Jim Hofher - Football Coach - Iowa State University Athletics

Jim Hofher

Title:
Passing Game Coordinator
Email:
jhofher@iastate.edu
Phone:
4-6721

Jim Hofher, who owns 37 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 13 years as a head coach in Division I, is in his third season on the Cyclone football staff.

Hofher, who was the passing game coordinator at ISU from 2016-17, assists the Cyclone offense as senior offensive analyst/assistant to the head coach.

Hofher has served as a head coach twice during his career, leading Buffalo for five seasons from 2001-05 and Cornell for eight seasons in 1990-97. He holds the highest winning percentage by a coach in Cornell's modern history and he led Buffalo to the program's first-ever wins over opponents from the Big East (Rutgers and UConn), Conference USA (Central Florida) and independent schools (Army).

Hofher, a former college quarterback at Cornell, made an immediate impression on the Cyclone offense in his first two seasons in Ames.

Shuffling three quarterbacks who earned starts in 2017, the Cyclones never missed a step, recording one of the best seasons in the history of the program. The Cyclones compiled an 8-5 record, the second-most wins in school history, and scored a victory in the 2017 Liberty Bowl over Memphis, only the fourth bowl win in the history of the program.

Iowa State also broke its school record for wins over ranked opponents (3), victories on the road (5) and appeared in the AP national rankings for the first time in 12 years.

His work with Kyle Kempt in 2017 will go down in the annals. Kempt, a fifth-year senior who had attempted just two passes in his career, earned his first career start against No. 3 Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., on Oct. 7^th.

Under Hofher’s guidance, Kempt threw for 343 yards (18-of-24) and three touchdowns to lead the Cyclones to a 38-31 victory, the school’s first win over a top-five opponent on the road.

Kempt continued his success throughout the season, going 5-3 as a starter and breaking the school record for completion percentage in a season at 66.3 percent. He also passed for 15 touchdowns in just eight games, tying for fifth on ISU’s season chart.

Freshman quarterback Zeb Noland also thrived under Hofher’s coaching. Spelling an injured Kempt in the second half vs. Oklahoma State, Noland threw for 263 yards, the fifth-best single-game rookie total in ISU history. Noland also won in his first career start at Baylor.

By the end of the season, the Cyclone passing attack was the best in school history, breaking the school record and ranking 30^th nationally in passing yards per game (272.9). ISU also set a school record with five 300-yard passing games and accumulated 27 passing touchdowns, the second-best total in school history.

Three of the top four players on ISU’s career passer rating list (1. Kempt, 146.1; 2. Jacob Park, 137.1; 4. Joel Lanning, 130.6) and three of the top eight quarterbacks on ISU’s career completion percentage chart (1. Kempt, 66.5; 2. Park, 60.1; 8. Lanning, 57.1) are Hofher protégés.

Mic'd Up With Jim Hofher

In 2016, Hofher successfully navigated a dual-QB system with both Park and Lanning.

The duo combined for over 3,000 yards passing – ranking second all-time in passing yards per game at 258.8 – and produced two of the top three passer efficiency games in the history of the program (235.56 vs. Texas Tech; 224.29 vs. San Jose State).

The Cyclones recorded four 300-yard passing games during the year, including two alone by Park, who showed incredible promise late in the season as the primary signal-caller. Park ended the season by completing 58.8 percent of his passes, the 11th-best tally in school history.

Hofher was an assistant head coach and wide receivers coach at Nevada from 2013-15, helping the Wolfpack qualify to bowl games in 2014 and 2015. Nevada finished 7-6 and played in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl in 2014 and participated in the Arizona Bowl in 2015.

Nevada defeated Colorado State, 28-23 in the 2015 Arizona Bowl to end the season at 7-6. Hofher took over play-calling duties in the bowl victory after offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich left to take the head coaching job at Hawaii.

Hofher’s work with the Wolfpack receivers was exceptional. In 2015, a pair of wideouts registered 700-yard receiving seasons in Jerico Richardson and Hasaan Henderson. Richy Turner was Nevada’s star receiver in 2014, leading the team in receptions and ending his career ranking 18th in career receptions among active Division I players.

Hofher’s stint at Nevada was preceded by a four-year stay (2009-12) as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Delaware. He helped the Blue Hens to an appearance in the 2010 FCS Championship game.

Prior to his tenure at Delaware, Hofher served as quarterbacks coach at Bowling Green during the 2008 campaign.

Hofher was the head coach at Buffalo from 2001-2005 in the initial years the school was transitioning into FBS competition. Prior to that, he was the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse (2000) and North Carolina (1998-99) after a successful eight-year run as the head coach of Cornell.

He posted a record of 45-35 while at Cornell, including a mark of 33-23 in Ivy League play. The 33 league victories are the most of any Cornell head coach in program history and his winning percentage of .589 also ranks No. 1. During his tenure as head coach, the Big Red played for two league titles, winning one, and set 170 team or individual records for game, season and career standards at Cornell. In addition, he had two players selected in the NFL Draft and two players sign NFL free agent contracts.

Hofher has also been an assistant coach at Wake Forest (1983-86), Miami (Ohio) (1981-82), Tennessee (1989) and Syracuse (1987-88). He was the quarterbacks coach at Tennessee in 1989 when the Volunteers won the Cotton Bowl and were SEC tri-champions. He mentored former NFL quarterback Andy Kelly while at Tennessee.

Prior to his stint at Tennessee, he served three seasons as running backs coach at Wake Forest from 1983-86 prior to his first appointment at Syracuse. Hofher's first full-time collegiate coaching experience was at Miami where he served as the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach from 1981-82.

During his collegiate coaching career, Hofher has coached in eight bowl games.

A three-year letter winner at Cornell, Hofher was the starting quarterback and led the team in passing yardage from 1976-78. He played two years under two-time Super Bowl champion head coach George Seifert.

A 1979 graduate of Cornell, Hofher was an All-ECAC player for the Big Red. He also earned academic scholarships through Cornell, Psi Upsilon and the Sphinxhead Honorary Society.

He was selected to the Xavier (Conn.) High School Hall of Honor in 1992 and the Middletown (Conn.) Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. Hofher and his wife, Cathy, have three daughters: Tara, Shannon and Molly.

Coaching Experience
2016- Iowa State – Passing Game Coordinator
2013-15 Nevada – Assistant Head Coach, Wide Receivers
2009-12 Delaware – Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks
2008 Bowling Green – Quarterbacks
2001-05 Buffalo – Head Coach
2000 Syracuse – Quarterbacks
1998-99 North Carolina – Quarterbacks
1990-97 Cornell – Head Coach
1989 Tennessee – Quarterbacks
1987-88 Syracuse – Running Backs
1983-86 Wake Forest – Running Backs
1981-82 Miami (OH) – Quarterback, Wide Receivers
1979-80 Wake Forest – Graduate Assistant

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