Cyclones hire Heacock as defensive coordinator

AMES - Iowa State coach Matt Campbell is putting the finishing touches on his first coaching staff and added a key piece on the defensive side.

Jon Heacock was officially named the Cyclones defensive coordinator, the school announced Tuesday. Heacock was the defensive coordinator under Campbell at Toledo for the last two seasons and briefly served as the interim coach before the Rockets hired Jason Candle.

A deal was finalized in recent days between Heacock and Iowa State after multiple reports indicated weeks ago that he was the top target for the job. In addition to his role as a coordinator, Heacock will also coach ISU safeties.

'It's just a matter of dotting I's and crossing T's,” Campbell told The Gazette on Dec. 15. 'It will be somebody that I have a great familiarity with and somebody that I really trust.”

Heacock was the head coach at Youngstown State from 2001-09 and defensive coordinator for the Penguins from 1992-96 and 2000 under former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. He was also defensive coordinator at Indiana from 1997-99 and Kent State in 2011-12.

At Toledo, Heacock guided the Rockets to No. 1 in the MAC for rushing defense (116.2 yards per game) in 2014 after the team allowed 170.4 yards per game the year prior to his arrival.

'My family and I have been blessed these last two years working at Toledo,” Heacock said in a release. 'It's because of the opportunity I had working with Matt, Jason (Candle) and the players at Toledo that I am here today at Iowa State. The coaches and people at both places are outstanding.”

With the addition of Heacock, the only position on Campbell's staff that has yet to be formally announced is the quarterbacks coach. FootballScoop reported last week that Nevada assistant Jim Hofher would fill the ISU vacancy. Since that report, Hofher has changed the information on his personal Twitter account to represent Iowa State.