ISU's new OC earns the 'mess' in Messingham

AMES - At first glance, new Iowa State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham's office may seem a bit disheveled.

And that's a good thing, head coach Paul Rhoads said.

“As he sits in the staff room, whether it's with me or anyone else or we bring in a guest coach or something like that, his notebook's open and the lead is flying,” said Rhoads, who promoted Messingham from wide receivers and special teams coach early this month after former offensive coordinator Tom Herman left for Ohio State. “He's often the last guy out of the office every day and if you look at his office and see how messy it is, you know he's a guy that's getting work done. I think that's a good sign with him.”

Messingham, a former head coach at Upper Iowa, helped mold transfer receiver Aaron Horne into the Big 12 offensive newcomer of the year and former Cyclone Collin Franklin into an NFL-caliber tight end.

Turns out the former Northern Iowa player has always had an eye for talent.

As a fifth-year senior at UNI, Messingham met a relatively unheralded freshman named Kurt Warner.

“He and I actually roomed together in two-a-day camp, so I got to know him a little bit,” Messingham said of the eventual two-time Super Bowl MVP. “He obviously has had a great career - had a great career - and obviously much improved from a true freshman in college to where he finished. But you could tell right away that he was going to be a great football player.”

Rhoads described Messingham as an “exceptional teacher.”

Messingham and Rhoads both said fans shouldn't expect major changes in terms of ISU's offensive philosophy.

They'll still run the spread offense and adopt a no-huddle approach.

They'll continue to seek more explosive plays from an offense that ranked ninth in the Big 12 Conference in scoring at 22.7 points per game.

“You wont see us under center 90 percent of the time,” said Messingham, a Waterloo West graduate who played under three Panther coaches in Cedar Falls- Darrell Mudra, Earle Bruce and Terry Allen. “With that being said, we will get under center some. The run game's always got to be important to us and always will be important to us.”

Cyclone returning quarterbacks Jared Barnett and Steele Jantz will both enter spring ball as potential starters, along with redshirt freshman Sam Richardson.

Barnett and Jantz helped produce rousing overtime home wins - Jantz against Iowa, Barnett against national championship contender Oklahoma State - but struggled with fumbles, interceptions and and consistency.

Jantz, who led ISU to three wins before being slowed by a foot injury, completed 53.3 percent of his passes for 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Barnett, who also helped the Cyclones reap three wins, completed 50 percent of his throws for six touchdowns and six picks.

“Our quarterback play has to elevate,” said Rhoads, whose team reached the postseason for the second time in three seasons, falling to Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl. “(Messingham's) a former quarterback, which I think is awfully important.”

Messingham said communication - among coaches and players - is paramount to sustained success.

He also plans to simplify the playbook.

“I would say our package will shrink a little bit as far as the number of things that we're going to try to do,” Messingham said. “You've got to make sure your quarterbacks, your skill guys in general, that they can go out and go play and get the most out of their athletic ability and not be thinking when they're out there. It's got to become second nature.”