Penn State adds two Iowa State offensive coaches to Matt Campbell’s staff

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State announced Thursday the addition of two offensive coaches who will join Matt Campbell in Happy Valley.

Noah Pauley will serve as wide receivers coach and Jake Waters will be the quarterbacks coach. Both held the same titles at Iowa State this past season.

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Pauley spent the last three seasons as the Cyclones’ wide receivers coach and added passing game coordinator duties in 2025. The 36-year-old started as a receivers coach with Minnesota Duluth in 2016 before stops at North Dakota State and Iowa State in the same position.

Pauley is known for his player development skills. At North Dakota State, he coached the Green Bay Packers’ Christian Watson from a two-star wide receiver to a second-round NFL draft pick.

In 2024, Pauley developed the Texans’ Jayden Higgins, a two-star receiver, and Jaylin Noel, a three-star receiver, into second-and third-round picks, respectively. Under Pauley’s tutelage, Noel and Higgins became the first duo in Cyclones history to have 1,000-yard seasons in the same campaign.

Pauley won the 2024 FootballScoop.com National Wide Receivers Coach of the Year for his work with Noel, Higgins, among others.

Now, he joins a Penn State receiver room that has not produced an NFL draft pick since 2023.

Waters, an All-Big 12 quarterback at Kansas State in 2014, spent the last two seasons as Iowa State’s quarterbacks coach after serving the previous three as the Cyclones offensive quality control coach.

In the 33-year-old’s first campaign as quarterbacks coach, the Cyclones scored the most offensive touchdowns (52) in a single season.

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Waters spent the last two seasons coaching Rocco Becht, QB who passed for more than 6,000 yards and 41 touchdowns under Waters’ tutelage. Becht, who has an additional year of eligibility, is considered a potential target for Penn State, should he enter the transfer portal.

Waters replaces Danny O’Brien, who served as the Nittany Lions’ quarterbacks coach since 2021 before joining James Franklin’s staff at Virginia Tech in the same role. Trace McSorley, who played quarterback at Penn State from 2014-18 and was on Franklin’s staff as the assistant QBs coach in 2025, is expected to remain on Campbell’s staff, according to On3.