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The 5 best NFL players of all time from Iowa State football

Published

9 months ago

June 24, 2024

Press Room

The 5 best NFL players of all time from Iowa State football

From Charles Heileman in 1939 to T.J. Tampa in 2024, Iowa State football has had 139 players selected in the NFL Draft.

There are no Iowa State alumni in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but a few have enjoyed prolonged periods of elite success at the next level.

Here’s a look at the best NFL careers of all time from former Cyclone stars:

More: Four potential breakout players in Iowa State football’s 2024 campaign

Matt Blair (LB, 1974-85)

After a terrific career at Iowa State, which saw him be named Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the 1971 Sun Bowl and a 1973 All-American, Blair was selected in the second round, 51st overall, by the Minnesota Vikings in 1974.

Blair earned by far the most recognition of any Iowa State alum during his NFL career. He notched six Pro Bowl nods (1977-82) and one first-team All-Pro (1980) selection in his 12 seasons, finishing his career with 160 games played, 130 games started, 23 sacks, 16 interceptions and 20 fumble recoveries.

He ranks third in NFL history with 20 blocked kicks on special teams, the most notable being his blocked punt against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl IX that resulted in a touchdown — the Vikings’ only points in the 16-6 loss.

Blair was also an integral part of Minnesota’s 11-2-1 1976 squad that sported the league’s second-ranked defense and returned to the Super Bowl. The former Cyclone during that season tallied two interceptions and five fumble recoveries, as well as two fumble recoveries in the Vikings’ 24-13 NFC Championship victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Blair was inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor in 2012.

He died on October 22, 2020, at the age of 70.

More: Former Iowa State, Minnesota Vikings football star Matt Blair remembered as a kick-blocking pioneer

Keith Sims (G, 1990-2000)

Sims’ Cyclones career was stellar, making him the 39th overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 1990 draft and an Iowa State Hall of Fame inductee in 2006.

The guard was an integral piece of the unit that blocked for Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino. Sims earned three consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 1993-95, as well as second-team All-Pro honors in 1994.

Sims played his last three seasons for Washington after eight seasons in Miami. Overall, Sims started in 133 of his 142 career games, as well as all seven of his playoff games.

More: Iowa State football schedule 2024: Ranking the Cyclones’ six most compelling games

Marcus Robertson (DB, 1991-2002)

Robertson totaled 257 tackles, six interceptions and nine forced fumbles during his ISU career, good enough for the Houston Oilers to pick him in the fourth round, 102nd overall, in the 1991 NFL Draft. Iowa State inducted Robertson into its Hall of Fame in 2009.

He mostly played free safety during 12 professional seasons, with his best campaign coming in 1993 when Robertson was named first-team All-Pro. That year he notched 82 total tackles, seven interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries for a league-leading 107 fumble-return yards and one TD.

Although he never replicated that production again, Robertson remained a steady starter for more than a decade. He remained with the organization when it transitioned from the Houston Oilers to the Tennessee Titans and was a key piece of the team’s run to Super XXXIV, although he missed the game after getting injured during an interception in the AFC Championship Game.

Robertson played his final two NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before retiring at age 33. Overall, he started in 144 of his 162 career games and finished with totals of 24 interceptions and 72 passes defensed.

Robertson remains involved in professional football. He began as the Titans’ director of player development, and he and his staff received the Winston and Shell Award in 2006 for innovation and commitment to player development.

The former Cyclone then shifted to the sidelines and is currently the defensive backs coach for the New Orleans Saints. He was also a coaching staff member for the Titans, Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions.

Kelechi Osemele (T, 2012-20)

Osemele vaulted up draft boards after his 2011 Cyclones season garnered him All-American honors from Sports Illustrated, as well as a first-team All-Big 12 selection. He was chosen in the second round, 60th overall, by the Baltimore Ravens in 2012.

Osemele started all 16 regular-season games as a rookie and all four playoff contests en route to the franchise’s Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The ex-Cyclone had back surgery during his sophomore campaign, missed 13 games over the next three seasons and was not resigned by Baltimore, making him a free agent. He eventually landed with the Oakland Raiders in 2016 on a five-year, $60 million deal.

