FootballScoop is proud to announce that Tyson Vedit is the 2017 FootballScoop Linebackers Coach of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
Iowa State was one of the darlings of the 2017 college football season. Coming off a 3-9 season, the Cyclones rose to as high as No. 14 in the polls, the program's highest ranking since 2002, after stunning then-No. 3 Oklahoma and then-No. 4 TCU over the course of four October weeks. And all of it was made possible thanks to exceptional linebacker play.
The Cyclones were led by Joel Lanning, a former quarterback whom Veidt turned into a First Team All-American. Lanning finished second in the Big 12 with 110 tackles to go with 10 tackles for loss and five sacks, first in the conference among linebackers. Lanning posted 20 tackles against Texas, 14 in a win over Texas Tech, 11 against Iowa and 16 combined in upsets of the Sooners and Frogs. He also snared one interception while rushing 34 times for 115 yards and a touchdown and completing 3-of-4 passes for 75 yards and another score.
Joining Lanning atop the Iowa State tackles list was sophomore Marcel Spears, Jr., who collected 97 tackles, six TFLs and two interceptions, including one pick-six.
Lanning and Spears made Iowa State one of just a handful of teams in college football to have two players register at least 97 tackles.
Additionally, junior Willie Harvey added 71 tackles with 10 TFLs, four sacks and one pick-six on the season.
As a team, Iowa State ranked 46th nationally in total defense (up from 102nd a year ago), 48th in yards per play (86th), and 51st in scoring defense, a 20 spot improvement from 2016. The Cyclones also reduced the number of 10-plus yard gains allowed by 14 percent, improving from 81st nationally to 59th, and improved their third down defense by three percent.
Iowa State limited Oklahoma to its second-fewest scoring output (31) of the season, TCU to its fewest (7).
Vedit, who also serves as Iowa State's assistant head coach, joined Matt Campbell in coming over from Toledo to Ames. Prior to joining the Toledo staff, Veidt was the head coach at Bluffton University (D-III - OH). A graduate of Ohio's Muskingum University, Veidt started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater from 1997-98 and, after a GA stint at Indiana, returned in 2000 as defensive coordinator. He spent two seasons on Rich Rodriguez's West Virginia staff as a GA before serving as defensive coordinator at Saint Vincent College from 2006-07.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Bob Gregory [Washington], Scottie Hazelton [Wyoming], Shane Hunter/Kelly Poppinga [Virginia], Todd Orlando [Texas], Glenn Schumann/Kevin Sherrer [Georgia] and Veidt) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Veidt will receive his award and be recognized at an event at the AFCA Convention in January.
Previous winners of the Linebackers Coach of the Year award are Bill McGovern (Boston College, 2008), Bob Fraser (Rutgers, 2009), Luke Fickell (Ohio State, 2010), Dave Huxtable (Wisconsin, 2011), Bob Gregory (Boise State, 2012), Jim Reid and LeVar Woods (Iowa, 2013), Jeff Casteel (Arizona, 2014), Dave Aranda and Tim Tibesear (Wisconsin, 2015) and Mike Siravo (Temple, 2016).
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