Barney Cotton - Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Barney Cotton

Title:
Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends
Email:
Phone:
(515) 294-6722

Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney sold Barney Cotton on becoming his offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in January of 2004. The steady improvement of a young Cyclone offensive unit that averaged 29 points per conference game last season has sold Iowa State on Barney Cotton. The Cyclones’ 339 points last season rank third in school history. For the first time in the 114-year history of Iowa State football, the Cyclones scored 37 or more points against three straight conference foes. The most impressive feature of Cotton’s 2005 unit was what it accomplished with only one senior starter.

Two of Iowa State’s marquee players have enjoyed strong sophomore seasons after earning freshman All-America honors in Cotton’s first year at ISU. Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer threw for 2,876 yards last season. Only Seneca Wallace (3,245) of the Seattle Seahawks ever threw for more yards in a single season at Iowa State. Having racked up his impressive career numbers in just 24 games, Meyer is the third-highest rated quarterback in ISU history. His 4,802 two-year passing yardage total ranks fourth on the all-time school list. Meyer tallied 2,999 yards of total offense last season, ranking only behind Wallace’s 3,682 total yards in 14 2002 games.

Wide receiver Todd Blythe has already caught a school-record 18 career TD passes. The two-time first-team all-Big 12 choice already ranks fourth all-time with 1,833 career reception yards. His 19.6 yards per catch last season ranked second nationally. His 1,000 receiving yards last season ranks third on the all-time ISU single-season list as he joined Lane Danielsen (2002) and Tracy Henderson (1983) as the only Cyclones to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.

Cotton’s offensive linemen have made major contributions to Iowa State’s 2005 scoring success. Center Scott Stephenson, playing his first season under Cotton, was named first-team all-Big 12 and is a member of the 2006 Rimington Trophy watch list. Aaron Brant is a pre-season first-team all-Big 12 offensive tackle. In 2004, left tackle Cale Stubbe earned second-team all-Big 12 honors and center Luke Vander Sanden received honorable mention all-league recognition.

Employing a balanced offense that has so well-served Cotton during his career, the Cyclones came on late in 2004, averaging 404.8 yards per game in the final four contests of the regular season. No surprise here, as Cotton had already made a positive impact after successful tenures at Nebraska and New Mexico State.

Prior to arriving at ISU, Cotton was the offensive coordinator of a Nebraska offense that ranked seventh nationally in rushing en route to a 10-3 record and a win over Michigan State in the 2003 Alamo Bowl.

The 2003 campaign was Cotton’s first season on the coaching staff at Nebraska, his alma mater. The Huskers rushed for more than 250 yards in seven games that season and averaged 235.6 rushing yards per game. Just the third offensive coordinator at Nebraska since 1973, Cotton also coached the offensive line in 2003. Despite losing depth and rest time due to numerous injuries, four Husker linemen earned all-conference honors, led by Richie Incognito, who was a first-team all-Big 12 honoree and an Outland and Lombardi watch list member. Josh Sewell, Mike Erickson and Dan Vili Waldrop each earned honorable-mention all-conference honors.

An Omaha native, Cotton joined the Nebraska football staff as offensive coordinator after six seasons on New Mexico State’s coaching staff. The 50-year-old Cotton served as the Aggies’ assistant head coach and offensive coordinator and also tutored the offensive line. Under his direction, the Aggies ranked in the top 25 nationally in total offense three times in six seasons: 13th (1998), 17th (2000) and 23rd (2002). The NMSU offense ranked among the top 25 teams nationally in rushing offense in each of Cotton’s six seasons as offensive coordinator.

The Aggie offense showed great diversity in 2002. New Mexico State rushed for 200 yards or more in eight of 12 games while throwing for 200 or more yards four times. In the season’s final two games, NMSU threw for 335 yards against league champion North Texas and 343 the following week against Idaho. The Aggies led the Sun Belt Conference in passing efficiency, rushing offense and total offense in 2002.

Cotton was a three-year letterman at Nebraska (1976-78), starting on both the offensive and defensive lines for head coach Tom Osborne. Following his college career, Cotton was selected to play in the 1978 East-West Shrine Game and was a third-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1979. After one season in Cincinnati, Cotton joined the St. Louis Cardinals for three seasons (1980-82). A knee injury forced his retirement after the 1982 season.

After his NFL career and assistant coaching stops, Cotton gained experience as a head coach at Hastings College in 1995 and 1996. In 1995, the Broncos won the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference championship and made an appearance in the NAIA playoffs. Cotton was named the 1995 Nebraska-Iowa Conference Coach of the Year.

Cotton earned a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska in 1983 and a master’s degree in athletic administration from St. Cloud State in 1994. Cotton and his wife Christine have three sons (Ben, Jake and Sam).