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Matt Campbell's Staff Starting to Take Shape at Iowa State

The new head coach of the Cyclones has hit the ground running during his short time in office.

By RevDizz
Andrew Weber/Getty Images

Head Coach Matt Campbell has moved quickly in starting to fill out his staff. All of his known staff members so far have spent time with Campbell along the way, and the early hires seem to speak to two of his noted strengths as a coach; line play and recruiting.

WRNL will continue to update you here as more names are announced, but for now let's take a look at the first few coaches likely headed to Ames.

**LB & CB Coaches added 11/30 at 8.30pm**

**S&C Coach added 12/1 at 10:15am**

**Jason Candle headed back to Toledo 12/3 at 1:30pm**

Jason Candle - Accepted Job as Head Coach at Toledo (12/3)

Jason Candle served as Campbell's offensive coordinator/associate head coach for the last four years at Toledo, the last two of which he also coached quarterbacks. In 2014, Candle's offense led the MAC in scoring (36.6 ppg), total offense (490.5 ypg) and rushing offense (256.4 ypg). Perhaps most impressively, his top three signal callers all went down to injury that season, and the offense still produced.

Candle has consistently led a top-4 MAC offense and has heavily featured the running game throughout his tenure. He began his coaching career at Mount Union where Matt Campbell was the offensive coordinator at the time. In his time at Mount Union as OC and recruiting coordinator after Campbell's departure, Candle coached current NFL wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Cecil Shorts.

Tom Manning - Offensive Line Coach (Officially announced 12/1)

Serving as Toledo's offensive line coach for the last four years, Manning has produced multiple All-Conference linemen, including a second team All-American in Greg Mancz who was also the first lineman in MAC history to earn the conference's top player recognition (Vern Smith Leadership Award). Manning has had at least one first team All-Conference lineman each of the last three seasons, and in 2013 his line gave up just six sacks all season.

In addition to being a great position coach, Manning was also named one of Rivals' top recruiters among non-BCS schools in 2013. Manning and Campbell were both teammates at Mount Union, and Campbell was Manning's position coach during his senior season.

**You can read Tom Manning's full bio and his hiring announcement here.

Louis Ayeni - Running Backs Coach (Officially announced 11/30)

The popular notion among Cyclone Nation has been the wish to retain running backs coach Louis Ayeni, and for good reason. In his four years as running game coordinator and associate head coach for the Rockets, Ayeni led a rushing attack that finished in the top-5 of the conference each year. Always having an eye for talent, Ayeni was instrumental in the recruiting of both Kareem Hunt to Toledo and Mike Warren to Iowa State.

Look no further than Warren's production this year to see just how important retaining Coach Ayeni is for this program going forward.

Alex Golesh - Tight Ends Coach & Recruiting Coordinator (Officially announced 12/1)

We've heard that Coach Campbell is an aggressive recruiter in his own right, and an impressive name surfaced today that will shape Iowa State's recruiting going forward. Alex Golesh is headed to Ames after serving the last four years as a tight ends coach and special teams coordinator at Illinois.

If you want to read a bit from our Illini brethren on what this move means to Illinois, you can check that out here.

Golesh has a reputation as a great recruiter and has twice been named a Top 10 recruiter in the B1G by Scout and Rivals. He also served as recruiting coordinator during Campbell's time as OC for Toledo. Under his watch, Toledo brought in the #1 ranked class in the MAC by Rivals in both 2010 and 2011.

**You can read Alex Golesh's full bio and his hiring announcement here.

Tyson Veidt - Linebackers Coach (Officially announced 12/3)

Campbell wasn't bluffing when he said he wanted a staff full of recruiters at today's presser. This evening, he tabbed his recruiting coordinator from Toledo to join him in Ames. Veidt (pronounced VITE) also served as the Linebackers coach during his two year stint at Toledo. In his first season at Toledo, Veidt's linebackers were integral in a defense that led the MAC in rushing at a mere 116.2 ypg. Prior to joining Campbell and the Rockets, Veidt spent six years as head coach at Bluffton University where he helped turn that program around.

**You can read Tyson Veidt's full bio and his hiring announcement here.

D.K. McDonald Jr. - Cornerbacks Coach (Officially announced 12/1)

Serving as the Cornerbacks coach for Campbell's four year reign as head coach of the Rockets, McDonald led a secondary that ranked 18th nationally in interceptions in 2012. Prior to his time at Toledo, McDonald spent a year at William and Mary coaching the secondary, and spent time at Indiana University (PA) where he coached the secondary and served as recruiting coordinator. Going back even further, McDonald coached at his alma mater, Edinboro (PA), where his secondary led their division in scoring, rushing and total defense while ranking third in passing efficiency.

**You can read D.K. McDonald Jr.'s full bio and his hiring announcement here.

Rudy Wade

Wade has been the Strength and Conditioning Coach at Toledo for the last five years. Prior to that, he spent seven years in the same role at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He has also spent time in a smaller role at Notre Dame, Marquette and his alma mater of Bowling Green.

Check back here for more updates regarding Coach Campbell's staff as they become available.

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