Butler football staff embodies commitment to Kansas

By Charles Chaney, Butler County Times-Gazette

Butler Community College football has long touted its commitment to Kansas in recruiting, and second-year head coach Brice Vignery, a Concordia native, used new coaching staff hires and promotions to further extend that commitment to Kansas.

Along with Kansas natives Nate Haremza (Offensive Coordinator, Larned), Kyle Woodall (Defensive Coordinator, Salina Central), Dreamius Smith (Running Backs, Wichita Heights), and Zach Lindsey (Special Teams, Bluestem), new hire Rob Messinger, and recently promoted coaches Riley Wagner and Jake Landoll, bring even more Sunflower State pride to the staff, while promoted assistant Justin Stolberg, originally from Louisiana, is a former Butler player.

Rob Messinger, Wide Receivers

Rob Messinger was happy at UT-Permian Basin.

He’s been all over the country from Division I to NAIA and during his time at Division II’s UTPB in Odessa, Texas, he was happy. He was recruiting the right kids and he felt UTPB was primed for a breakout season.

Then Butler head coach Brice Vignery came calling.

“I never really considered coming to JUCO to be honest,” Messinger said. “It would have taken a special place and I wouldn’t have just gone anywhere for a job. Butler isn’t your typical junior college.”

Messinger is the only new coach to a second year staff under Vignery’s second year as head coach. He’s going to help the wide receivers that have expectations because of the caliber of players who’ve stepped on the field wearing the blue and gold.

“That’s good expectations to have,” Messinger said. “I’d rather have those kind of expectations than none at all. I’m excited. We don’t have a lot of experience coming back but I’m excited for what we do have coming in.”

Messinger is one the only new addition to the staff, as he replaces Greg Hollins who departed for a job at Division II East Central and he’s already hitting the ground running as he’s ready to help Butler. For Messinger, the ultimate goal is to continue building Butler into one of the premier programs in junior college football. The Grizzlies were in most of their losses last season and Vignery feels with the addition of Messinger, it’ll help elevate the receivers.

Messinger was on the 1998 Topeka Hayden state championship football team before he went onto the University of Kansas, where he played defensive back. He earned his master’s degree from Washburn and has coached at Ottawa, an NAIA school in Kansas; the university of Miami, Florida, where he was an assistant in 2010 and coordinator of football operations for two seasons. He was at Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Oklahoma for five seasons before joining UTPB.

Now, he’s onto El Dorado where he’s hoping to turn the receiving group into one of the best in the nation.

Jake Landoll, Assistant Head Coach

It’s not the first time Jake Landoll has been given the title of assistant head coach but to him, it’s the most important. After spending last season as only the defensive line coach for the Grizzlies, he’ll continue those duties but he’ll add on assistant head coach this season.

“There’s a lot of quality guys on this staff,” Landoll said. “So, to be able to be put in this position means a lot.”

“I didn’t know I was getting it. He [Vignery] came in one day and said hey I appreciate your work we’re going to put this tag on you.”

Assistant head coach comes with a lot of responsibility as you’re there to help the head coach who already have a lot of responsibilities. For Landoll, he’s ready for the opportunity.

“The tag is like a reward,” Landoll said. “Head coaches wears a lot of hats and I think having that experience over in Mississippi and at Highland CC for JUCO experience. During his time as the defensive coordinator at Highland, one of his players led the nation in sacks and he sent more than 11 players to the Division I level.

Landoll is an open book and his coaches talk highly of him and his football knowledge. You see the love of the game radiating from him.

“This is a very exciting time to get us back where we were,” he said. “I was a Kansas kid that didn’t have the opportunity to play at Butler and I know it’s very fortunate to be a part of the program that holds such prestige.

“The pride it takes from being from the state of Kansas, you’re going to see it because we’re going to wear it on our sleeve.”

Riley Wagner, Tight Ends

While he’s finally a paid coaching staff member, Riley Wagner is very familiar with the Grizzlies.

A graduate of Emporia High, Wagner was a member of the 2021 spring squad but an injury ended his season before it began. However, when the Grizzlies say it’s family, Wagner can attest, they mean it.

the years Bryce and I have had a lot of conversations and he’s seen the knowledge and experience I bring to the table.”

