COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Veidt joins the Nittany Lions following a two-year stint as the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati.
- During the 2025 campaign under Veidt, first-team All-Big 12 linebacker Jake Golday finished with 105 tackles while adding six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and three pass breakups. He ranked among the conference and national leaders in tackles per game (8.8) and has eight games with double-digit stops.
- During Veidt’s first season running the defense for the Bearcats, defensive tackle Dontay Corleone was recognized as an All-American by Phil Steele and College Football Network and overcame a difficult offseason to become a disruptive force on the line, collecting 26 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks.
- In his first collegiate season, linebacker Simeon Coleman received several freshman All-America accolades after logging 32 tackles, 4.5 TFL, and two QB hurries while registering 238 defensive snaps, more than any other true freshman linebacker in the Big 12.
- Fellow freshman Jiquan Sanks also enjoyed a successful rookie campaign under Veidt, tallying 42 tackles and making five starts in the secondary.
- Veidt also utilized new linebacker additions of Golday and Jared Bartlett, who both earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. Golday was rated among the Top 10 linebackers in the country according to Pro Football Focus and Bartlett ranked among the conference leaders in sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (11.5)
- Prior to his arrival at Cincinnati, Veidt spent eight seasons at Iowa State under Matt Campbell, where he built one of the best defenses in the Big 12 as the program’s associate head coach and linebackers coach. Veidt was named the National Linebacker Coach of the Year by Football Scoop in 2017. He was a nominee for the Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach, in 2018.
- From 2016 when Veidt landed at Iowa State until his departure, the Cyclones led the Big 12 in scoring defense (23.2), total defense (354.7), opponent yards per play (5.3), rushing defense (133.4) and yards per carry allowed (3.8). Additionally, Iowa State's 5.1 yards per play allowed from 2020-2023 was the ninth-fewest in the nation.
- Veidt coached a pair of All-America linebackers at ISU in Joel Lanning (2017) and Mike Rose (2020). Lanning was a quarterback his first four years of college before Veidt helped transform him into a star linebacker. Rose was the 2020 Big 12 Defensive MVP after leading the league in tackles (96) and interceptions (five).
- Overall, Veidt helped coach 45 all-conference defenders at Iowa State. Nine of his linebackers received All-Big 12 honors a total of 18 times. Three times (2017, 2018, 2019), all three of his starting linebackers received All-Big 12 recognition.
- Among his Iowa State linebackers were three-time All-Big 12 selection and former Cleveland Brown Willie Harvey and two-time All-Big 12 performer Jake Hummel, who played for the Los Angeles Rams from 2022-24 and currently plays for the Baltimore Ravens.
- Veidt's time at Iowa State coincided with the Cyclones' best stretch of success in school history. Iowa State went to six bowls in eight years and finished in the CFP Final Top 25 twice – No. 24 in 2018 and No. 10 in 2020.
- Iowa State had one of the best seasons in school history in 2020, finishing 9-3 overall and 8-1 in the Big 12, capping the season with a 34-17 victory over Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
- The Cyclones led the Big 12 and ranked eighth in the country in rush defense (103.1) in 2020.
- In 2023, the Cyclones ranked second in the Big 12 in total defense (363.2) and rush defense (134.2). Veidt mentored sophomore Caleb Bacon, who finished the 2023 season as the Power 5's fifth-highest rated linebacker (89.2), according to Pro Football Focus.
- In 2022, Iowa State had a historic defense, leading the Big 12 in scoring defense (20.2), total defense (285.6), rush defense (107.3) and pass defense (178.2). ISU's total defense also ranked fourth in the nation
- A Logan, Ohio native, Veidt also coached at Toledo from 2014 to 2015 and was the head coach at NCAA Division III Bluffton (Ohio) University from 2008 to 2013. Prior to his time at Bluffton, he made stops at Saint Vincent (Pa.), West Virginia, Muskingum and Indiana. In two years at Toledo, Veidt helped the Rockets to a 19-6 record and a pair of bowl wins.
- He served as the head coach at Bluffton for six seasons, guiding the Beavers to 40 school records, while turning around a program that won only one game the year before he arrived.
- Additionally, Veidt was a graduate assistant at Indiana and West Virginia, including the 2004 and 2005 Big East Champion teams.
PLAYING CAREER
- Veidt attended Muskingum College where he was a two-year starter on the football team, earning three letters from 1994-96.
- He received Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors on three occasions.
PERSONAL
- Veidt earned his degree in pre-physical therapy from Muskingum in 1996.
- He and his wife, Mandy, have a son, Teddy, and twin girls, Lamonica and Guiliana.
THE VEIDT FILE
Personal
Year at Penn State: 1st
Hometown: Logan, Ohio
Education: Muskingum, 1996 – B.S. Pre-Physical Therapy
Family: Wife: Mandy; Son: Teddy; Daughters: Lamonica, Guiliana
Coaching Career
2026-: Penn State [Linebackers]
2024-25: Cincinnati [Defensive Coordinator]
2016-23: Iowa State [Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers]
2014-15: Toledo [Linebackers, Recruiting Coordinator]
2008-13: Bluffton [OH] [Head Coach]
2006-07: Saint Vincent [PA] [Defensive Coordinator]
2004-05: West Virginia [Graduate Assistant]
2000-03: Muskingum [Defensive Coordinator]
1999: Indiana [Graduate Assistant]
1997-98: Muskingum [Graduate Assistant]
Playing Experience
1992-95: Muskingum
Postseason as a Coach
2025: AutoZone Liberty Bowl [Cincinnati]
2023: AutoZone Liberty Bowl [Iowa State]
2021: Cheez-It Bowl [Iowa State]
2020: PlayStation Fiesta Bowl [Iowa State]
2019: Camping World Bowl [Iowa State]
2018: Valero Alamo Bowl [Iowa State]
2017: AutoZone Liberty Bowl [Iowa State]
2015: Boca Raton Bowl [Toledo]
2014: GoDaddy Bowl [Toledo]
2005: Sugar Bowl [West Virginia]
2004: Gator Bowl [West Virginia]
Prominent Players Coached
Jared Bartlett [Cincinnati]: Arizona Cardinals
Jake Golday [Cincinnati]: 2025 First-Team All-Big 12
Willie Harvey [Iowa State]: NFL [2019-24]
Jake Hummel [Iowa State]: Baltimore Ravens
Mike Rose [Iowa State]: 2020 Big 12 Player of the Year