Tyson Veidt returning to Iowa State with Cincinnati as a successful defensive coordinator

AMES — Tyson Veidt said he doesn't have that many great friends. It's a common refrain from football coaches, especially those at elite college programs, and the Cincinnati Bearcats' defensive coordinator is no exception.

Because coaches spend so many of their waking hours at work, on the road or on a sideline, the only friendships that naturally form are between other coaches, Veidt explained. When coaches aren't with the football team, they're spending time with their family they've missed seeing.

One friendship Veidt has made sticks out as special — his bond with coach Matt Campbell.

"Coach Campbell is a great friend of mine," Veidt said. "I don't have many great friends and he's one of them."

Saturday, when Cincinnati plays Iowa State (7 p.m., FOX), Veidt will return to Jack Trice Stadium, where he spent the past eight seasons coaching with Campbell as associate head coach and linebackers coach. It will be his first time back at Iowa State since he accepted a promotion with Cincinnati in late January.

Campbell and Veidt first met at a football camp at Crestview High School in Convoy, Ohio, hosted by Kory Lichtensteiger, the former Bowling Green star coached by Campbell. Veidt's memory is a little fuzzy if the year was 2011 or 2012, but it was when Campbell coached at Toledo and Veidt coached at Bluffton, a Division III University in Northwest Ohio.

They knew of each other from their ties to the Ohio Athletic Conference. Campbell played football for Mount Union from 1999-2002 and Veidt played 100 miles up I-77 for Muskingum University from 1992-96.

"I think in that small circle of Division III Ohio people you always know the guys that are in the same profession as you over time," Veidt said.

Not long after that camp, Campbell asked Veidt to join his staff at Toledo. They coached there for two seasons and and eight seasons at Iowa State after that.

It's no wonder why Veidt caught the eye of Cincinnati. Since his first season at ISU in 2016, the Cyclones led the Big 12 in scoring defense (23.2 opponent points per game), total defense (354.7 yards per game), and opponents yards per play (5.3).

"Tyson did such a great job here, was such a key figure not only to me as a person — we're great friends (and) our families are best friends," Campbell said. "You're just so proud of what he earned — the opportunity to go be a defensive coordinator in the Big 12, let alone go to a place that has the history of Cincinnati football."

Veidt has transformed Cincinnati's defense this season. He brought the 3-3-5 scheme Iowa State runs and has taken the Bearcats from the Big 12's No. 12 total defense team (30 points allowed per game) last year to No. 6 (22.2) this season. The Bearcats have already won two more games than they did last season.

"I think one of the things that you can look at what they've done, even just the statistics defensively, man, the jump that they've made from where they were to where they're at, it's staggering and it's such a credit to Tyson," Campbell said.

In January, on his last day in the ISU office, Veidt felt like his homecoming was so far away. Wednesday, he felt differently.

"It did come quickly," Veidt said. "I agree with that part of it. And the last thing I had said to a couple guys upon leaving was 'Hey, we'll be back here in November' and that was the end of January ... and here we are."

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht has familiarity with Veidt's defensive tendencies the same way Veidt has familiarity with him.

"I would say the challenge is we know a lot about the defense so it's just figuring out the ways he's made it his own and made it different," Becht said, "because it's definitely not the same as what coach (Jon) Heacock runs. Coach Veidt has his own little twist on it."

Campbell preached ball security to his team on Tuesday (Cincinnati has forced seven fumbles this season to Iowa State's five) and views the matchup as a challenging one.

"Those kids are playing really hard for him; they believe in coach Veidt. You can see they play with his energy, his effort, so I'm just really happy for him," Campbell said.

In the leadup to the game this week, Veidt said he's exchanged a couple texts with friends on ISU's coaching staff. This season, he's kept in touch with those coaches and at times shared ideas and thoughts on opponents.

"I think that's what makes football tough sometimes is you have those relationships and you got to play each other and that's part of it and we'll play the game but we'll still be great friends afterward," Campbell said. "I know it'll be emotional for him coming back here because I know he takes a lot of pride in this place and what this place has stood for because he was a key piece in building it."