In 2018, Osemele was the second-highest-paid left guard in the NFL.

He played the best football of his career in the silver and black. Osemele was named to the Pro Bowl in 2016 and 2017, and earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2016 for a Raiders offense that had the sixth-best rushing offense in the league.

Injuries then piled up for Osemele. He played in just 19 games over his final three seasons and was traded from Oakland to the New York Jets in 2019, and later signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 before retiring.

Brock Purdy (QB, 2022-23)

“Mr. Irrelevant,” the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, has already etched himself onto the list of greatest NFL players from Iowa State.

Purdy’s three All-Big 12 selections and 32 Cyclones program records weren’t enough to garner significant interest from pro scouts, but just as he did when he began his ISU career, the Arizona native rose from the bottom of San Francisco’s depth chart to starter and never looked back.

In just two seasons leading the 49ers’ talented roster, Purdy has taken the franchise to consecutive NFC Championship Games and Super Bowl LVIII. In 25 career games, he’s thrown for 5,654 yards, 44 TDs and just 15 interceptions.

He has a 17-4 regular-season record as a starter, and his only playoff loss when playing a full game came in the Super Bowl against back-to-back champion Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in overtime.

When it’s all said and done, Purdy could be Iowa State’s greatest NFL product.

Gus Martin is a Digital Producer/Content Director for The Des Moines Register. Follow him on X at @GusMartin_DMR.

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Star Guard Named Potential Transfer Portal Addition for Iowa

Published

8 hours ago

March 25, 2025

Press Room

Star Guard Named Potential Transfer Portal Addition for Iowa

The Iowa Hawkeyes have landed a new coach in Ben McCollum, beginning a new era in Iowa City. McCollum certainly has his work cut out for him given all of the departures Iowa has had recently, but perhaps he could bring in some big additions via the transfer portal?

Black Heart Gold Pants has speculated on a few potential Drake Bulldogs players that could potentially make their way to the Hawkeyes, as McCollum coached Drake to a 31-5 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance this past season.

The top name that surfaced was guard Bennett Stirtz, who just led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring.

“His abilities on full display in the tournament should help to ease concerns over McCollum’s ability to recruit,” Black Heart Gold Pants wrote. “Stirtz very clearly belongs, even getting some NBA buzz on Thursday, but was overlooked by D1 coaches out of high school.”

Stirtz averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals over 39.4 minutes per game on 49.8/39.5/79.4 shooting splits this past season.

He has spent his entire collegiate tenure with McCollum, as he began his career at Northwest Missouri State, but transferred after his sophomore campaign after McCollum made the jump to Drake.

It’s only natural to wonder if the 6-foot-4 sharpshooter will follow McCollum once again, especially now that McCollum is at a Big Ten program.

Iowa has lost a massive chunk of its roster to the transfer portal after the firing of Fran McCaffery, so now, it’s up to McCollum to repair the damage. Perhaps he could convince Stirtz to come on board.

MORE: Iowa Hawkeyes Transfer Guard Drawing Interest from 5 Intriguing Teams

More: Iowa Hawkeyes Land Proven Winner In New Head Coach Ben McCollum

More: Iowa Hawkeyes’ Coaching Search Takes Odd Turn

MORE: ESPN Drops Huge Take on Iowa Hawkeyes’ Top Recruit

MORE: Iowa Hawkeyes’ Transfer Portal Disaster Continues

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Iowa

Oklahoma 96, Iowa 62: OUtmuscled

Published

20 hours ago

March 24, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma 96, Iowa 62: OUtmuscled

NORMAN — Sixth-seeded Iowa fell in the round of 32 on Monday, losing 96-62 to third-seeded Oklahoma in Norman to close the 2024-25 season. In what was a physical contest from the tip, the Sooners were the aggressor against the Hawkeyes.

Oklahoma’s size, strength and speed were simply too much for Iowa, who didn’t have the physical prowess to matchup with the Sooners. OU not only out-rebounded Iowa, 64-33, but the Hawkeyes couldn’t match Oklahoma’s shooting. OU shot 33-of-81 (40.7%) from the floor and 19-of-27 from the free throw line to Iowa’s 24-of-66 (36.3%) from the field and 4-of-7 (57.1%) from the free throw line.

