UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Football has announced two additions to its staff for the 2026 season. Noah Pauley will coach wide receivers and Jake Waters will coach quarterbacks. Pauley and Waters both previously were on Campbell’s staff at Iowa State coaching the same position groups.
With the addition of Pauley and Waters, the following have officially joined head coach Matt Campbell in Happy Valley and will be a part of the 2026 staff. Titles are subject to change:
- Taylor Mouser – Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends
- Deon Broomfield – Secondary
- Ryan Clanton – Offensive Line
- Noah Pauley – Wide Receivers
- Jake Waters - Quarterbacks
- Skip Brabenec – Football Chief of Staff
- Derek Hoodjer – General Manager
- Aaron Hillmann – Director of Sports Performance Operations
- Reid Kagy – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
- Brandon Pietrzyk – Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach
- Trent Slattenow – Director of Player Personnel
- Jack Griffith – Recruiting Assistant
COACHING STAFF BIOS
JAKE WATERS – QUARTERBACKS
COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Jake Waters joins the Nittany Lions as quarterbacks coach following six combined years on the Iowa State staff, including the last two seasons as quarterbacks coach.
- He returned to Iowa State as a senior quality control assistant for the Cyclone offense in 2021 after serving as a graduate assistant for the program in 2017.
- Waters tutored quarterback Rocco Becht in 2024 and 2025, who has started 39-straight games at quarterback for Iowa State, the longest active streak among Big 12 quarterbacks and fourth-longest in the nation among quarterbacks.
- Becht owns 26 career victories at Iowa State, the most by any active Big 12 quarterback and tied for the fourth-most among active FBS quarterbacks.
- The 2024 Cyclones recorded the greatest season in school history, reaching double-digit wins for the first time and finishing the season 11-3 overall and 7-2 in Big 12 Conference play.
- The Cyclones started 7-0, the best start in school history, and reached the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship game for the second time in 133 seasons.
- Offensively, the Cyclone offense averaged 31.3 points and 416.2 yards per game, both of which ranked in the top 10 in program history. No Cyclone team scored more offensive touchdowns than the 2024 team (52).
- Waters guided Becht to one of the best seasons by a signal-caller the program has ever seen, as he earned All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades after passing for 3,505 yards and 25 touchdowns, both of which ranked second in the school's annals.
- Becht rushed for eight touchdowns and led the Cyclones to four game-winning drives in the final two minutes, including the Pop-Tarts Bowl win against the Miami Hurricanes. Becht was named the MVP of the bowl game.
- In 2023, with Waters’ assistance, Becht earned Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors and was also named a second-team Freshman All-American by The Athletic.
- Becht broke every Iowa State freshman passing record, throwing for more than 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns.
- The Cyclone offensive attack tallied a nation's best 11 offensive touchdowns of 50 yards or more. Iowa State was 31-for-33 (93.9) in the red zone, leading the Big 12 Conference and ranking seventh nationally, while leading the league and ranking 10th nationally with just 11 turnovers lost.
- The Cyclones recorded the fourth-best scoring average (31.3) and the fifth-best total offense (424.5), respectively, in the history of the program in 2021. ISU also ranked second nationally in red zone offense, converting on 47-of-49 trips for a 95.9 percent clip, as the Cyclones earned a trip to the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl.
- Waters had a three-year stint at UTEP (2018-20) as an offensive assistant coach on Dana Dimel’s staff. Waters worked with the tight ends, fullbacks and wide receivers during his time with the Miners.
- He helped mentor David Lucero into one of the top tight ends in the league in 2018, ranking second on the team in receiving yards (322) while hauling in a pair of touchdowns.
- Waters’ initial coaching experience at the FBS level was in 2017 when Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell hired him as a graduate assistant for the offense.
- The Cyclones thrived that season, tying a school-record with three wins over ranked opponents (Oklahoma, TCU, Memphis) and finishing the year with an 8-5 record and a victory in the Liberty Bowl.
- Waters was a volunteer quarterbacks coach at Iowa Western Community College for two seasons (2015-16) prior to his first stint at Iowa State.
PLAYING CAREER
- Waters had an outstanding two-year career as the quarterback at Kansas State (2013-14), compiling a 17-9 record as a starter. He was an All-Big 12 second team honoree in 2014, breaking school career records for completion percentage and passing efficiency.
- He transferred to Kansas State after a strong career at Iowa Western, earning first team All-America honors and was the NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year in 2012.
PERSONAL
- A native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Waters earned his degree in liberal studies from Kansas State in 2014.
THE WATERS FILE
Personal
Year at Penn State: 1st
Hometown: Councils Bluff, Iowa
Education: Kansas State, 2014 – B.S. Business Administration
Family: Wife: Megan; Daughter: Wesle
Coaching Career
2026-: Penn State [Quarterbacks]
2024-25: Iowa State [Quarterbacks]
2021-23: Iowa State [Senior Quality Control/Offense]
2018-20: UTEP [Wide Receivers]
2017: Iowa State [Graduate Assistant]
2015-16: Iowa Western [Volunteer Quarterbacks]
Playing Experience
2013-14: Kansas State
2011-12: Iowa Western
Postseason as a Coach
2025: Qualified for a bowl, but did not accept invitation
2024: Pop-Tarts Bowl [Iowa State]
2023: AutoZone Liberty Bowl [Iowa State]
2021: Cheez-It Bowl [Iowa State]
2017: AutoZone Liberty Bowl [Iowa State]
2016: Graphic Edge Bowl [Iowa Western]
2015: Graphic Edge Bowl [Iowa Western]
Prominent Players Coached
Rocco Becht [Iowa State]: 39-game starting quarterback at Iowa State
Brock Purdy [Iowa State]: San Francisco 49ers; 2022 seventh-round pick; Played in Super Bowl LVII
NOAH PAULEY – WIDE RECEIVERS
COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Noah Pauley, the 2024 FootballScoop.com National Wide Receivers Coach of the Year, joins the Nittany Lions following a three-year stint coaching wideouts at Iowa State.
