Luke Bengtson - Wide Receivers Coach - Football Coaches - South Dakota State University Athletics

Luke Bengtson

Title:
Wide Receivers Coach
Email:
Luke.Bengtson@sdstate.edu

Luke Bengtson was hired as wide receivers coach at South Dakota State in January 2025.

Bengtson has coached at various levels of college football for nearly 15 years, most recently serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Virginia Union for three seasons. From 2022-24, the Panthers had their most successful three-year run in program history, compiling a 29-7 record and averaging 43 points per game while setting more than 20 school and conference records on offense. Virginia Union made three NCAA Division II playoff appearances, including a quarterfinal appearance in 2024, and won back-to-back CIAA championships in 2022 and 2023.

"Luke had one of the most successful and prolific offenses in all of college football last season," SDSU head coach Dan Jackson said in announcing the hire. "He's going to come in and provide ideas while also bringing a lot of experience in developing players."

Bengtson's offense during the 2024 season set school records with 45.2 points per game, 492 yards per game and a 202 team passing efficiency. The Panthers also led NCAA Division II in passing efficiency, yards per play and red zone touchdowns while leading all levels of NCAA football in yards per completion. Virginia Union, which ranked as high as No. 7 during the 2024 campaign, racked up 500-plus yards in seven of its 14 games and scored a single-game school-record 91 points in a win over Bluefield State.

Virginia Union also led the CIAA in scoring in both 2022 (44 points per game) and 2023 (40 ppg), ranking third and ninth in the country, respectively. Dual-threat quarterback Jahkari Grant accepted an invitation to play in the HBCU Legacy Bowl and Bengtson later was selected to serve as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the all-star game.

Prior to his tenure at Virginia Union, Bengtson was offensive coordinator and coached both the quarterbacks and wide receivers at Millikin University for two seasons. In the spring of 2021, Millikin averaged 32.1 points and 451 yards of total offense per game, while setting a single-game passing record of 431 yards during the fall season.

A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Bengtson was a two-time all-state wide receiver at Johnston High School. He played collegiately at both Northwest Missouri State (2004-05) and St. Cloud State (2006-07) before embarking on his coaching career as a student assistant at St. Cloud State during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Bengtson continued his coaching path as a graduate assistant at Central Missouri in 2010, helping the Mules attain a top-five ranking in NCAA Division II and an 11-3 overall record. He then moved to the Football Bowl Subdivision as a graduate assistant and offensive quality control assistant at Connecticut (2012-13) and Arkansas (2014).

Following a brief stint as an assistant for the undefeated and state champion Dowling Catholic High School program in Des Moines, Iowa in 2015, Bengtson returned to the collegiate ranks as quarterbacks coach at Greensboro College (2016), followed by stops with passing game responsibilities at Fairmont State (2017), Wisconsin-La Crosse (2018) and Chadron State (2019).