Pete Menage makes his way over to Ames with a familiar defensive coaching staff that he’s been a part of for the past three years. He joins Head Coach Jimmy Rogers as the Safeties coach for the Cyclones this fall
The Iowa native started out at South Dakota State as a safety himself for two years in 2016 and 2017. Instead of continuing to play, he turned his talents over to the sidelines, where he became a student defensive assistant for the Jackrabbits to finish his college career.
After graduating, his next stop was at Northern Illinois, where he was a graduate assistant for two years. In 2021, the Huskies were champs of the MAC West Division and made the Cure Bowl in Orlando.
Winona State was the next to claim Menage’s services, where he was promoted to Linebackers and Special Teams Coordinator that season.
After one season with Winona State, Menage united with a coaching staff that he continues to work with today. He reconnected with his alma mater in South Dakota State, to claim a National Championship with the Jackrabbits, where he would coach the safeties.
In his two years in Brookings, South Dakota, Menage’s group picked off an impressive 14 passes. Tucker Large was the primary beneficiary as he had seven of those interceptions to make him an All-American in 2024.
As a team, SDSU allowed the fewest points in all of FCS football in 2023, where they won it all and made the semi-finals with a great defense the following season.
As a lot of the coaching staff followed Rogers to a D1 program at Washington State, Menage was no different. The Cougars defense allowed 172.8 passing yards, 14th in the nation and registered six interceptions.
Tucker Large, who accompanied Menage to Pullman, Washington, put together a nice season with no interceptions but six passes defended, by far the most on the team.
Now, Pete Menage looks to develop this safety class with nine newcomers and four returners for the 2026 season. When recruiting, Menage and his staff looked for all types of players to have a well-rounded safety room.
“You’ll see tall, long kids back there that are extremely active in their run game and good tacklers and physical, kind of like fast linebackers,” Menage said. “You’ll also see 5’10, 5′ 11 guys back there that are basically an extension of the corner room that can play man on receivers and are really good in space. So, it’s a very diverse position group, which is fun for me.”
The safety position is dynamic and Menage stresses that guys have to play hard and fast to have success.
“Guys gotta be explosive. They have to play with flash and have some ability to make plays at different, you know, areas on the field,” Menage said. “[From] deep in the defensive backfield to the line of scrimmage.”
The familiarity with the rest of the coaching staff should allow their defense to start clicking a lot sooner, but they will still look for ways to improve their game plan as they move to the Big 12.
“It’s going to be vital to our success that we can just hit the ground running with schematics… There’s not going to be, you know, a lot of steps missed,” Menage said. “We’re reevaluating everything that we do as well. I think it’s important to note that it isn’t just different place, same thing… This is a chance to reevaluate how we’ve been in the past. What areas can we grow in? And what areas do we need to, you know, continue to push and continue here that we’re successful at Washington State and South Dakota State? So it’s a unique opportunity.”
With Matt Campbell leaving Iowa State, none of the safeties brought in came from the state of Iowa. As an Iowan himself, Menage believes there is plenty of talent within the state and the team will continue recruiting here.
“The football in Iowa is awesome,” Menage said. “Just didn’t realize it until going somewhere else, like how great this state is with the wealth of talent and the wealth of untapped potential that is here.”
Menage said he has respect and love for the program. He wants to leave behind a legacy at Iowa State.
“Let’s continue on the good. Let’s be great. Let’s be great here. Let’s write a new chapter and kind of push new heights because the opportunity to do that as an Iowan is really exciting for me.”
