What to expect from the Iowa State football team's offense and its new boss

AMES – Staff consistency has long been one of the hallmarks of and a driving force behind the success Iowa State football has enjoyed under coach Matt Campbell.

The Cyclones' staff, after one disappointing season followed by a near-disastrous one, has experienced a considerable shakeup, at least on the offensive side of the ball.

The Cyclones have a new coordinator and new faces at all but one position as they look to rebound from a season that ended with an overall mark of 4-8 and a Big 12 record of 1-8. The team was dragged down largely by an offense that was the league’s worst and ranked 114th nationally in scoring.

Campbell, who previously had little turnover on his staff, largely downplayed the enormity of the moving pieces.

“A little bit of realignment,” Campbell said when meeting with reporters Wednesday. “You look at what we’ve done here, over the course of that last seven years, we’ve had phenomenal offense. The best offense in the history of this school over the course of seven years.”

Yes, Iowa State had tremendous offenses as it went to six straight bowl games and enjoyed the historic success of 2020. But there were signs of regression in 2021 and the bottom fell out in 2022, when the Cyclones averaged 16.3 points per game during Big 12 play, nine points worse than the second-to-last offense in the league.

That meant the departure of coordinator Tom Manning, offensive line coach Jeff Myers and quarterbacks coach Joel Gordon.

Now, Nate Scheelhaase moves from wide receivers and running backs coach to offensive coordinator (along with coaching quarterbacks). Iowa State hired Ryan Clanton (offensive line), Jordan Langs (running backs/special teams) and Noah Pauley (wide receivers). Taylor Mouser is the lone person in the same place, retaining responsibility for tight ends.

What, exactly does it all mean for Iowa State heading into a 2023 season that will have the Cyclones navigating the new 14-team Big 12?

Are changes coming?

Just how significantly will the offense change from Manning to Scheelhaase?

Not much from a big-picture perspective, based on what Campbell had to say.

“When you look at what we’ve done and who we are, that’s not the issue,” Campbell said of the team’s offensive strategy. “The reality is it’s not a matter of scheme, it’ s a matter of how we do what we do and the consistency we do it with.

“When I look at the scheme aspect of it – obviously you're going to look at that and we’re doing a lot of that right now – but are you going to see us all of a sudden be something we’re not? Absolutely not.”

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In other words, don’t expect an overhaul that makes Iowa State an Air Raid team or a triple-option adherent.

Campbell highlighted a new strength and conditioning staff as an aspect of change that he believes will aid in an increase in offensive consistency as well. Mostly, though, Campbell did not go into specifics on how the changes may manifest themselves.

“I think everything that has been restructured,” Campbell said, “consistency of what we do and how we do what we do is really important.”

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So what’s the identity?

Scheelhaase may be inheriting a scheme from Manning and Campbell, but he has his vision for what it will look like on game days for the Cyclones.

“I expect to be physical in the run game and explosive in the pass game,” Scheelhaase said. “Efficiency in both of those realms is really important.

“To run good, sound plays that are going to consistently get us yards and, ultimately, create opportunities to create explosive plays.”

As one might suspect, Scheelhaase agrees with his boss that the ingredients to reviving the offense remain the same, though a new cook will be tasked with putting them together.

“The benefit that I have from being here is knowing the things that have allowed this place to be successful,” Scheelhaase, who came to Iowa State in 2018, said. “At the end of the day, there’s a certain way that the Iowa State offense in this conference has to look, and us starting off with being physical in the run game, us being able to create explosive plays in the pass game has given us a great recipe for success.

“We’ve got to dial that up and figure out the best way to do that.”

What’s the quarterback situation?

Iowa State’s play at quarterback was predictably shakier after it moved on from Brock Purdy, the most accomplished signal caller in program history, to rookie starter Hunter Dekkers in 2021.

Dekkers threw for more than 3,000 yards to go along with 19 touchdowns and a 66.1 completion percentage, but his 14 interceptions were the third-most in the country.

At first glance, it wouldn’t appear there’s serious preseason pressure to unseat him.

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Despite all the picks and the team’s 1-8 Big 12 record, Iowa State never turned to backup Rocco Becht until Dekkers was hurt in the season finale at TCU. Ankeny's JJ Kohl entered the program this winter as one of the program’s best-regarded recruits, but it’s difficult to imagine him dislodging a returning starter in his fourth year in the program.

