Is Iowa State Cyclones' Transfer Addition the Next Jayden Higgins?

The Iowa State Cyclones are facing a major issue in their receiving corps heading into 2025, as they lost both Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel to the NFL Draft.

Higgins and Noel comprised the vast majority of Iowa State's production at wide receiver in 2024. In fact, the next closest receiver — Carson Brown — logged just 11 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown.

The Cyclones could hope for a breakout campaign from Brown or perhaps even Eli Green, who was disappointing last season after transferring over from North Dakota State.

But perhaps Iowa State's most obvious answer is someone that it nabbed via the transfer portal earlier this offseason: former East Carolina standout Chase Sowell.

Sowell may very well be the next Higgins for the Cyclones. At 6-foot-4, Sowell possesses very similar physical attributes. He has a great catch radius and explosive big-play ability, as evidenced by the fact that he averaged 19.9 yards per reception last season (34 catches for 678 yards and three touchdowns).

Clearly, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell was looking to replace Higgins, and while Sowell may not be a carbon copy, he certainly seems like he can spell the former Hawkeyes pass-catcher.

Luckily, Iowa State has one of the nation's better quarterbacks in Rocco Becht, but Becht also had two tremendous weapons at his disposal in Higgins and Noel last season. Even the top signal-callers need help, so the Cyclones better hope that Sowell is up to snuff.

Based on his production at East Carolina, it seems relatively safe to say that the redshirt junior — who actually began his collegiate career at Colorado — is prepared for the task.

It will be interesting to see just how much Iowa State targets Sowell early on in the 2025 campaign. The Cyclones may very well have their newest version of Higgins on hand.

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