In three seasons as a Division I position coach, Jake Landoll is creating a reputation for building productive defensive lines and a pool of talent for professional scouts.
Following a debut season in which Landoll’s front helped the NSU Purple Swarm rank second in the Southland Conference in total defense, Landoll’s second group weathered a spate of injuries, yet still produced a seventh-round NFL draftee, defensive tackle Deon Simon. Along the way, Landoll helped defensive end Leroy Armstrong earn second-team All-Southland Conference acclaim in his junior season.
Landoll’s third group of Demons defensive linemen was light on experience, returning only one starter, but allowed young players like Isaiah Wheeler, who tied for the team lead in sacks, earn vital playing time.
While helping senior tackle Lesley Deamer win 2014 All-Southland Conference honors and reach the New Orleans Saints camp as a free agent, Landoll developed a group of hard-charging ends and run-stopping tackles. Simon had a breakout junior year, making eye-popping plays inside that put him on the NFL radar. JeMarcus Marshall won first-team Freshman All-America recognition after notching 8.5 sacks while in a rotation with several other talented defensive ends.
Landoll has spent the last five seasons honing his craft under coach Jay Thomas, beginning in 2011 at Northwestern State and in 2012 at Division II Missouri Southern. He was a graduate assistant working with Thomas on the defensive line with the Demons, then moved into a full-time role as Thomas was defensive coordinator in 2012 at Missouri Southern.
In addition to coaching the Demons defensive line, Landoll is the team’s academic and community relations/service coordinator. Under Landoll, the Demons annually complete more than 500 hours of community service, have delivered the largest APR turnaround in NCAA history and have produced a Southland Conference Steve McCarty Citizenship Award winner.
Landoll was defensive line coach and academic coordinator as Missouri Southern won six games for only the second time in 20 seasons. He coached Senior Bowl selection Brandon Williams, an All-American who was chosen national defensive player of the year by Beyond Sports Network and selected in the third round in the NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. Missouri Southern had a top 10 NCAA Division II ranking in rushing defense.
The Lions raised their team grade point average to 2.8 in 2012 as Landoll implemented the “Fast Start” study hall program. That academic success continued in Landoll’s first two seasons in Natchitoches, as the Demons squad contributed to a department-record 2.96 overall grade-point average in the Fall 2014 semester.
Landoll, a native Kansan who began coaching after graduating in 2006 from Saint Mary, has coached defensive linemen in all but one season at Saint Mary, Bethel College, NSU and Missouri Southern. The 2007 Saint Mary Spires ranked 14th in the nation in total defense and Landoll coached a lineman for the Bethel College Threshers who ranked seventh in the NAIA in tackles for loss, and 27th in sacks.
He also worked with the San Diego Bowl Games Association (Holiday Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl), the Kansas City Royals (Major League Baseball) and the Kansas City Brigade (Arena Football League).
Landoll was a three-year starter on the defensive line for the University of Saint Mary (Kansas) from 2002-06, Landoll was first-team all-conference as a junior and senior. He was a two-year all-region pick, making first team as a senior, when he won All-America honors. As a junior, he was part of a defense that posted three shutouts and finished with Top 10 NAIA stat rankings in eight categories. He started in the NAIA Senior Bowl and had four tackles, 2.5 for loss, made a sack and forced three fumbles. He later became the only person to play in, and coach in, the NAIA Senior Bowl.
Landoll, 32, born Aug. 8, 1983, in Wichita, Kan. He and wife Bekkah have a 6-year-old son, Greyson, and a 16-month-old daughter, Laila Paislee. Landoll graduated from Saint Mary in accounting, business administration with a concentration in marketing. The son of David and Linda Landoll, he has three sisters, a brother-in-law, three nephews and a niece. His father is a corporate pilot and his mother is a social worker.
