Derek Hoodjer - Assistant AD for Football Player Personnel - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Derek Hoodjer

Title:
Assistant AD for Football Player Personnel
Email:
Phone:
515-294-6721

Derek Hoodjer, who is in his third season as Assistant Athletics Director for Football Player Personnel, joined the Iowa State football program in 2011 as a student assistant and has played a significant role in the rise of the program over the last decade.

Hoodjer worked the first part of his tenure for head coach Paul Rhoads and then spent two seasons (2016-17) as assistant director of recruiting and high school relations after Matt Campbell's arrival in 2016.

Since taking over as director of player personnel in 2018, the Cyclones have produced recruiting classes that regularly ranked in the nation’s top-50 and the school has consistently signed players that have outperformed their recruiting rankings.

Behind Hoodjer's efforts, the Cyclones secured their highest-ranked recruiting class in school history in 2022, as both 247Sports and Rivals listed it among the Top 25 classes nationally on signing day.

Hoodjer has witnessed incredible improvement during his time in Ames. The Cyclones have qualified for bowl games in seven of the last eight seasons, regularly appeared in the national rankings and totaled seven of ISU’s eight above-.500 conference seasons in the history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-present) since 2017.

The 2024 team reset the standard for Cyclone football, finishing 11-3 as it won double-digit games for the first time in the 133-year history of the program. The Cyclones reached the Big 12 Championship game for the second time and finished the season ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 after beating Miami in a thrilling Pop-Tarts Bowl.

The team started the 2024 season 7-0, the best start in school history, and 15 Cyclones earned recognition on the All-Big 12 teams, including five that were named to the first or second teams. Jayden Higgins became the 17th player to earn All-America honors since Hoodjer joined the ISU program as an operations student in 2011.

The 2020 season was historic in many ways. Iowa State finished the regular season in first place in the 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.

ISU’s eight conference wins and nine overall wins eclipsed or tied school records, and the Cyclones earned their highest ranking in school history during the season (#6) and postseason (#9).

Hoodjer worked with the ISU defense (2012-14) as a student assistant.

He became graduate assistant in 2015, managing and maintaining the defensive recruiting board and was the defensive recruiting supervisor for Cyclone football, as well as the student coaches/intern program coordinator.

A native of Lincoln, Neb., Hoodjer graduated from Iowa State in December of 2014.

Hoodjer and his wife, Hanna, have two daughters, Walker and Scottie.

Coaching Experience
2023-pres. - Iowa State - Assistant AD/Player Personnel
2018-22 - Iowa State - Director of Player Personnel
2016-17 - Iowa State - Assistant Director of Recruiting & High School Relations
2014-15 - Iowa State - Graduate Assistant/Defense
2012-13 - Iowa State - Defensive Student Assistant
2011 - Iowa State - Operations Student Assistant