Coach Aaron Terry

A group of people, including children and two adults, standing in front of an orange Southwest Airlines airplane with an open door and stairway, on a clear day.

A family of four posing on a sports field, with a young boy on his father's shoulders, a woman, and a girl in front. They are wearing blue sports shirts, and the boy is wearing a blue cap. The background features a football field, stadium lights, and an American flag.

Entering his 10th season as Recruiting Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach at Iowa Western Community College, Aaron Terry has established #DLineU as one of the premier defensive line development programs in junior college football.

In 9 seasons with the Reivers, Terry has helped develop and send 51 defensive linemen to Division I programs while coaching 10 players who have gone on to play professionally in the NFL or CFL. Most recently, Terry added three NFL Draft selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, including Quientrail 'Bobby' Jamison-Travis (6th Round, #186 overall), Anterio Thomson (6th Round, #208 overall), and Jordan Van Den Berg (6th Round, #213 overall). Previous NFL Draft selections under Terry include Daviyon Nixon (2021 - 5th Round, #158 overall) and Perrion Winfrey (2022 - 4th Round, #108 overall).

Terry’s defensive fronts have consistently ranked among the most dominant units in college football. In 2022, Iowa Western led the NJCAA in sacks (58) while leading the nation in rushing defense (40.9 yards per game), helping capture a National Championship. In 2023, the Reivers again led the country in sacks (62) and finished second nationally in rushing defense (71.2 yards per game), securing back-to-back National Championships. In 2024, Iowa Western finished as National Runner-Up while ranking in the top 10 nationally in both categories.

In 2025, Terry’s defensive front helped lead Iowa Western to the program’s 4th National Championship, producing one of the most dominant defensive seasons in college football. The Reivers led all levels of college football with a school-record 74 sacks while finishing top five nationally in rushing defense.

Under Terry’s leadership, #DLineU has produced:

3 National Championships
51 Division I Defensive Linemen
10 NFL and CFL Players
20 NJCAA All-Americans
4 ICCAC Defensive Players of the Year (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)
2022 NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year — Jackson Filer

Before joining Iowa Western, Terry served as a Graduate Assistant working with the defensive line at University of Nebraska at Kearney from 2015–2016, and previously served as Defensive Coordinator at Omaha Concordia High School from 2013–2014.

As a player, Terry was a standout defensive lineman at Northwest Missouri State University from 2006–2011, earning All-Conference honors while helping lead the Bearcats to four consecutive national championship appearances, including a National Championship in 2009.

Outside of football, Terry is a devoted husband to his wife, Jordan, and proud father to their two children, Sylvia and DJ.

Defensive Linemen under Coach Terry:

NCAA Division I

2025 – Andy Burburija – Clemson
2025 – Blake Hawkins – Iowa State
2025 – Jeremy Lewis – Purdue
2025 – Jaxon Cherry – Central Michigan
2025 – BJ Campbell – Old Dominion
2024 – Walt Gray – Coastal Carolina
2024 – Dominic Wiseman – South Alabama
2024 – Cam Done – Florida Atlantic
2024 – Brody Targgart – South Dakota State
2023 – Kemari Copeland – Virgina Tech
2023 – Clev Lubin – Coastal Carolina
2023 – Jaylen Pettus – South Florida
2023 – Joe Hjelle - Tulsa
2023 – Nate Hale – Ohio
2023 – Cheick Kaba – Troy
2023 – Hyson Bey Buie – Northern Iowa
2022 – Quientrail Travis – Auburn
2022 – Anterio Thompson – Iowa
2022 – Jackson Filer – Iowa
2022 – Isaiah Green – Western Michigan
2022 – Jacob Ferguson – Georgia Southern
2022 – Elijah Elmore – North Alabama
2022 – Ugo Ike – Central Michigan
2022 – Marcel Tyler – Western Michigan
2022 – Justin Erb – Wyoming
2021 – Queden Ballew – Louisiana Tech
2021 – Elijah Elmore – Eastern Illinois
2020 – Isaiah Coe – Oklahoma
2020 – Jordan Van Den Berg – Penn State
2020 – SL McCall – Akron
2020 – Raphael Orubo – Western Illinois
2020 – Charlie Brooks – North Carolina Central
2019 – Perrion Winfrey – Oklahoma
2019 – Devin Drew – Texas Tech
2019 – Almosse Titi – Maryland
2019 – Dominic Quewon – Southern Mississippi
2019 – Fitzroy Gardner – Louisiana Monroe
2019 – Keenan Stewart – UTEP
2019 – Ben Sorenson – Southern Illinois
2019 – Otto Ulberg – Missouri State
2018 – Malcolm Lee – Kansas
2018 – Atlias Bell – Houston
2018 – Morris Joseph – Memphis
2018 – Hayden Hatcher – Kansas
2018 – Elijah James – Liberty
2018 – Michael Scott – Akron
2018 – Dylan Lewis – Louisiana Lafayette
2017 – Connor Novak – Minnesota
2017 – Daviyon Nixon – Iowa
2017 – Val Martin – NC State
2017 – Alex Parrella – South Dakota State

NFL and CFL

2026 – Quientrail 'Bobby' Jamison-Travis – NFL: New York Giants (6th round, #186)
2026 – Anterio Thomson – NFL: Atlanta Falcons (6th round, #208)
2026 – Jordan Van Den Berg – NFL: Chicago Bears (6th round, #213)
2024 – Isaiah Coe – NFL: Indianapolis Colts
2023 – Dominic Quewon – NFL: Chicago Bears – CFL: British Columbia Lions
2023 – Atlias Bell – CFL: Toronto Argonauts
2022 – Perrion Winfrey – NFL: Cleveland Browns (4th round #108)
2021 – Daviyon Nixon – NFL: Carolina Panthers (5th round #158)
2021 – Elijah James – NFL: Chicago Bears
2018 – Chester Graves – CFL: Saskatchewan Roughriders