Mike Caputo, TJ Woods, Jordan Hicks Latest Additions To Utah State Coaching Staff
Dec 18, 2018, 5:26 PM | Updated: 6:05 pm
(Jeff Hunter, Utah State Athletics)
(Jeff Hunter, Utah State Athletics)
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head coach Gary Andersen announced three more additions to his coaching staff.
Andersen has hired former Utah linebacker coach Justin Ena to be the defensive coordinator, Jason Phillips was brought on as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach.
He also has retained interim head coach Frank Maile as assistant head coach and moved him from defensive line to tight ends coach while retaining linebacker coach Stacy Collins but moved him to running backs coach and special teams coordinator.
Mike Caputo
Caputo has been hired to be the safeties coach at Utah State. He was an All-American safety at Wisconsin from 2012-15, two of those seasons under Gary Andersen. Caputo spent the last two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant with former USU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.
His two seasons in Baton Rouge, he helped the Tigers to an 18-7 record and back-to-back trips to New Year’s Bowl games. During his time as a player at Wisconsin, Caputo played all 53 games and started in 40 contests. He recorded 244 total tackles, including 10 tackles-for-loss, while adding three interceptions, four forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
TJ Woods
Woods has been named the offensive line coach for Gary Andersen. He has coached for 16 years at the collegiate level and has coached in five bowl games. This is the second time that Woods has coached at Utah State, the first time from 2009-12. Throughout his career, Woods has spent nine seasons with Andersen at three different schools.
He spent the 2018 season as the offensive line coach at Western Kentucky. After the 2012 season at Utah State, Woods went to Wisconsin with Andersen for two seasons heading to Oregon State where he was the offensive line coach, co-offensive coordinator and run game coordinator.
Jordan Hicks
Andersen hired Hicks to be the strength and conditioning coach. He was previously the assistant director of sports performance for the University of Utah for six years. While he was with the Utes, Hicks worked with the track and field program from 2012-14 and the football program from 2015-18.
He was with North Alabama from 2010-11 as the director of strength and conditioning. Hicks began his coaching career in strength and conditioning at Kentucky, where he was a graduate assistant/intern in 2009.
Hicks played defensive end collegiately at Southern Illinois from 2000-01, before transferring to Georgetown College in 2002.
According to Utah State’s website, Andersen still needs to hire a running game coordinator or offensive coordinator which is reportedly Mike Sanford Jr. but hasn’t been announced yet. He also needs to hire a cornerbacks coach, linebackers, unless Justin Ena will coach that postion, and defensive line but it sounds like Gary Andersen will oversee that position but will likely hire a coach.