“I really get to do all the stuff he doesn’t want to do,” he said jokingly.

A graduate of St. Marys and of Kapaun, Landoll is fully aware of the pedigree Butler is trying to produce and as the defensive line coach this past season, he helped Butler’s front lie compile 29 sacks and just over 120 yards rushing per game.

His coaching history is lengthy as he’s been able to get experience from all over college football, including stops

“My teammates were great,” he said. “I had a bunch of support here and everybody obviously prayed about it, so I knew everything was going to work out.”

Wagner didn’t really know coaching was in his future as he originally came to Butler to be a sports media major along with his football duties. However, he’s loving the game and enjoys learning on the job.

“It’s incredible to look at everything,” Wagner said. “Come in 2020 as a player and then by 2023 be the tight ends coach, I’d be like, ‘You’re lying!’ It’s pretty incredible I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

Wagner has adapted well as you saw him as a student coach the last season and he’s growing into the role. He’s seen the respect from his former teammates as that line

BUCO to Division I

Few JUCO programs can boast the DI factory status of Butler Community College, with Kansas athletes often the biggest beneficiaries.

During a stretch from 1998 through the 2000s, when they took five NJCAA titles, players like Kenny Wilson from Liberal, Ryan Torain from Shawnee Mission Northwest, Austiner Panter from Kensington, Chet Hartley from Kingman, Wade Weibert from Hillsboro, and Zac Clark from Wichita North enjoyed outstanding seasons at Butler and went on to major four-year college football success.

Today, head coach Brice Vignery, a Kansan who went on to play for Butler with a chip on his shoulder before continuing his career at Kansas State, continues the tradition of feeding four-year gridirons across the country with Kansas athletes.

“I think the culture that we have within our program and with our players,” Vignery said. “We have a number of coaches on staff from Kansas that played here. We know what it is like to be overlooked and under-recruited. Being genuine and honest to people is what kids are looking for. Our ability to develop Kansas kids into what we already know they are and put them in positions to be successful on the field is what we pride ourselves most on.”

Seventeen Kansas players from last year’s 8-4 Heart of Texas Bowl winners have since gone on, joining other established names like Darius Lassiter (Free State) at BYU, Cooper Lovelace (SM East) at USC, Jeremiah Crawford (Goddard) at Tennessee, Zach Wittenberg (El Dorado) and Nickendre Stiger (Wichita East) at Kansas State, and Francisco Calderson (Free State) at Southern Utah.

With countless athletes springboarding their football careers as Grizzlies, the experience is also best summed up by them.

In the case of Dreamius Smith, a Wichita Heights product that went on to play for West Virginia before an NFL career with the Steelers and Chargers, the decision to play for Grizzlies Hall of Fame head coach Troy Morrell – who also recruited Vignery to BUCO and later hired him to his staff –was key to his success.

“Making the decision to go to Butler was a tremendous help to my football career,” Smith said. “It was the best thing that could have happened to me. Coach Morrell put me in a position to be the best player I can be. He would constantly critique my craft on and off the field and it paid off. Butler mentally and physically prepared me for the next levels I played at; West Virginia, Chargers and Steelers. I will always and forever give thanks to the Butler Grizzlies.” between player and then coach and authority figure has been a smooth transition. He credits multiple coaches who’ve played at Butler and returned to coach.

“There never was a hiccup or anything,” Wagner said. “These guys are all college athletes and they’re going to always give their coaches respect. We have a great coaches room and we can piggyback off one another.”

Wagner played tight end in Vignery’s formation and understands what they’re looking for and he’s continued to grow as a coach and a person. Though, he admits there’s a bit of learning curve when it comes to learning. It’s no longer just about your tight end, it’s taking in everything that’s going on so you can apply it to your position and help your players.

“The consumption of knowledge of knowing what everybody needs to do,” he said of his biggest challenge so far. “I’ll get a bunch of knowledge in the passing game from Coach Stolberg and Coach H [Nate Haremza] in the running game. Then Coach Messinger in the passing. They’re all great and they’re easy to learn from because their knowledge is so easy for them to pass on.”

In a year, Wagner will be at Pitt State to finish his major, but for now, he’s focused on growing as a person and as a coach.

Charles Chaney is the sports editor for the Butler County Times-Gazette.