FRISCO, Texas — What a difference a year makes.
Aiden Flora laughed as he fielded some fun questions at 2026 Big 12 Football Media Days in Frisco, Texas on Wednesday, July 8.
Kyle Konrardy smiled as he showed some finesse and dribbled a soccer ball on the turf of the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility.
David Coffey relished the chance to represent Iowa State at the event, just as he enjoyed stepping into a bigger role amid injuries to the secondary last season.
All three represented the Cyclones at Big 12 Football Media Days, alongside newcomers Jaylen Raynor and Isaac Terrell.
In the returning trio’s case, however, it was a testament to their growth over the last few years and the weight their voice and actions carry on a new-look Iowa State football team.
Gratitude doesn’t begin to encompass the joy they felt for the opportunity.
“The Lord has put me in this situation and I couldn’t be more grateful for that,” Flora, a native of Adel, said. “Definitely just taking it all in, being grateful for where I’m at. Definitely a couple years ago, I didn’t think I’d be here, but I’m blessed.”
Flora and Coffey were much lower on the depth charts last season. Now, they’re both primed for much bigger roles as key players on both sides of the ball for the start of the Jimmy Rogers era.
Flora is a former walk-on. Usually, those types of players are lucky to receive any snaps, let alone represent their school at the league’s media days.
With an unrelenting work ethic, he’s broken those stereotypes, earning All-Big 12 second-team honors as a returner last season and becoming a fan-favorite for his effort on special teams. It also helped having a clutch, go-ahead punt return touchdown in the closing minutes of a road win at TCU.
In addition to reprising his role as returner, the redshirt sophomore is expected to be one of the Cyclones’ go-to running backs this season.
“Aiden Flora was one of the guys, right away, when I watched the film, stood out to me as a specialist,” Rogers said. “One of our first actions that we did was call Aiden and put him on scholarship. I think he’s special because of how he trains, how he works and none of that has dropped off. He’s probably one of the hardest workers in the building.”
Meanwhile, Coffey is one of 21 scholarship players from last year who are holdovers from the Matt Campbell era. He had been praised as an emerging young talent last season and appeared in nine games after redshirting in 2024.
The 6-foot-1 cornerback was hindered by injuries in 2025, but finished with 11 tackles and two pass breakups. He aims to take the next step forward in 2026.
Coffey appeared to take snaps with the first-team defense during the April 25 spring showcase and has continued to follow that trajectory as one of the top players in the secondary.
“(Rogers) put me in that position to keep growing,” Coffey said. “What I learned from (last year) was just look at every day like it’s your last. Don’t leave regrets, don’t under-do anything. I would say overdo it.”
Rogers believes he hasn’t even come close to reaching his potential as a player and as a leader for the defense.
“He’s just scratching the surface of what he’s going to become,” Rogers said. “I believe in his ability to hold his teammates accountable and push them, and also he’s a high-capacity learner. He’s able to learn really quickly, then be able to go out and deliver a product on the field that replicates what we want out of a player.”
As for Konrardy, how many kickers get to be selected to take the spotlight at Big 12 Football Media Days?
“He can change the game, honestly. Kyle may be arguably the most talented player on our team,” Rogers said. “Although people say, ‘You brought a kicker at the media days?’ I think he’s probably one of the best kickers in the entire country.
“… watching him kick 60-plus yarders pretty frequently, he’s a special talent. When you can do that, it changes the course of how you call a game.”
Already etched in Iowa State lore for his heroics in the Cy-Hawk rivalry series and a program-record 63-yard field goal, Konrardy is the program’s lone returning starter.
His work ethic and ability to deliver long-range bombs have made him a highly esteemed player on the roster. He further endeared himself in the Iowa State community by being one of the first players to declare he was returning to the Cyclones, while many were heading for the transfer portal.
The Dubuque native was also compromised by injuries last season, but converted on 14-of-18 field goal attempts and 19-of-21 point-after kicks.
“It was hard for me, I had a lot of long talks with guys, a lot of people, family, but I’m from Iowa, so that really helped and I wanted to be somewhere I was comfortable,” Konrardy said of his decision to return to Ames. “Obviously, my career goals are to go to the NFL, so being in a position where I’m comfortable at a place where I know the fanbase, know the area, just really helped me.”
It’s been a drastic change for Flora, Coffey and Konrardy, who have each moved further up the team hierarchy since the 2025 season ended.
However, it’s a role they enjoy. Their love for Ames and choosing the comfort of the familiarity of Iowa State played a part in their decisions to come back.
They’ve helped welcome, integrate, guide and push their new teammates. Between freshmen and transfer portal additions, Iowa State will have 82 newcomers once it starts fall camp.
The coaching change and massive roster turnover have shifted outside expectations for the Cyclones, who finished 8-4 last season but are predicted to finish last in the league, according to USA TODAY Sports Network’s preseason Big 12 rankings.
Inside the Cyclones’ football program, though, the standards and quest for success remain the same. They’re hoping to turn heads, and they’ll need returners like Flora, Coffey and Konrardy to set the tone.
“We’re a team that’s going to fight to the end, and we’re going to,” Coffey said. “No matter what the outcome is, we’re going to fight to the end, and we know that we have a physical, aggressive team that could wear a team out for 60 minutes.”
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: Matt Campbell-era holdovers embrace bigger roles for ISU football
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