“They’re really good. They’re athletes. They hit the portal hard,” head coach Jan Jensen said following the loss. “They’re bigger, faster, stronger. I told you yesterday the degree of difficulty to guard all that.”

The rebounding margin was the strongest indicator of the difference between the two teams.

“I think going into the game, that was definitely something we knew was going to be a key. They definitely got a majority of the second-chance points. That was from the rebounds,” said Kylie Feuerbach, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds. “They did a great job at positioning. We probably could have done a little better. But we knew going into the game their box-outs and rebounds would be really important.”

Sydney Affolter, Iowa’s leading rebounder against OU with nine, added that the game was more physical than the Hawkeyes were used to.

“The refs definitely let us play,” she said. “They have some big girls, big posts and big guards all around. We could have done a lot better on the boards. I thought we did a little bit better in the second half. They crashed pretty hard.”

“We knew going in that SEC teams are really physical — a lot more than the Big Ten,” starting center Hannah Stuelke said. “They’re just an amazing rebounding team. That’s something they hang their hat on.”

The boards weren’t the only place the Hawkeyes had a disadvantage.

Though it certainly wasn’t all at the hands of the officials, — and no one on Iowa’s roster will tell you it was — Stuelke and the Hawkeyes definitely didn’t benefit from the officiating on Monday evening.

The most glaring call came in the beginning of the second half, when Stuelke made a reverse layup and inadvertently made contact with Raegan Beers‘ face with her off hand. The officials went to the monitor and handed Stuelke an “intentional foul” that not only gave the Sooners two free throws (which were made by Payton Verhulst, who finished with 16 points) and the possession, but shifted momentum heavily in the favor of OU.

“It was an accident,” Stuelke said after the game. “I have no control over that, so I don’t know. I’ve never been called for an intentional before. That was my first one. I elbowed her in the face on accident.”

Stuelke added that the officials didn’t explain the reasoning for the call to her. Jensen was disappointed with the decision by the officials for several reasons.

“I didn’t have a chance to see it,” she said. “I just asked some unbiased people at the scorer’s table, and I don’t know if they were NCAA [officials], one was an Oklahoma [official]. I said, ‘What’s your gut on that?’ They were like ‘We’re a little surprised it got upgraded.’ … I think our players were pretty frustrated. I was trying to calm them down, but I thought that was a big swing in the game.”

OU shot 20 more free throws than the Hawkeyes, who shot a total of 11 between Monday night’s game and their matchup with Murray State on Saturday.

“Oklahoma, they’re going to win. When it’s called like that — and it was not why we lost the game; let that be clear — but 27 to seven,” Jensen said. “So I think that’s part of it. I don’t think we thought about it much at the time. I don’t think the players did. I think we were really hitting. I don’t think you can really — without some bigs, really big bodies, you can’t really slow or stop Oklahoma. You’ve got to score with them.”

Looking into the future of the Iowa roster, though they won’t be able to control the problems with officiating, Jensen plans to adjust and address the issues that faced them against the Sooners.

“I think it has to be a change now,” Jensen said. “I think we have a lot of great pieces, but they’re young. … I love our pieces. I think we can develop them, and that will always be my model. We’re graduating Syd and we don’t have a lot of depth at the one. We have Aaliyah Guyton. Addie Deal plays off the ball and on. You’re going to look and see what we need.”

The transfer portal opens tomorrow.

“We’ll be really busy,” Jensen added. “I love the pieces we have coming back, I just think we need a little more size. You saw them — Beers changes the game. Then you’ve got 24 [Skylar Vann], 34 [Liz Scott], 0 [Beatrice Culliton] who are all big bodies, and then you add Sahara Williams. We’ll look in the portal.”

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Iowa basketball: New coach Ben McCollum tasked with replenishing depleted Hawkeyes roster

Published

1 day ago

March 24, 2025

Press Room

Iowa basketball: New coach Ben McCollum tasked with replenishing depleted Hawkeyes roster

IOWA CITY — When Iowa and Ben McCollum agreed to make him the school’s next men’s basketball coach, just a few scholarship players remained on the Hawkeyes’ roster.

