The Texas A&M Aggies are adding to their defensive line via the transfer portal following the conclusion of the 2024 season.

Per On3’s Hayes Fawcett, Texas A&M has landed a commitment from Iowa State Cyclones defensive line transfer Tyler Onyedim. The Richmond, TX native will return to his home state with one year of eligibility left.

This season, Onyedim finished with 33 total tackles (15 solo), one fumble recovery and one pass breakup. He ends his four-year Iowa State career with 90 total tackles (37 solo), three sacks, one pass breakup and one interception.

Onyedim and the Cyclones put together an impressive season that ended with a loss in the Big 12 Championship to Arizona State and a 42-41 win over the Miami Hurricanes in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. He’ll look to bring veteran experience to an A&M team that was one game away from playing in the SEC Championship.

However, the Aggies have lost some major talent on the defensive line since the end of the season. Defensive linemen Shemar Turner, Nic Scourton, and Shemar Stewart all declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. Onyedim will be asked to make an immediate impact due to the experience he brings to the table.

The Aggies have now landed portal commitments from tight ends Nate Boerkircher (Nebraska) and Micah Riley (Auburn), receivers Micah Hudson (Texas Tech), KC Concepcion (N.C. State) and Mario Craver (Mississippi State), quarterback Jacob Zeno (UAB) and edge rushers T.J. Searcy (Florida), Dayon Hayes (Colorado) and Sam M’Pemba (Georgia).

Texas A&M will look to add more talent to the roster as the program preps for the second season under head coach Mike Elko.

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There will be plenty of hype around the Iowa State football team entering the 2025 season.

Along with coming off a win over Miami in a thrilling Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Cyclones return star quarterback Rocco Becht, a talented running back room and some key pieces on defense.

Sure, they will need to replace leading receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, but the transfer portal has already brought in some players with experience. 

While plenty could change over the next several months, here is a look at the game-by-game predictions for Iowa State in 2025:

• Kansas State, Aug. 23 (in Dublin, Ireland): Iowa State 21, Kansas State 20
• South Dakota, Aug. 30: Iowa State 27, South Dakota 20
• Iowa, Sept. 6: Iowa State 31, Iowa 17
• Arkansas State, Sept. 13: Iowa State 45, Arkansas State 10

The schedule for Big 12 Conference games outside of Kansas State has not been announced. However, the home/away games have been decided. That includes a rematch of the league title game as Arizona State visits Ames. 

Here is how those could come out:

Home

• BYU: Iowa State 17, BYU 14
• Kansas: Iowa State 24, Kansas 17
• Arizona: Iowa State 31, Arizona 14
• Arizona State: Arizona State 35, Iowa State 24

Away

• Cincinnati: Iowa State 27, Cincinnati 20
• Colorado: Colorado 27, Iowa State 26
• Oklahoma State: Iowa State 34, Oklahoma State 14
• TCU: TCU 35, Iowa State 34

More Iowa State & Big 12 Analysis

* Iowa State women get past Kansas thanks to big game from Audi Crooks

* University announces several increases to offset athletic department bills

* Big 12 well represented in College Football Playoff game at the Peach Bowl

* How to watch the Iowa State men take on Baylor in Big 12 action

* Cyclones remain No. 3 in the nation in first men’s college basketball polls of 2025

Have you ever wondered where in Iowa you can get the most bang for your buck?

SmartAsset, a New York-based financial advising company, looked for the most economical or “paycheck friendly” places to live across the United States.

To determine where paychecks stretch the farthest, SmartAsset calculated rankings for counties and county equivalents based on four variables: Semi-monthly paycheck averages, purchasing power, the county unemployment rate and income growth.

Here are the rankings for Iowa.

No. 1: Polk County

What makes Polk County so economical? According to SmartAsset, the county has high purchasing power, which is the value of goods or services $1 can buy, at 1.33, meaning money stretches farther compared to the state average of 1.21. Additionally, the county has an unemployment rate of just 3.4% and an income growth rate of 4.4%.

The county scored 47.35 on Smart Asset’s paycheck-friendly index.

No. 2: Warren County

Warren County, bordering Polk on the south and part of the Des Moines metro, has a population of about 55,000 people, according to the most recent census data.

It has an even lower unemployment rate than Polk at 2.8%, which also is below the state average of 3%, according to SmartAset. Additionally, Warren County boasts a 1.43 purchasing power.

No. 3: Dallas County

Dallas County, Polk’s western neighbor and another Des Moines metro county, rounded out the top three most-paycheck-friendly counties in Iowa.

The county scored 46.50 on SmartAsset’s most paycheck-friendly index, with a 3.4% unemployment rate and purchasing power of 1.49.

Other top10 paycheck-friendly counties in Iowa

4. Woodbury (home of Sioux City).

5. Calhoun.

6. Madison.

7. Sac.

8. Scott (home of Davenport).

9. Emmet.

10. Linn (home of Cedar Rapids).

How does Iowa stack up overall?

Though it ranked at the top for paycheck friendliness in Iowa, Polk County weighed in at 2,961 of 3,244 counties or county equivalents nationwide in the SmartAsset calculations.

The top 10 counties nationally were in Texas, with No. 1-ranked Winkler County and several others, and in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at vreynarodriguez@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter @VictoriaReynaR.