FILE PHOTO: Full Maverik Stadium. Photo by Robert K. Scott
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head football coach Blake Anderson announced Thursday six new additions to his staff heading into the 2024 campaign, which includes one offensive and five defensive coaches.
On the defensive side of the ball, Nate Dreiling will serve as the defensive coordinator and work with the defensive ends, while Cedric Douglas will be the defensive run game coordinator and coach the defensive line. Kwame Agyeman will coach the safeties and Jalen Ortiz will coach the cornerbacks, while Bobby McMillen will coach the linebackers.
Joining the offensive staff will be Jimmy Beal, who will coach the running backs.
“Staff changes are always difficult, but at the same time necessary in competitive college sports and the NFL,” said Anderson. “When you go through it, you want to make sure you meet all your needs, and I feel like we have done that in a huge way.
“Jimmy brings energy offensively and connects us to the west coast. The defensive staff with the addition of Nate and the guys he’s brought in, they are all great teachers. They are enthusiastic, they fit our footprint with our recruiting base, and they bring a tremendous amount of knowledge and work ethic to a defense that is hungry to get better. In my opinion, they are home run hires in every position.”
Nate Dreiling – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Ends
Dreiling (Dry-ling) will be entering his fifth year as a defensive coordinator. At his previous five institutions, he has coached in four bowl games and been part of one conference championship team.
Dreiling spent the past two years as the defensive coordinator at New Mexico State as he helped lead the Aggies to a 17-11 record and consecutive bowl games, along with playing in the Conference USA championship game in its first year in the league in 2023.
During the 2023 season, New Mexico State posted a 10-5 record, including a 7-1 mark in Conference USA. It was just the second time in program history that a NMSU team won 10 or more games. During the season, the Aggies’ defense was one of the best units in the nation as it allowed 22.8 points per game to lead its conference and rank 44th at the FBS level. The Aggies also ranked second in the conference and 48th in the nation in rushing defense at 143.7 yards per game. New Mexico State’s defense also excelled in the red zone under Dreling as the Aggies ranked first in the conference and fifth in the nation this past season, allowing opponents to score 72.6 percent of the time when inside the 20-yard line.
Cedric Douglas – Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line
Douglas has worked with Anderson before, as he spent two seasons on staff at Arkansas State in 2017 and 2018. In all, Douglas has 11 years of collegiate coaching experience and has coached in three bowl games, while winning one conference championship.
Douglas spent the past three years as the defensive line coach at Buffalo. During the 2023 season, Douglas helped coach a Bulls defense that allowed just 187.2 passing yards per game to rank 21st in the nation.
In 2022, Buffalo won just its third bowl game in program history with a victory against Georgia Southern in the Camellia Bowl. Defensively, the Bulls scored three touchdowns on takeaways to rank 12th in the nation. Buffalo also allowed opponents to convert just 35.6 percent of their third downs, which ranked 41st in the nation. The Bulls had an aggressive defensive line in 2021 under Douglas as they ranked second in the Mid-American Conference in sacks per game (3.1).
Kwame Agyeman – Safeties
Agyeman (Ah-jih-man) will be entering his 10th year as a collegiate coach. He has coached in five bowl games and been part of two conference championship teams.
Agyeman spent the last two years as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Nevada. Agyeman’s work with the Pack defense, and notably with the safeties group, made a major impact early on and throughout the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.
In 2023, the Wolf Pack ranked 15th in the nation with three defensive touchdowns, while its top two tacklers played in the backend of the defense in safeties Emany Johnson and Richard Toney Jr. Johnson, who earned first-team all-Mountain West honors, finished the season with a team-best 100 tackles and a team-high three interceptions, while Toney was second on the squad with 67 tackles and two interceptions.
Jalen Ortiz – Cornerbacks
Ortiz (Or-tease) has six years of collegiate coaching experience. He has coached in three bowl games and been part of one conference championship team.
Ortiz spent the past two years as the cornerbacks coach at Nevada. In 2023, Ortiz’s unit helped the Wolf Pack rank 15th in the nation with three defensive touchdowns as they returned three interceptions for scores, including a 98-yard return by defensive back KK Meier against Texas State. Nevada’s two starting cornerbacks, Jaden Dedman and Meier, combined for 60 tackles and nine pass breakups during the year.
In his first season at Nevada, Ortiz saw his two starting cornerbacks, Isaiah Esssissima and Dedman, rank in the team’s top seven in tackles, while Essissima was also second on the team with a pair of interceptions. Overall, Ortiz’s unit contributed to a defense that intercepted 11 passes in 2022.
Bobby McMillen – Linebackers
McMillen spent the past two years as the linebackers coach at New Mexico State as he helped lead the Aggies to a 17-11 record and consecutive bowl games, along with playing in the Conference USA championship game in its first year in the league in 2023.
During the 2023 season, New Mexico State posted a 10-5 record, including a 7-1 mark in Conference USA. It was just the second time in program history that a NMSU team won 10 or more games. During the season, the Aggies’ defense was one of the best units in the nation as it allowed 22.8 points per game to lead its conference and rank 44th at the FBS level. The Aggies also ranked second in the conference and 48th in the nation in rushing defense at 143.7 yards per game. New Mexico State’s defense also excelled in the red zone with McMillen on staff as the Aggies ranked first in the conference and fifth in the nation this past season, allowing opponents to score 72.6 percent of the time when inside the 20-yard line.
Jimmy Beal – Running Backs
Beal has 19 years of collegiate coaching experience as he has coached in five Football Championship Series (FCS) playoff games and been part of one conference championship team.
Beal spent the 2023 season as the running backs coach at San Diego State, where the Aztecs averaged 154.3 rushing yards per game.
Prior to that, Beal spent three years at his alma mater Montana State. During the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the Bobcats ranked second among all FCS teams in yards per carry (5.8), third in rushing yards (7,662) and third in rushing yards per game (262.4). During those two seasons, MSU rushed for at least 200 yards in 20 of its 29 games, as it won all 20 of those matchups. The Bobcats also logged 10 games with at least 300 rushing yards, including a 439-yard effort against rival Montana and a 549-yard game against Cal Poly.
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