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