Kyle Kempt - Football Coach - Iowa State University Athletics

Kyle Kempt

Title:
Quality Control/Offensive Pass Game
Email:
kjkempt@iastae.edu
Phone:
515-294-6721

Former Iowa State All-Big 12 quarterback Kyle Kempt spent six seasons on the Iowa State football staff (2019-24). Kempt was a quality control assistant in 2019, switched to graduate assistant for the offense prior to the 2020 season before returning to his quality control role for the 2023 season. In 2024 he served as quality control for the offensive pass game.

In his six seasons, the Cyclones produced four of the most prolific offenses in the history of Cyclone football while appearing in five bowl games and two Big 12 Championship games. Iowa State broke the school record for total offense (444.3) and had the third-best scoring offense (32.2) in school history in 2019, and followed it up with the second-best scoring offense (32.9) and third-best total offense (436.3) totals in Cyclone history in 2020.

During Kempt's time on staff, Iowa State posted a 45-32 record and recorded five of the school's eight winning league seasons in the 29-year history of the Big 12 Conference.

In 2024, Iowa State won a school record 11 games, reaching double-digit wins for the first time in the program's 133-year history. The offense thrived, averaging 31.1 points per game thanks in large part to a passing game that produced two 1,000-yard receivers, the only team nationally with a stake to that claim. Jayden Higgins earned All-America accolades, while Jaylin Noel earned All-Big 12 accolades as well. Rocco Becht passed for 3,505 yards and 25 touchdowns. The offense averaged 255.7 passing yards per game and 416.2 yards overall, both of which rank among the top 10 single-season marks in school history.

The 2023 Cyclones had one of the best big-play offenses in the nation, finishing with more 50-yard touchdown plays (11) than any other team. Three offensive players earned All-Big 12 honors, wide receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins and tight end Stevo Klotz. Redshirt freshman Rocco Becht was named Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, leading Iowa State to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

The Cyclones were 31-for-33 (93.9) in the red zone, leading the Big 12 Conference and ranking seventh nationally.

In 2021, 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. ISU also ranked second nationally in red zone offense, converting on 47-of-49 trips for a 95.9 pct. clip, as the Cyclones earned a berth in the Cheez-It Bowl.

Iowa State’s offense was one of the most balanced nationally in 2020, as the Cyclones finished the regular season in first place in the final Big 12 standings, made the Big 12 Championship game and qualified for a New Year’s Six bowl for the first time in school history.

The Cyclones capped off the season with a 34-17 win over Oregon in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

Kempt has helped mentor Cyclone quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Hunter Dekkers. Purdy finished his career owning or sharing 32 school records and was a seventh round NFL draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers. In Dekkers first season as starting quarterback, the redshirt sophomore led the Big 12 Conference with 302 completions, while also completing a Big 12-best 66.1 percent of his passes.

A native of Massillon, Ohio, Kempt came to Iowa State as a walk-on in 2016. He saw action in two games and entered the 2017 campaign deep on the Cyclone depth chart at quarterback.

In the fifth game of the season, however, Kempt became an overnight sensation, leading the Cyclones to a 38-31 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., in his first career start. He threw for 343 yards (18-of-24) and three touchdowns in one of the greatest wins in school history.

He went on to tally a 5-3 record as a starter, leading the team to a national ranking, an 8-5 record and a victory in the Liberty Bowl.

Kempt threw for 1,787 yards, tossed 15 touchdown passes and completed 66.3 percent of his passes, the third-best clip in school history.

He is the only quarterback in Cyclone history to lead his team to a pair of wins over top-five opponents.

Kempt received a sixth season of eligibility in 2018 and was named a team co-captain prior to the season. Unfortunately, a severe knee injury in the first game of the season derailed his last year on the team.

Kempt graduated from Iowa State in 2018 with a pair of degrees in computer science and liberal arts. In 2022, he earned his master's degree in family and consumer sciences - youth development.