“I look back on his film, and there’s a lot of really, really good things that he did,” Scheelhaase said of Dekkers. “There’s a lot that gives you confidence as a coach that he can go out there and have an incredible season. There’s a lot that he has to work through, a lot he has to grow at.”

Campbell is also betting that Scheelhaase, a four-year starter at quarterback for Illinois a decade ago, can help improve the position’s production.

“He’s been the guy with the ball in his hands,” Campbell said. “The development of that position and understanding what that position looks and feels like, I felt like that was important as we continued on to build a staff that maybe home for Nate was to be able to coach the quarterbacks and lead from the quarterback position."

Scheelhaase’s understanding of the position might point him to Dekkers as well.

“The reps that he was able to work through last year, I know that position, it makes you a lot better,” Scheelhaase said. “To have Year 1 and Season 1 and to go through tough moments, not only does he sit there and realize, ‘Yeah, man, I probably should have played the other side of the play because (of the defensive alignment), but you realize what it is like being a Power 5, Division I quarterback and the weight that you carry with that.

“I think that as much as anything, having gone through adversity like he went through, can allow him to grow. Sometimes those are the type of lessons you can learn going though it. I’m excited to see his progress coming out of that.”

Ultimately, though, Scheelhaase recognizes the importance of the position, regardless of who eventually takes snaps there.

“When it comes to the quarterback position, seeing it done well here at Iowa State, it’s critical for our success,” he said. “I don’t think there’s ever been a time we’ve played really good football without the quarterback playing consistently. That’s the excitement of it - if we can do that really well, I think it will give us a chance as a team to go out and execute at a high end, and, ultimately, have the type of season we’re hoping for.”

A rookie offensive coordinator

Scheelhaase, 32, is hardly removed from his own collegiate playing career, and he has quickly moved up the coaching ranks to one of the most coveted positions in the profession less than a decade into his coaching career.

Campbell has spoken glowingly of him since his arrival as the running backs coach in 2018, but taking over the entire offense is a new challenge. Campbell believes he has surrounded Scheelhaase with the right people to have success.

“As we set out to hire a staff, really important for us to get guys that have been in that position, too,” Campbell said.

All of Iowa State’s new hires have either been offensive coordinator or head coach at their previous stops.

“Surrounding myself with a staff that had unique experiences, that really could help us put something together to not just be really good position coaches,” Scheelhaase said, “but for us to put together an offense that can be really successful.

“Adding coaches with coordinator experience, adding coaches with head coaching experience was an important part.”

Scheelhaase has been able to pick the brain of defensive coordinator Jon Heacock, who has been in the business for 40 years and has had huge success as head of the Cyclones’ defense.

“You have to be who you are. If you do that, that will be enough,” Heacock said of his message to Scheelhaase. “He was put in that position because he earned the right to be in it. That speaks for itself.

"Now you’ve got to think for everybody else and you've got to coordinate all the guys in that room and make sure they’re on the same sentence. It adds a little more to your plate, but he can certainly handle it.”

Perhaps the biggest learning curve, though, will be in the highest-profile and most public aspect of Scheelhaase’s new job: play-calling.

“I feel like I’ve been down this road,” Campbell said of having four rookie play-callers during his time as head coach as well as his own experience of being a first-time offensive coordinator.

The situation makes the coming months feel like practice for more than just the players.

“When you have such a competitive, young team, one of the nice things you’re able to do in practice is you’re able to mimic some of the game-like situations,” Campbell said. “You've got so much competition from spring practice to fall camp, I think you can put those play-callers in a situation to grow and learn, too, because that’s part of a growth process.”

It’s a process, though, with incredibly high stakes as Scheelhaase – and Campbell – will largely be judged by how quickly the new coordinator is able to perform that job function against some of the best defensive minds in the country.

“Those (practices) are good opportunities to sit back and figure the best way we’re going to go about that,” Scheelhaase said. “The best way I’m going to feel comfortable in a gameday environment to be able to do that. You’re not getting out there in September and saying, ‘Let’s try this today.’

“There will be a bunch of great opportunities in the next seven months leading up to this fall that I think will bring great opportunities to grow and great opportunities to get ready for those 12 Saturdays this fall.”

Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State's new offense may have a similar look after all