Peterson: Nate Scheelhaase's mission is to transform Iowa State's offense to respectability

AMES – The good money was on Nate Scheelhaase eventually becoming Iowa State coach Matt Campbell’s offensive coordinator, something that became quite apparent after players were consulted. Whether it happened now or later – it was happening. You can’t allow a valuable coach/recruiter/person to work on someone else’s sidelines.

So when Campbell needed a new coach to oversee his program’s offense, you knew Scheelhaase was next in line. Campbell knew it after talking to players who would play major roles in 2023 and beyond.

A players’ coach, Campbell met with some of the offensive players to discuss what they wanted in an offensive coordinator. What over the years has gone right, what’s gone wrong, and what could lead to future success? Campbell wanted their input.

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“We looked at our realignment process − how do we align our program the right way moving ourselves forward,” Campbell said last week. “We've had phenomenal coaches; we've had phenomenal people.

“One of the things that was evident is the right guy, after talking with some of our players and after being able to evaluate what was the best thing for Iowa State football moving forward − they said (Scheelhaase) was clearly the right answer, and so we're really excited about that.

“He’s done a great job.”

Campbell is a players’ coach, too. He consulted with them about maneuvering through the 2020 COVID season. He did it again shortly after this disappointing season, seeking their thoughts on the future of the Cyclones’ offense.

“Any decision that I'll ever make to bring somebody into our program − it starts with our kids,” Campbell said. “We have great kids. They've been here. They’re here. I want to know what they're looking for, and what's important to them.”

It’s part of the season-ending one-on-ones that coaches typically have with players.

“I always ask our kids after every season,” Campbell said, “this year, obviously a little bit sooner than later, because of the early exit of the football season − what are we doing really well here? What are we not doing really well?

“And then if you're the head football coach, what would you do? What are some of the things that you would correct within our program and our culture? It's every year. The feedback and the guidance of our kids is always great, because that's who we're serving. That's who we're leading.

“We got great feedback where we are in our program, and where we want to continue to go. It always gives me a guidance of some of those things. So, absolutely in any situation that we're hiring anybody that touches our kids − we're always going to get direction from our players.”

We've been eager to speak with Scheelhaase about his new job. Iowa State hasn't made him available to the media since he was promoted to coordinator. The 32-year-old Scheelhaase’s coaching progression is one rung below a head coaching position he’ll have sometime down the road.

A four-year Illinois starter, Scheelhaase is one of the best quarterbacks in Illini history. He was assistant director of football operations at his alma mater. He was a running backs coach and an offensive analyst on then-coach Lovie Smith’s staff.

Scheelhaase won the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2014 for the conference's greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastics. He owns two degrees — a bachelor’s in communication, and a master’s in sports management.

And he’s a people person.

“Connected with him right away,” former Iowa State running back Kene Nwangwu, now with the Minnesota Vikings, once told me. “We don’t just talk about plays, we talk about how the skills I have, or someone else might have, makes the plays work.

“It’s not like we’re running his plays. We were running plays that he adapted to our strengths. He’s a great teacher.”

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Scheelhaase even brought up the teaching profession during a 2018 interview.

“As a coach, I should be able to teach a math class,” he said. “If you can teach people a subject, you know what to look for and know what’s important with that subject, whether it’s math or football.

“Coaching and teaching are a lot of the same. A lot of the greatest people in the world are high school football coaches, in my opinion. They teach. They coach.”

For Scheelhaase, playing football was hereditary; his father, Nate Creer, played defensive back at Iowa between 1982-85.

“He coached me since I was a little kid,” Scheelhaase told me during that 2018 interview. “He played a whole lot of a role in my career. My passion came from sitting on the couch and watching football games with him on Sundays.”

And now Scheelhaase is in charge of resurrecting an Iowa State offense that slipped to one of the school’s lowest points. This quote from J.J. Kohl on signing day last week is worth resurrecting:

“I know Scheelhaase a lot,” the four-star quarterback recruit from Ankeny told me. “Knowing he’s the offensive coordinator – that was huge for me. I’m looking forward to working with him.

“I saw some of his crazy highlights when he played at Illinois. That helps, too, him playing the position that I play. He’ll be able to connect with me in that area.”

Scheelhaase isn’t just a players’ coach, he’s also got a keen eye for talent. Iowa State was already successfully recruiting Southeast Polk’s Abu Sama as a defensive back for the 2023 class. The idea changed after it became apparent no one could consistently stop him running the ball.

“Coach Scheelhaase saw potential in me as a running back,” Sama told me Monday. “That’s when he started talking to me a lot.

“He’s a good guy. He cares about his business. He’s energetic. It seems like he was really athletic back in his day. I bet he is still athletic.”

That's a good bet.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 51st year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, and on Twitter @RandyPete

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Peterson: Iowa State's Nate Scheelhaase is a future coaching star