Four to be exact, as of Monday morning. Carter Kingsbury, Seydou Traore, Isaiah Johson-Arigu and Chris Tadjo.

McCollum, the former Northwest Missouri State and Drake head coach, is replacing Fran McCaffery as the leader of the Hawkeyes program. The development comes shortly after McCollum’s Drake Bulldogs were bounced from the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

McCollum takes the reins of an Iowa roster that has mostly dwindled. It’s difficult to blame Iowa players for examining their options when there literally wasn’t a head coach in place.

As John Calipari quipped after taking the Arkansas job in 2024, “I met with the team, there is no team.”

Iowa isn’t quite in that territory. But McCollum does have a significant amount of work ahead of him to get Iowa’s roster intact for the 2025-26 season.

Iowa is tasked with reconstructing the roster in a way that the program hasn’t been accustomed to. It will likely be much more reliant on the transfer portal — whether that be via Drake, re-recruiting Iowa players, or adding firepower from elsewhere.

Iowa’s philosophy under McCaffery was pretty clear. The Hawkeyes would build the foundation of the program through the high school ranks and filled holes through the transfer portal when needed.

Here’s a look at Iowa’s (scholarship) transfer portal additions in recent years:

One ahead of the 2021-22 season (Filip Rebraca)
Two ahead of the 2023-24 season (Ben Krikke and Even Brauns)
Two ahead of the 2024-25 seasons (Drew Thelwell and Traore)
One during the 2024-25 season (Johnson-Arigu)

In the modern landscape of roster movement, Iowa was able to maintain a fairly high level of roster stability. The Hawkeyes have no choice but to take a different approach now.

Before any additional departures, the Hawkeyes were already set to lose a few players who had exhausted their college eligibility. That trio came in the form of Payton Sandfort, Thelwell and Brauns, all of whom played roles on Iowa’s 2024-25 team to varying degrees.

As of Monday morning, seven Iowa players had decided to enter the transfer portal since the departure of McCaffery — Owen Freeman, Brock Harding, Pryce Sandfort, Riley Mulvey, Josh Dix, Cooper Koch and Ladji Dembele.

Sandfort, Koch and Dembele have publicly left the door open for a return to Iowa.

Joshua Lewis and Dezmon Briscoe, two members of Iowa’s 2025 high school class, have re-opened their recruitments. Lewis was one of the top high school prospects to commit to the program in the modern recruiting era.

Drake men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum reflects on job rumors

Drake lost to Texas Tech, 77-64, in the second round of the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball March Madness tournament. Drake coach Ben McCollum has been a popular name for college basketball coach openings.

Iowa had seen roster turnover under McCaffery. But not to this degree. This is a new dilemma for the program, which was able to navigate the uncertain waters of an evolving landscape with the stability of a long-tenured head coach.

That changes now.

Hawkeye fans can find some solace in the fact that McCollum has been in a very similar situation. Roughly one year ago, in fact.

This is uncharted waters for the Iowa program, yes. But not for McCollum.

McCollum took over at Drake in 2024 and revamped the Bulldogs’ roster. More than half of the players on Drake’s 2024-25 squad (active or not) started their college careers at a different school. McCollum brought some from his previous home at Northwest Missouri State, including star Bennett Stirtz (who has a year of eligibility remaining). McCollum also landed transfers from Wyoming, Indiana State and Northwest Florida State College.

McCollum showed he could make that formula work. The Bulldogs finished the season 31-4 and were one of college basketball’s feel-good stories after making it one step short of the Sweet 16. Drake went 4-1 against power conference programs — with the lone loss coming to Texas Tech on Saturday.

“It’s a lot of work to get it to this point,” McCollum said after Drake’s loss to Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. “It’s a lot of sleepless nights. Lot of phone conversations trying to get players. And then trying to get guys to buy into something. Just have a level of blind faith. It’s hard.”

There could be at least some level of familiarity for those who choose to join the Hawkeyes’ 2025-26 roster. Whether that be with McCollum as a head coach or the University of Iowa. But as a unit, it won’t be the same level of continuity that the program has experienced in the recent past.

At least for one season, Iowa’s roster-building process will likely be more reflective of the modern times.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

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