wrote.

Higgins has put together an impressive 2024 season with the Cyclones. He has caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns.

Standing in at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Higgins would bring great size to the Tennessee wide receiver room. His size would make him a lethal threat, especially in red zone situations.

Throughout his entire college career, Higgins has racked up 227 receptions for 3,317 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has proven himself to be a more than capable playmaker.

Taking a flier on him in the fourth round would be a very wise investment. He may not pan out, but if he reaches his full potential he could end up developing into a starter.

He may be a sleeper and wouldn’t be a “flashy” addition, but Higgins has all of the makings of being a draft steal for a team like the Titans who could use a little more help at the position.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Iowa

Former Iowa High School Football Standouts Enter Transfer Portal

Published

2 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Press Room

Former Iowa High School Football Standouts Enter Transfer Portal

The mass exodus of Iowa State football players from within the program now includes a number of former Iowa high school football standouts.

Gabe Burkle from Cedar Rapids Prairie High School, Will Tompkins from Cedar Falls High School and Caleb Bacon of Lake Mills High School have joined the likes of Rocco Becht, Carson Hanson, Jontez Williams, Jeremiah Cooper and Ben Brahmer in the transfer portal.

All of this started when Matt Campbell left as head coach of the Cyclones for the same position at Penn State.

Burkle, a 6-foot-6 redshirt junior tight end, was a three-star recruit coming out of high school who picked Iowa State over offers from Kansas State, Michigan State and Indiana. He was an all-stater, catching 23 passes for 324 yards as a senior.

He is coming off a season in which he caught 26 passes for 302 yards with a touchdown for the Cyclones, including a four-catch, 85-yard performance vs. South Dakota where he scored his lone touchdown of the season.

Tompkins, a 6-foot-6 freshman offensive lineman, was ranked as the No. 34 offensive tackle in his class coming out of high school, making all-state honors while helping block for a Cedar Falls offense that had over 1,900 yards rushing and 1,600 yards passing.

Tennessee, Nebraska, Wisconsin, USC, MInnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State and even Penn State offered Tompkins, but he selected Campbell and the Cyclones.

Bacon, a redshirt senior linebacker, was a two-time all-state selection at Lake Mills and a two-time district player of the year. He led all of Class A in Iowa high school football as a senior with 103 tackles, including 90 solo stops.

This past fall, Bacon, who was a walk-on to the Cyclones, recorded 68 tackles with 9.5 for loss.

Iowa State has received confirmation of players returning to the program under new head coach Jimmy Rogers, including a handful of former Iowa high school football standouts.

Connor Moberly, who led Southeast Polk High School to multiple Class 5A state football championships, has confirmed he will return to the Cyclones as a quarterback candidate in 2026. Kicker Kyle Konrardy of Dubuque Senior has done the same, along with Jack Limbaugh from Algona High School.

Moberly has been a backup behind Becht while Konrardy has been a multi-time Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week selection. He has kicked several game-winners for Iowa State. Limbaugh was a true freshman this past fall.

Bryce Anderson, who played at West Des Moines Valley High School, has announced he is entering the transfer portal following the season at Memphis.

Anderson, a 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore tight end, played at Iowa Central Community College where he caught 29 passes for 303 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games.

He had 12 catches for 101 yards for the Tigers this past season, including six receptions in his final three games.

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Iowa

Funeral services announced for fallen Iowa National Guard members

Published

14 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

Funeral services announced for fallen Iowa National Guard members

Funeral arrangements have been announced for the two Iowa National Guard members killed earlier this month while on duty in Syria.

Staff Sgts. William Nathaniel “Nate” Howard, Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and a civilian interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, of Michigan, were killed Dec. 13 by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead. The Associated Press reported the gunman stormed a meeting between U.S. and Syrian security officials in Palmyra, Syria, and opened fire after clashing with Syrian guards.

Their bodies arrived back in Iowa at 1 p.m. Dec. 24 in a private ceremony. Blue Star Mothers of America – Iowa Chapter asked supporters to line Fleur Drive from the Des Moines International Airport to Interstate 235 to welcome the soldiers home.

The soldiers’ funerals are open to the public.

When is Sgt. Nate Howard’s funeral?

Visitation and funeral services for Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, will be Saturday, Dec. 27 at the Marshalltown High School Roundhouse, 1602 S. Second Ave., with visitation beginning at 9 a.m.

Further details on funeral services is available on the Mitchell Family Funeral Home website.

After arriving in Des Moines on Wednesday, a procession carrying Howard’s body will go through Des Moines on Fleur Drive to Interstate 235 and north to Interstate 35 to Ames. From there, the procession will head east on U.S. Highway 30 to Marshalltown then north on Center Street/Highway 14 to Iowa Avenue and on to the funeral home.

The procession will be led by the Des Moines Police Department, Iowa State Highway Patrol, Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, Meskwaki police and the Tama Police Department.

Howard is survived by his wife, Arianna Howard; his father, Brian and wife, Andrea; his mother, Misty Bunn and husband, Jeff; his brother, SSgt James Roelsgard; stepbrothers, Josh Bunn and wife, Modestie, and Travis Bunn; as well as his grandparents: William Eugene and Pat Neville, Vicki Brindle, and Martin and Ruth Roelsgard.

When is Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar’s funeral?

Visitation for Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines will be Sunday, Dec. 28 with funeral services and burial on Monday, Dec. 29. Final arrangements will be announced by Hamilton’s Southtown Funeral Home.

Torres-Tovar is survived by his parents, Hugo Torres and Isabel Tovar; brothers, Samuel Torres and Daniel Torres; sister, Krystal Torres and her children, Castiel and Christopher; paternal grandparents, Jose Torres and Rita Garcia; girlfriend, Yareli Duran; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.

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Iowa

Iowa State football running back Carson Hansen to leave Cyclones

Published

1 day ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

Iowa State football running back Carson Hansen to leave Cyclones

Iowa State football running back Carson Hansen announced on Dec. 23 that he “will be pursuing new opportunities with my last year of eligibility.”

Hansen is the latest Cyclones star to indicate that he will transfer to another school in the wake of coach Matt Campbell’s departure to Penn State. Quarterback Rocco Becht and cornerbacks Jeremiah Cooper and Jontez Williams are among the other Iowa State standouts leaving Ames.

Hansen, a native of Lakeville, Minn., rushed for 952 yards on 188 carries during his junior season with the Cyclones. In three years with Iowa State, he compiled 1,771 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.

Hansen was the Cyclones’ leading rusher in 2024 and 2025.

“My three years here at Iowa State have been a life changing experience because of the people who make up Ames …” Hansen wrote on Twitter/X. “Thank you to the fans that shook Jack Trice every Saturday and for your belief in this football team.”

Campbell announced on Dec. 5 that he was leaving Iowa State after 10 years as the Cyclones’ head coach. He was quickly succeeded by Washington State’s Jimmy Rogers, who has a big job in front of him to replace the exodus of talent transferring out of Ames.

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