- He added pass game coordinator to his duties in 2024 with the Cyclones.
- During the 2025 campaign, Pauley tutored wide receivers Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell, both who were All-Big 12 honorable mention honorees.
- The 2024 season was one of the best in school history and it was led by arguably the best wide receiving duo in college football. The Cyclones finished 11-3 overall, the first double-digit win season in program history, and reached the Big 12 Championship game before defeating Miami in a thrilling Pop-Tarts Bowl.
- Wide receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins made their marks in the Cyclone record books as the first duo in school history and one of just two pairs nationally with 1,000 receiving yards.
- Higgins finished the season with 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdown catches, while Noel had 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight touchdowns. Both players were top 10 nationally in receiving yards and combined for 10 100-yard receiving games in 2024.
- Noel finished his career with a reception in 46-straight games, while Higgins had a catch in all 26 games he played as a Cyclone. Both players are among Iowa State's top 10 for career receptions, touchdown receptions, receiving yards, 100-yard receiving games and consecutive games with a reception.
- Higgins earned Associated Press third-team All-America honors, while Noel was an All-Big 12 honorable mention selection in 2024.
- In his first season in Ames, Pauley helped the Cyclone wide receivers to one of the most productive seasons in recent history. Noel (7) and Higgins (6) combined for 13 touchdown receptions. The pair finished with a combined 119 receptions and 1,803 yards, which included a combined seven receptions for 50-plus yards.
- Daniel Jackson had his best season as a Cyclone with Pauley's tutelage, finishing with career highs for receptions (16), yards (260) and touchdowns (2) in his fourth season on campus.
- Noel earned second-team All-Big 12 accolades, while Higgins received honorable mention recognition.
- As a team, the Cyclones earned a trip to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and finished the season 7-6 overall and 6-3 in Big 12 play, posting the largest conference win improvement (+5) among Power-5 teams.
- Prior to Iowa State, Pauley coached the same position at North Dakota State.
- Pauley had been on staff at NDSU from 2019-22, helping lead the Bison to two Missouri Valley Football Conference championships and two NCAA Division I FCS national championships.
- He coached Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson, who was an FCS All-American and three-time all-conference selection at NDSU. Watson led the Bison in receiving three-straight seasons, including a career-best 43 receptions, 801 yards and seven touchdowns in 2021.
- The 2019 NDSU receiving unit helped record the third-most passing yards (2,911) and touchdowns (29) in school history as the Bison went 16-0 and won the national title with a victory over James Madison.
- North Dakota State also won the national championship in 2021, finishing 14-1 and beating Montana State in the title game.
- While at North Dakota State in the summer of 2022, Pauley worked with the Packers to focus on wide receivers as part of the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.
- Pauley joined the NDSU coaching staff following a five-year stint at his alma mater, Minnesota-Duluth. With the Bulldogs, he was a graduate assistant from 2013-14 and served as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2016-18. Between stints, he was the assistant dean of students and athletics director at North Star Academy in Duluth.
- He coached six all-conference wide receivers at UMD, including All-America receiver and return specialist Aaron Roth.
PLAYING CAREER
- The Duluth, Minnesota, native, was a four-year starter for UMD from 2007-10.
- He played on teams that went 45-8 and won two Division II national championships before joining the Bulldogs staff as a student assistant for the 2011 season.
PERSONAL
- Pauley earned his bachelor's degree in criminology from Minnesota-Duluth in 2012 and a master's degree in education from the school in 2014.
- He is married to Hannah and the couple has two daughters, Ada and Lena.
THE PAULEY FILE
Personal
Year at Penn State: 1st
Hometown: Duluth, Minnesota
Education: Minnesota-Duluth, 2012 - B.S. Criminology; M.A. Education, 2014
Family: Wife: Hannah; Daughters: Ada, Lena
Coaching Career
2026-: Penn State [Wide Receivers]
2024-25: Iowa State [Pass Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers]
2023-24: Iowa State [Wide Receivers]
2019-22: North Dakota State [Wide Receivers]
2016-18: Minnesota-Duluth [Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers]
2013-14: Minnesota-Duluth [Graduate Assistant]
2011: Minnesota-Duluth [Student Assistant]
Playing Experience
2007-10: Minnesota-Duluth
Postseason as a Coach
2025: Qualified for a bowl, but did not accept invitation
2024: Pop-Tarts Bowl [Iowa State]
2023: AutoZone Liberty Bowl [Iowa State]
2023: AutoZone Liberty Bowl [Iowa State]
2023: AutoZone Liberty Bowl [Iowa State]
2022: FCS National Runner-Up [North Dakota State]
2021: FCS National Champions [North Dakota State]
2020: FCS Quarterfinals [North Dakota State]
2019: FCS National Champions [North Dakota State]
Prominent Players Coached
Jayden Higgins [Iowa State]: Houston Texans; 2025 second-round pick
Jaylin Noel [Iowa State]: Houston Texans; 2025 third-round pick
Darius Shepherd [North Dakota State]: NFL [2019-23]
Christian Watson [North Dakota State]: Green Bay Packers; 2022 third-round pick
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and ticket information for the 2026 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU, as well as club seating in West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.GoPSUsports.com, or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.