Aggies announce Clune, Heupel as coordinators
Head football coach Matt Wells made the hiring of defensive coordinator Kevin Clune and offensive coordinator Josh Heupel official Friday in Logan.
Wells believes these hires can take the team to places it hasn’t been yet.
“I’ve said it, and I mean it. It’s the trophy that’s not in this building yet,” said Wells about the Mountain West Championship. “We’ve won three straight bowl games, and that’s great. But everyday I walk up those steps and it’s, ‘What do I have to do today to win a Mountain West Championship?’ … Hopefully these guys can take us to the next level.”
Josh Heupel
Heupel comes to Utah State after four seasons as the play-caller and offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. After last season Heupel and his co-coordinator, Jay Norvell, were let go from the team. Heupel is replacing Kevin McGiven, who left to be an assistant coach at Oregon State.
His duties will include being the offensive coordinator, the quarterback coach and the assistant head coach.
“To see the transition and the leadership of this university,” Heupel said, “the vision that it has, that’s something that’s extremely attractive. This is something that I want to be a part of.”
At Oklahoma Heupel had the fourth-highest-scoring offense in the nation over the last four years, averaging nearly 37 points per game. His points per game trailed only Baylor, Texas Tech and Florida State. Since beginning coaching as a graduate assistant in 2004, he has won six Big-12 Conference Championships and appeared in 11 bowl games.
As a player Heupel was quarterback at Weber State in 1997 where blew out a knee. He then transferred to Snow College while he rehabbed. After Snow College, he had a scholarship offer from Utah State but eventually decided to play at Oklahoma in 1999 and 2000.
“We’re going to find out what our personnel gives us the opportunity to do and put them in the best position to be successful,” said Heupel. “We’re going to give ourselves a chance to compete every Saturday.”
In 2000 he was a national champion after an undefeated season and an Orange Bowl win. After the season he was voted the Associated Press Player of the Year, the Walter Camp Award winner, the Archie Griffin Award winner and a consensus All-American along with being the Heisman Trophy runner-up.
“I’m excited about working with the entire offense as a whole,” Heupel said. “I’m excited for us to find a way to be the most explosive offense we can be and to find a way to win ball games next year.”
Kevin Clune
Clune is returning to Utah State where he coached the linebackers from 2009-2013. Last year he was the defensive coordinator at Hawaii. He has 12 years of past coaching experience at Weber State, Southern Utah, Utah, two junior colleges and two high schools.
“I think it’s been a year and six days,” said Clune jokingly, referring to how long ago he left Utah State. “Hawaii is pretty cool, but it’s good to be back here with the kids that I know and the situation. This is a brand new edition of Utah State football, and I’m happy to be here and get going on that.”
In 2013 Clune helped coach the Aggie defense that allowed just 17 points per game and was ranked first in the MW and seventh in the nation. It was the best statistical USU defense since 1971. Utah State was also the only team in the nation not to allow a touchdown run of 10 or more yards in 2013 and allowed just two 100-yard rushers, while limiting its opponents to just 13 points following 16 turnovers.
“We’re trying to find guys who can run it, lead and take care of business when things might be going bad,” Clune said about next year’s defense. “It’s hard to talk about and hard to do on the board. It has to happen out on the field through rep after rep. We just have to get there; we have to find a way.”
Clune helped coach some of the best Aggie defenders in school history in Bobby Wagner, Zach Vigil, Jake Doughty and Kyler Fackrell. He mentioned his excitement to be back with the team that he helped create.
“When I got here in 2009, nobody thought about Utah State,” Clune said. “Now it’s completely different. There was so much progression every step of the way. I’m excited to be back with the guys that I feel like I raised a little bit.”
Clune played one season as defensive lineman and linebacker at San Diego and another season on the defensive line at Fullerton Junior College.
“At the end of the day I wanted to hire the two best people for this program, for our players,” Wells said. “I couldn’t have hired two better men to take this program hopefully to another level and build on the things that we’ve done here.”
— kalen.s.taylor@gmail.com
Twitter: @kalen_taylor