Utah State Faces Challenges For Bowl Game With Depleted Coaching Staff
Dec 10, 2018, 4:20 PM | Updated: 4:21 pm
Utah State co-defensive coordinator Frank Maile coaches during an Aggie scrimmage last spring at Maverik Stadium. (Jeff Hunter, Utah State)
(Jeff Hunter, Utah State)
LOGAN, Utah – Following the departure of head coach Matt Wells to Texas Tech, Utah State was left figuring out who will coach in the upcoming New Mexico Bowl.
Wells brought offensive coordinator David Yost and defensive coordinator Keith Patterson with him to Lubbock, Texas.
But now he has taken outside receivers coach Jovon Bouknight, defensive backs coach Julius Brown, offensive line coach Steve Farmer, running backs coach DeAndre Smith, tight ends/inside receivers coach Luke Wells and strength and conditioning coach Dave Scholz have all packed their bags and moved to Texas Tech.
David Yost Stays For One Game
It was announced by Texas Tech that Matt Wells will take offensive coordinator with him to coordinate the offense for the Red Raiders but he will stick around for Utah State’s bowl game before going to Lubbock.
Yost was a big part of the Aggies success offensively as they ranked near the top in the nation in points per game.
“Offensively, the tricky part on offense is coach (David) Yost is really the only full-time coach that is here. He’s the most important one, as far as calling it. He’s done a great job with the set-up of how we practice offensively,” Maile added.
As far as special teams goes, Maile said that Senior Analyst for Special Teams Jason Shumaker will coordinate the special teams in the bowl game.
What’s Left?
The Aggies have five graduate assistants that have been moved to full-time roles for the bowl game. Uani ‘Unga, Justin Udy, Conor Dubin and Al Lapuaho have been a big part of prepping the defense.
“A lot of our GAs that played roles in assisting those full-time coaches are actually going to be coaching those positions as full-timers,” said Utah State Interim Head Coach Frank Maile. “That’s what the system has been built to do, regardless of who is running it. It is a well-oiled machine right now,”
Maile also said that inside linebackers coach Stacy Collins will call the plays for the defense in the bowl game.
“He understands it better than anybody else as far as that goes. He has coordinated before and the defensive players are excited about it and will rally behind him,” Maile said about Collins.
The Aggies will introduce Gary Andersen as their head coach on Tuesday.
Utah State will face North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday at 12 p.m. on ESPN.
