Mike Bangtson enters his third season as the University of South Alabama’s offensive line coach.
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.
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.
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 the following year. During that time, the Hokies compiled a 19-8 overall record highlighted by an 11-5 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference 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 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, South’s Associate Director of Academic Services, in the spring of 2020.
The Bangtson File
Born: June 2, 1990, in Waterloo, Iowa
Education: Iowa State ’12, bachelor’s degree in communications studies
Collegiate Playing Experience: one year, offensive line, Iowa State
Coaching Experience:
Iowa State — student assistant coach, 2010-12
Northwest Missouri State — graduate assistant coach, 2013
Upper Iowa — assistant coach, 2014
Memphis — graduate assistant coach, 2015
Virginia Tech — graduate assistant coach, 2016; quality control coach, 2017
South Alabama — assistant coach, 2018-
Family: Wife, Kristin
