Iowa State's Jimmy Rogers Eyes Success Early: 'Not Signing Up For 2nd Place'

New Iowa State manager Jimmy Rogers is thing if not confident.

The Cyclones were picked past successful the Big 12 preseason media poll, instrumentality nary starters and had 55 players transportation aft Rogers was hired to regenerate Matt Campbell, who took 24 of the champion with him to Penn State.

Rogers admitted to reporters successful Ames, Iowa this week that helium was the 1 who picked the Cyclones, successful an On3.com anonymous coaches poll, to marque it to the Big 12 title crippled successful his archetypal season.

"What would you deliberation if I didn’t ballot connected us? You’d wonderment wherefore I’m the caput manager astatine Iowa State," Rogers said. "I was brought successful to win. Very self-aware. They didn’t prosecute maine to travel present and not beryllium competitive. I wasn’t hired for my disposition. I was hired to make a programme that competes and wins and that’s the goal. We’re not signing up for 2nd place.

"So I cognize that’s a bold statement, and they’ll people it everywhere. But the world is this: the players person to judge successful what you say, and you person to enactment connected however you believe. I judge that we tin win."

Rogers is replacing the all-time wins person astatine Iowa State, which went 8-4 wide and 5-4 successful the Big 12 successful Campbell's last season. The Cyclones played successful 7 bowls successful Campbell's 10 years — they opted retired of a vessel past play — and appeared successful the Big 12 title crippled successful 2020. The programme hasn't won a league title since 1912.

Tight extremity Tyler Fortenberry said Rogers' prediction surprises nary 1 connected the team. He said Rogers' abundance of assurance comes from the occurrence helium was portion of arsenic an adjunct and caput manager astatine South Dakota State of the Football Championship Subdivision. In his lone twelvemonth astatine Washington State, helium led a squad with 75 newcomers to a 6-6 grounds and a vessel bid.

"Coach Rogers does a bully occupation successful squad meetings making definite we're not focused connected what Twitter says, what Instagram says oregon what the media says astir what we're going to finish," Fortenberry said. "They each person america 16th. If you bargain into that and judge what the media has to say, you're not going to get anyplace successful life."

Reporting by the Associated Press.