After a historic stint at QB for the Cyclones, he spent six seasons as an assistant with ISU before one at Drake as offensive coordinator and quarterback’s coach.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Kyle Kempt, the former Iowa State quarterback who served as Drake’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach this past season, is headed to the Mile High City for his next job.

First reported by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, the Denver Broncos are set to hire Kempt as an offensive assistant. 

He’ll join a team led by head coach Sean Payton, which fell short in the snowy 2025 AFC Championship after losing quarterback Bo Nix to injury the previous week.

The move comes as the Bulldogs’ coaching staff gets a hard reset for a third straight season, with both the recent resignation of head coach Joe Woodley and the announcement on Sunday that UW-River Falls’ Matt Walker will be the next to take the reins in Des Moines.

Woodley left on a high note, coaching Drake alongside Kempt to a third consecutive Pioneer Football League title and an FCS playoff berth.

Kempt, an Ohio native, came to Iowa State as a walk-on in 2016. He only saw action in two games that season, but emerged as the starting quarterback overnight for the Cyclones in game five of the 2017 season.

That first start of his collegiate career ended up being a game in which he led ISU over No. 3 Oklahoma to a 38-31 victory — the Cyclone’s first-ever win on the road against a top-five team.

He then followed that impressive performance up by helping Iowa State go a perfect 4-0 in October, including another clutch win over No. 4 TCU, leading the effort and becoming the only Cyclone quarterback to ever beat two top-five ranked teams in a single season. Going 5-3 as a starter, he also helped ISU to a win over No. 19 Memphis in the Liberty Bowl, throwing over 300 yards and two touchdowns to a 21-20 victory.

After a knee injury early during the 2018 season, he turned his attention to helping mentor true freshman Brock Purdy. 

In 2019, he served as a quality control assistant under head coach Matt Campbell before switching to graduate assistant for the offense ahead of the 2020 season and then returning to quality control assistant in 2023. He served as the quality control assistant for the offensive passing game in 2024.

During these seasons on the coaching staff in Ames, the program had some of the best offensive stats ISU has ever seen, ranking top five in both total and scoring offense.