Iowa State graduate transfer Jalen Travis (72) blocks downfield in a 43-21 win over Baylor. Photo courtesy Iowa State Athletics Communications.
AMES — Princeton University’s picturesque campus sprawls across 600 acres. Stately trees dot the landscape, and architectural wonders abound. The prestigious Ivy League school was founded in 1756, so the campus is steeped in history — a feature that Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell appreciated when he took a tour with Princeton graduate transfer offensive tackle Jalen Travis.
“It was incredible,” said Campbell, who has seen the 6-7, 340-pound Travis help enliven the No. 11 Cyclones’ improving offensive line heading into Saturday’s 7 p.m. Big 12 matchup (FOX) with West Virginia (3-2, 0-2) in Morgantown. “Obviously, for me, history (is important), and I think I’d just gotten done watching (the Academy Award-winning film) ‘Oppenheimer’ — and a lot of that took place on (that) campus, so it was incredible.”
Campbell felt the same about Travis, both as a football player and human being. From a football perspective, Travis has been a revelation, helping ISU (5-0, 2-0) shine in both run blocking and pass protection. From a human perspective, Travis is deeply committed to helping others. He founded the Just Action Coalition, a nonprofit in his home state of Minnesota “aimed at promoting substantive youth engagement in policy-level advocacy on the local and state levels.” When Travis’s football career finally winds down, he plans to attend law school and focus on criminal defense and public defense law.
“It’s truly where my heart’s at: Helping people with a lot of the privileges and tools that I’ve gained along the way, obviously with that Princeton education at my back,” Travis said. “But coming to Iowa State, it’s an opportunity to explore that football side to the end.”
What a time to begin and complete that one-year mission that may eventually land him in the NFL. The Cyclones seek their first 6-0 start since 1938 and look to begin Big 12 play with a 3-0 mark for the first time since 2020. ISU’s top-five scoring defense, which is allowing a mere 10 points a game, stands as one reason for ISU’s current success, but fielding a deeper and more athletic offensive line has also spurred its hot start — and adding Travis to that mix made a deep and immediate impact.
“I don’t know if there’s a lot that guy can’t do,” said the Cyclones’ first-year offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, whose Rocco Becht-led unit is scoring 31.2 points per game this season. “He’s so smart and so athletic, and he’s like a zombie out there. He wants to eat everybody’s heart right out of their chest — and you’ve met (offensive line coach) Ryan Clanton, and you see what guy (he) is. So just the physical presence that guy has, and how dominant he could be, and how good he is in pass protection, he injects a lot of confidence into me and our offense.”
ISU must be poised and confident in all three phases to topple the resilient Mountaineers. But with big-play pass catchers such as Ben Brahmer, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel dotting the field, along with ball-hawking defensive backs such as Jeremiah Cooper, Beau Freyler and Jontez Williams patrolling the secondary, the Cyclones have “earned the right to be confident,” as Campbell often says.
“It’s cool, obviously, being a 5-0 team, and (being congratulated) on campus, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Noel said. “It will be better when we go on campus after we win a Big 12 championship.”
That’s easy to say and tough to do. And that’s why Travis chose to join ISU’s program. The Cyclones are equipped to contend for a league title because of who they are and how they do things. All as one. No ego attached.
“The biggest that stood out to me about coach Campbell compared to the rest of the coaches I was recruited by (out of) the portal was his commitment to the person,” Travis said.
They — along with Mouser — rekindled that connection on that Ivy-draped tour of the Princeton campus, and it’s grown stronger from there.
“I told Jalen in this journey, don’t pick us because you want to go to the NFL,” Campbell said. “Pick us because you want to come here and make an impact. Come here because you want to be a great senior leader. Come here because you want to help us grow as a program, but equally, maybe we can help you not just as a football player, but continuing with your purpose in life.”
