Bangtson to Bring Extensive Experience to Sam Houston’s Football Team
Press Release from GoBearkats.com
HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston head football coach K.C. Keeler announced the hiring of Mike Bangtson as the Bearkats’ new offensive line coach on Tuesday.
Bangtson comes to Huntsville with an extensive resume, spending the past three seasons at Stephen F. Austin where he worked with the offensive line. He also has spent time with South Alabama and Virginia Tech, where he was on staff with current SHSU offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen during his time running the Hokies’ offense.
He has also spent time working on staffs at Upper Iowa, Northwest Missouri and Iowa State.
“We are excited to add Coach Bangtson to our staff to lead our guys up front,” Keeler said. “He has previous experience working with Coach Cornelsen and will be a seamless fit for us. He has spent the last few years recruiting in the state of Texas, which will be valuable for us going forward as we continue to build and develop our offensive line unit.”
Bangtson joined the Lumberjacks for the 2021 season, helping SFA to the FCS playoffs. A year later he was moved up to the role of co-Offensive Line Coach where he helped the ‘Jacks to a share of the WAC title in 2022. There he worked directly with the SFA offensive tackles and directed SFA to an average of nearly 160 yards per game on the ground.
He joined the ‘Jacks after three years at South Alabama under former head coach Steve Campbell and offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield.
In his first year with the program, Bangtson helped Ryan Alexander earn honorable mention all-Sun Belt Conference honors while working with a unit that featured four first-time starters at the collegiate level. The group developed throughout the campaign and with his assistance ended the season by posting the Jaguars’ highest output in both rushing and total yards in each of the last two outings. Not only did Bangtson’s line not allow a sack in either of those games, it helped paved the way as Tra Minter recorded the first 200-yard rushing game in program history in a win over Coastal Carolina in the finale. Bangtson coached Rowan Godwin who earned Academic All-American 2nd Team in 2018.
In 2019 his group helped Minter become the first individual ever at South to post over 1,000 yards rushing in a season, with the unit helping the Jag offense put together a school game record 413-yard performance on the ground in a win over Jackson State. In fact, the Jaguars recorded 200-plus yards rushing in three other contests in the fall — highlighted by gaining 351 yards against eventual Sun Belt West Division champion Louisiana — while finishing with more than 450 total yards in two of the last three outings of the season including accounting for 495 yards and a school game record four touchdown passes in a season-ending defeat of Arkansas State. Bangtson coached Jacob Shoemaker who earned All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention in 2019.
He came to South from Virginia Tech, where he served on the staff in 2016 as a graduate assistant coach and an offensive quality control assistant the following year. During that time, the Hokies compiled a 19-8 overall record highlighted by an 11-5 mark in the ACC and back-to-back postseason bowl appearances.
In his first season with the program, his efforts helped the Hokies earn a berth in the ACC Championship Game and a victory over Arkansas in the Belk Bowl as they would end up 16th in both polls with a 10-4 record. Virginia Tech would finish 9-4, including a season-opening win over nationally-ranked West Virginia, a year later after playing in the Camping World Bowl.
Bangtson was also a graduate assistant at Memphis during the 2015 campaign, helping the Tigers go 9-4 — which included picking up a victory over nationally-ranked Ole Miss — en route to a berth in the Birmingham Bowl.
During the 2014 campaign, Bangtson was an assistant working with the offensive line at Upper Iowa. In his only year with the program, the Peacocks set school season records for points and passing yards, and his unit — highlighted by first-team all-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division selection Casey Beck — allowed just 12 sacks in 11 contests.
Bangtson was part of a staff that led Northwest Missouri State to the 2013 NCAA Division II national championship and a 15-0 mark, serving as a graduate assistant working with offensive line.
He was originally a student-athlete at Iowa State, and after suffering injuries that ended his playing career. Following his time as a student-athlete, Bangtson aided the Cyclone coaching staff as a student assistant working with the offensive line. His efforts contributed to ISU making consecutive postseason appearances in the AutoZone Liberty and New Era Pinstripe Bowls, while he earned a bachelor’s degree from the school in communications studies in 2012.
Bangtson married Kristin Maas in the spring of 2020.
