AMES, Iowa – Courtney Messingham will start his fourth season on the Iowa State coaching staff as the Cyclones’ new offensive coordinator. Messingham, who spent his first two seasons as Iowa State’s tight end coach, will coach Cyclone quarterbacks in addition to his coordinator duties. As receivers coach in 2011, Messingham developed wide receiver Aaron Horne, who was the Big 12 Conference Offensive Newcomer of the Year. Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads made the announcement Wednesday.
“I am excited about Courtney taking over the reins of the offense,” Rhoads said. “Courtney has coached at every level of college football and has head coach and coordinator experience. He has earned this opportunity through hard work and positive results as a coach and as a recruiter. We have the right man.”
Iowa State veteran wide receiver Darius Reynolds had 43 catches under Messingham, including seven TD receptions in 2011. Darius Darks finished his career with 127 catches, ranking tied for seventh on the all-time Cyclone career list. Josh Lenz finished the season with 39 catches.
It was the contributions of Iowa State’s first-year receivers that garnered attention throughout the season. Horne had 38 receptions for 431 yards. Jarvis West had 25 receptions for 141 yards and Albert Gary 23 catches for 287 and two scores.
“I appreciate Paul Rhoads giving me this opportunity,” Messingham said. “This Iowa State football program is on the rise, and I’m fortunate to be a part of it. We have already started getting ready for the 2012 season.”
Messingham replaces Tom Herman, who left for the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State. Rhoads says there is no timetable for hiring a receivers coach but a search is underway.
Messingham was Iowa State’s tight ends coach his first two seasons in Ames. Most notably, second-team All-Big 12 tight end Collin Franklin posted the second most receptions for a tight end nationally in 2010, finishing the season with 54 catches for 530 yards and three touchdowns.
Messingham oversaw the Iowa State kickoff return and punt coverage teams. The Cyclones kickoff return unit ranked third in the Big 12 at 23.9 yards per return in 2011.
Freshman Jarvis West ranked second in the league at 25.95 yards per return. That figure ranks second in school career history among Cyclones that returned at least 20 career kickoffs. It ranks fifth in single-season school history.
Messingham’s punt-coverage unit ranked fourth nationally in 2009, allowing an average of only 2.19 yards per return.
A veteran coach of 22 years who played quarterback and defensive back at Northern Iowa, Messingham joined the Iowa State coaching staff as tight ends coach after leaving Missouri State in 2009. Messingham, a former head coach at Upper Iowa University and offensive coordinator at Missouri State, worked as special teams coordinator and receivers coach under former ISU associate head coach Terry Allen in 2008.
Before his latest tour of duty at Missouri State, Messingham coached three seasons at Southern Mississippi. That stint included two years as receivers coach (2005-06) and a season as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator (2007).
Messingham was head coach at Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa, in 2003 and 2004. He was on the Missouri State staff from 1999 to 2002 with one season as receivers coach and three seasons as offensive coordinator. Messingham was the offensive coordinator at Iowa Lakes Community College from 1993 to 1995 and offensive coordinator at St. Ambrose (Iowa) University during the 1991 and 1992 seasons.
Messingham graduated from Northern Iowa in 1990 and was a four-year letterwinner for the Panthers. The Waterloo native and his wife Carol, have a daughter, Taylor.
