Southern Utah football coach Gary Andersen has named four members of his staff for the 2003 campaign.
Cole Wilson, who has worked with the SUU secondary and linebackers the past two seasons, will be retained, while Kevin Clune, Wes Meier and Aaron Roderick will join the staff immediately.
A 1996 graduate of Idaho, Wilson has been the Thunderbirds' recruiting coordinator the past two seasons.
Clune joins the SUU staff after spending the last two years as a graduate assistant at Utah. He will work with the linebackers as well as serving as co-defensive coordinator along with Wilson.
Meier has spent the past 11 years on the staff at Murray High School, including last season as head coach. While at Murray Meier also served nine years as track & field coach, earning Utah"s Coach of the Year honors in 1998. A 1991 graduate of the University of Utah, Meier also served on the staff at Ricks College. He will serve as assistant head coach with primary responsibilities for the defensive line.
Roderick, a 1999 graduate of Brigham Young University, spent last season as running backs coach at Snow College. Before that, he spent three seasons as a graduate assistant at BYU. Roderick will serve as SUU's quarterbacks and receivers coach as well as its passing game coordinator.
"When I came (to SUU) to interview, these were the guys I had in mind, should I get the job," Andersen said. "I feel fortunate to have them all on board. I think we"ve put together a great staff with experience in the areas we need as far as the positions go. In addition, we have a group with a great knowledge of Utah high school and junior college ball in Cole, Wes and Aaron, while Coach Clune has great knowledge and contacts in California, which is another crucial recruiting area for us. "This is a great group of coaches, one which works well together,' Andersen added. "They"re all enthusiastic and excited. They know the players are our first consideration and they"ll do a great job making sure we"re all together all the time.' Andersen said he will be adding one more full-time coach in the near future as well as two graduate assistants before the 2003 season starts. SUU opens the 2003 season at Nevada, Aug. 30.