Penn State football is set to hire Iowa State’s Jon Heacock, Pete Nakos reports for On3. The move comes just days after the Nittany Lions hired Matt Campbell as their new head coach. The two former Cyclones worked together for 10 seasons. His role with Penn State is still unclear.

Heacock joins Penn State after spending 10 seasons in Ames, Iowa, consistently churning out one of the best defenses in the country. He was a finalist for the Broyles Award in 2017 and was a nominee in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Heacock has famously used his 3-4 defense, but also goes into a 4-3 from time to time against Big 12 opponents. This system worked the best in 2022 when Iowa State ranked in the top 20 in passing defense, rushing defense, and scoring defense. Opposing teams scored just 7.6 points in the second half per game.

The 65-year-old has been coaching for over 40 years, including stops as defensive coordinator at Indiana and Kent State. He also spent nine seasons as the head coach of Youngstown State, a role he later resigned from.

Both Campbell and Heacock have been known for their developmental programs. While not landing a lot of blue-chip recruits, players such as Will McDonald IV, Darien Porter, and Anthony Johnson Jr. have all been drafted from the Cylcones in the past three years.