AMES – Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell has announced the addition of Jordan Langs as running backs coach/special teams coordinator and Hank Poteat as cornerbacks coach.
Langs’ hire is pending the completion of background checks.
Jordan Langs
Langs, who was twice named Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast Coach of the Year while serving as head coach at Indiana Wesleyan the last six years, joins the Cyclone coaching staff as running back coach and special teams coordinator.
“Jordan is an experienced leader of men that has been successful as a head coach,” Campbell said. “His teams have followed his leadership and had success both on the field and in the classroom. He’s developed players and built a program from the ground up. We are excited to add someone with his experience to our coaching staff.”
At Indiana Wesleyan, Langs was charged with starting the program in 2016 and under his oversight it rose into an NAIA powerhouse that went 11-2 in 2022, was ranked No. 5 in the final regular season coaches poll and advanced to the NAIA FCS Semifinals. The Wildcats had 21 players earn all-conference recognition in 2022, while wide receiver Jacquez Carter earned AFCA First Team All-America honors and was MSFA Offensive Player of the Year.
On special teams, Indiana Wesleyan was seventh nationally with a 15.5 punt return average last season.
While leading the Wildcats, Langs posted an overall record of 33-15 (.688), while going 16-9 in MSFA Mideast play. He was selected to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 35 under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute in 2019 and was AFCA NAIA Region 2 Coach of the Year this season.
Langs coached eight Indiana Wesleyan players to NAIA All-America honors and 64 times his team had players that received MSFA All-Conference accolades. Additionally, Langs’ teams had two MSFA Midwest Offensive Player of the Year winners. His team also had great success in the classroom with 89 MSFA All-Academic honorees and one student-athlete being named a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American.
Prior to Indiana Wesleyan, Langs spent five seasons (2012-16) coaching at his alma mater, NCAA Division III Wheaton (Ill.). He was the defensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015 after serving as the defensive backs coach his first two seasons on the staff.
In his four years at Wheaton, the Thunder posted a 38-6 record. They won back-to-back College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) titles and were 22-2 with Langs serving as defensive coordinator. In those two seasons, Wheaton was 10-0 in both regular seasons and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Langs, a Climax, Michigan, native, was a four-year letterwinner at defensive back and linebacker for Wheaton. He was twice named to the D3Football.com Team of the Week.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in history/social science in 2012.
Hank Poteat
Poteat is a former Super Bowl winner and 10-year NFL veteran who spent the previous two seasons at Wisconsin coaching the cornerbacks after a successful run coaching in the Mid-American Conference.
“Hank has been successful as a player, both at the collegiate and professional level, and that has carried over to him being successful as a coach,” Campbell said. “The players that have trained under him have had great success as well. I look forward to watching him lead the young men in our cornerback room.”
In 2022, Poteat’s defensive unit contributed in Wisconsin finishing 10th nationally in total defense (303.5 yards per game) and seventh with 17 interceptions.
In his first year at Wisconsin, both of the Badger’s full-time starters at cornerback, Faion Hicks and Caesar Dancy-Williams, earned All-Big Ten honors. Hicks was selected in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos while Dancy-Williams signed a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Rams.
Poteat arrived at Wisconsin after serving as Toledo’s cornerbacks coach from 2017-20, where he helped the Rockets win the MAC title and rank No. 22 nationally in passing efficiency defense in his first season.
The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native, coached many successful players during his time at Toledo, including Samuel Womack – who ranked in a tie for fourth nationally with 15 pass breakups as a junior in 2019 and was named first-team All-MAC by Pro Football Focus in 2020 – and Ka’dar Hollman, who began his career as a walk-on and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2019.
He also helped produce three All-MAC cornerbacks during his two seasons at Kent State in Najee Murray, Jerrell Foster and Demetrius Monday while coaching the Golden Flashes from 2015-16.
Poteat was a graduate assistant at his alma mater Pittsburgh in 2013-14 and cornerbacks coach at Kentucky Christian in 2011-12.
Prior to coaching, Poteat was a standout cornerback and kick returner at Pittsburgh from 1996-99, earning first-team All-Big East honors as a junior and senior. He finished his career holding the school records for kick return yards in a season (764 in 1998) and a career (2,010).
Poteat was a third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played for five teams over 10 seasons, earning a Super Bowl ring as a member of the 2004 New England Patriots.
He also played for Tampa Bay, the New York Jets and Cleveland during his professional career.
Poteat graduated from Pittsburgh in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences.
