LOGAN — The coaching staff of Utah State head football coach Gary Andersen has been a bit of a question mark in recent weeks, following the departure of offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr.
You can now consider most of those questions answered.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Andersen announced the hiring of Bodie Reeder as the Aggies’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Reeder will fill the void left by Sanford Jr. who left Utah State to take the offensive coordinator job at Minnesota.
Reeder comes to Utah State after serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at both North Texas (2019) and Eastern Washington (2017-18). He also spent three seasons (2014-16) as an offensive quality control coach at Oklahoma State and four seasons (2011-14) as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin-Stout.
Under his direction this past season, the Mean Green averaged 30.3 points and ranked 27th in the nation — second in Conference USA — in passing yards per game (283.3). North Texas also led Conference USA with 33 touchdown passes, which ranked 15th nationally.
At Eastern Washington, Reeder helped the Eagles win the Big Sky Championship and earn a berth in the FCS national championship game in 2018. That year, Eastern Washington averaged 528.2 yards and 43.1 points per game. The season prior, the Eagles were eighth in the FCS in passing (320.5 per game), fifth in total offense (476.7), 14th in scoring (34.5 points per game) and 11th in third down conversions (46.1 percent).
In addition to the hiring of Reeder, Andersen effected an overall staff shakeup.
Stacy Collins and Frank Maile, the Aggies’ special team’s coordinator/running backs coach and associate head coach/tight ends coach, respectively in 2019, will now serve as co-defensive coordinators.
Utah State interim head coach Frank Maile walks the sidelines during the first half of the New Mexico Bowl NCAA college football game against North Texas in Albuquerque, N.M., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018.
Andres Leighton, AP
Collins will coach the secondary, while Maile will coach the defensive line.
It is a return to defense for both coaches. Collins, who is entering his fifth season at Utah State, spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons working with the inside linebackers. Of his 22 years of collegiate coaching experience, five have been spent as a defensive coordinator.
As for Maile, he was the Aggies’ co-defensive coordinator from 2016-18. In all, Maile has nine years of collegiate coaching experience and has spent eight of those seasons as a defensive line coach.
Additional staff alterations include Mike Caputo moving to the offensive side of the ball — he was the safeties coach — to coach the tight ends. Justin Ena — formerly the team’s defensive coordinator — will coach the inside linebackers, while Bojay Filimoeatu will coach the outside linebackers and Mark Orphey will coach the secondary.
Additional coaching responsibilities and new hires are expected to be announced at a later date.