Iowa State names 32-year-old Nate Scheelhaase as its new offensive coordinator

AMES — Nate Scheelhaase is young, smart and highly regarded as an offensive coach.

Because of those attributes — and many more — Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell announced Monday he had elevated Scheelhaase to the program’s offensive coordinator position.

“Nate Scheelhaase is one of the rising stars in college football coaching circles, and I look forward to watching him coordinate the Cyclone offense moving forward,” Campbell said in a statement. “He’s an outstanding recruiter who makes a difference in the lives of our student-athletes every day.”

Scheelhaase — who turned 32 years old last month — was tabbed Friday as ISU’s interim offensive coordinator when the program announced it had parted ways with Tom Manning.

Scheelhaase previously served as running backs and wide receivers coach for the Cyclones, which lagged to last in the Big 12 in scoring offense this season. He will continue to serve as the receivers coach, the statement noted, and more change will occur among the offensive staff, as seven-year offensive line coach Jeff Myers will look elsewhere for coaching opportunities.

“Jeff has been with our program since we arrived in Ames, and certainly played a role in our success,” Campbell said. “We wish Jeff and his family well in the future.”

Quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Joel Gordon, as well as tight ends coach Taylor Mouser, have been retained. Campbell has announced no changes to his defensive staff, which directed a unit that led the Big 12 in total defense by a wide margin.

Scheelhaase starred at quarterback for Illinois and is the program’s career leader in total offense (10,634 yards). He joined ISU’s program in 2018 as the running backs coach and mentored such stars as David Montgomery and Breece Hall, both of whom have forged promising NFL careers. This season, Scheelhaase coached talented offensive players such as Xavier Hutchinson, a 2022 Biletnikoff Award finalist and the Cyclones’ all-time leader in receptions.

The Cyclones finished 4-8 this season, a losing mark that snapped a string of five successive winning seasons. Six of those eight losses came by seven or fewer points and ISU was one of 10 teams nationally with 90 or more underclassmen on its roster. The Cyclones’ 2023 recruiting class — headlined by four-star Ankeny quarterback J.J. Kohl — is ranked 33rd nationally by 247 Sports.

“We evaluate really good players who fit our program,” Scheelhaase said in August. “And I think what you’ve seen is players that are even of a higher caliber now continuing to believe in our program, believe in Coach Campbell, believe in what we’ve done on the football field.”

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