There is a distinct BYU and Virginia flavor to Bronco Mendenhall’s first coaching staff at Utah State.
Mendenhall’s complete staff was announced Wednesday, 22 coaches and support staff in total, broken down to two coordinators, 10 position coaches, five analysts and six support staff members.
Seventeen of those previously worked with Mendenhall at BYU, Virginia or New Mexico, while 10 of said staff members played for him at BYU or Virginia.
Where did Mendenhall pull the most from though?
His time at BYU or his time at Virginia?
Utah State football coaches with ties to BYU
Both of USU’s coordinators for the 2025 season — offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven and defensive coordinator Nick Howell have ties to BYU.
McGiven, a well traveled coach, coached at the school from 2002 through 2004 as an offensive graduate assistant under then-BYU head coach Gary Crowton.
Howell, meanwhile, coached under Mendenhall at BYU from 2007 through 2015 and then followed Mendenhall to Virginia and then New Mexico.
Outside of those two, outside linebackers coach Jan Jorgensen is another coach on Mendenhall’s staff who has ties to the rival Cougars. Jorgensen played at BYU from 2006 through 2009 and has since had two stints on the Cougars’ coaching staff — from 2015 through 2017 and again from 2022 and 2023.
There is also Shane Hunter. The former Cougar middle linebacker played three seasons in Provo from 2008 through 2010 and then coached at BYU from 2013 through 2015.
Not to be forgotten is Pat Hickman, Mendenhall’s chief of staff. Hickman is in his 17th year working for Mendenhall, going back to a long stint at BYU from 2006 through 2015. He then followed Mendenhall to Virginia and after Mendenhall’s retirement, he wound up back at BYU from 2022 through 2023.
Utah State football coaches with ties to Virginia
Ties to the Cavaliers are many on the Aggies’ new coaching staff.
Of the position coaches, Kirk Garner (running backs), Matt Johns (quarterbacks), Charles Mack (cornerbacks) and Donte Wilkins (defensive line) all played at Virginia and then went on the become coaches at their alma mater. All then followed Mendenhall to New Mexico this past season.
As for analysts and support staff, Josh Clifford (junior analyst/skill assistant) played for Mendenhall at Virginia, as did Nick Grant (junior analyst/defense) and Chris Peace (junior analyst/defense).
Additionally, Joe Spaziani (director of football operations) played at Virginia and then worked in various roles over four additional years with the Cavaliers.
Ben Hogg (offensive recruiting analyst) also played at Virginia before entering the coaching field last season under Mendenhall at New Mexico.
Evan Butts (director of player personnel) was on staff at Virginia for three seasons from 2020 through 2023, in various capacities including as a scout and recruiting coordinator.
Summer Tujague (head coach assistant) also worked with Mendenhall at Virginia, primarily as an an assistant on-grounds recruiter.
Utah State football coaches with ties to the state of Utah
Other ties of note exist on Utah State’s coaching staff under Mendenhall.
Ali’i Niumatalolo (senior analyst/tight ends) is the son of San Jose State head coach Ken Niumatalolo, and he played four seasons at the University of Utah from 2017 through 2021. He also worked as a quality control coach at Utah and most recently spent a season as outside linebackers coach at Utah Tech.
Jordan Pulou (defensive recruiting analyst) is a Utah native who played high school football at Cyprus High, where he later coached. He also coached at Skyline High before eventually making his way to Snow College where he coached the past three seasons.
What about the rest of Utah State’s staff?
Two notable position coaches under Mendenhall haven’t worked for him previously and don’t have connections to any of the schools he has coached.
Those coaches are Mario Acitelli (offensive line coach/run game coordinator) and DeNarius McGhee (wide receivers/passing game coordinator).
Most recently, Acitelli coached at William & Mary, but he has had stints at LSU, North Carolina and Texas.
McGhee spent the last five years in the NFL, with the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints.
A glimpse at Utah State under Bronco Mendenhall
Spring football won’t begin for Utah State until March, but the Aggies have started offseason conditioning, and the program provided a glimpse into what USU football will look like under Mendenhall on social media.
