Utah Tech FB Announces New Assistant Coaching Hires

Utah Tech Football announced new coaching hires today under first year head coach Lance Anderson.

Here's the press release from UT Athletics Media Relations: (full article)

Utah Tech head football coach Lance Anderson has announced 10 members of his 2024 coaching staff, which includes the retention of two coaches from the Trailblazers' 2023 staff, along with eight new coaching additions.

Anderson announced that he will retain running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Jamison Clark, along with defensive line coach James Cowser.

Also joining Anderson's staff are offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Greg Stevens, defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Patrick Moynahan, wide receivers coach Taylor Kolste, defensive backs coach Ray Clark, tight ends coach Nolan Givan, offensive line coach John Sikora, outside linebackers coach Ali'i Niumatalolo, and senior offensive assistant coach Steve Clark.

Greg Stevens – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Coach Stevens joins the Trailblazer program after spending the last six seasons in the same capacity at Southeastern Louisiana (2018-23), his second stint with the Lion program (also 2012-13) overall.

In 2022, Stevens led a Lion offense that averaged 35.3 points per game and 439.8 yards per contest, both good for the FCS top 20. Southeastern was also ranked 13^th-nationally with 291 first downs on the way to the 2022 Southland Conference championship.

Stevens mentored 2020 Walter Payton Trophy winner and 2021 runner-up, and consensus All-American Cole Kelley, who engineered one of the top seasons by a quarterback in FCS history in 2021. The two-time Southland Conference Player of the Year, and Louisiana Offensive Player of the Year, threw for 5,124 yards and 44 touchdowns on 406-for-552 passing (73.6 completion percentage), while rushing for a team-high 491 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Kelley also led the FCS in passing yards, total offense, completion percentage and points responsible for, while his 60 total touchdowns (44 passing, 16 rushing) were one off the single-season FCS record set by Willie Totten in 1984. Kelley's single-season totals for passing yards (2^nd), total offense (5,615 yards, 3^rd) and passing touchdowns (10^th) were all among the best performances in the history of FCS football.

Before his return to SLU, Stevens served as offensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois for four seasons (2014-17). During his first year at EIU, the Panthers ranked among the national leaders in total offense (480.1 ypg, 13th), rushing offense (236.3 ypg, 11^th) and scoring offense (31.3 ppg, 38^th). His 2014 EIU offense featured a pair of All-Americans and six All-OVC performers.

Prior to his first go-round at SLU, Stevens served as offensive coordinator at Delta State (2010-11), and wide receivers coach for four seasons at Utah State (2005-08). Stevens also had offensive coordinator stints at Stephen F. Austin (2002-04) and Arkansas-Monticello (1999-2001), and spent time on the staffs at Colorado Mesa (1992-94), Eastern Arizona (1995-97) and Snow College (1998).

A 1992 graduate of Eastern Oregon, Stevens was an All-Conference quarterback at Snow College before concluding his career at his alma mater, where he was team MVP as a senior. The Ephraim, Utah native and his wife Amy are the parents of three children, Tyler, Ryan and Hannah.

Patrick Moynahan – Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
Coach Moynahan is reuniting with Anderson after he had served as an assistant line coach on Anderson's defensive staff at Stanford for six years from 2017-22. This past season, Moynahan was the defensive coordinator at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

Prior to his tenure at Stanford, Moynahan spent four seasons at Kenyon University as linebackers coach and as an assistant track and field coach. He played four seasons at Davidson, where he was a two-time all-Pioneer League selection and broke single-season (122) and single-game (22) tackle records.

Jamison Clark – Running Backs Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Coach Clark just completed his third season on the Trailblazer coaching staff, and his first year as running backs coach. He spent the previous two seasons as a defensive assistant working with the defensive line.

James Cowser – Defensive Line Coach
Coach Cowser just wrapped up his first season as defensive line coach at Utah Tech. During the just completed 2023 season, Cowser mentored junior defensive lineman Syrus Webster, who was the lone unanimous selection by the UAC coaches for first team all-conference honors. Webster also went on to earn Phil Steele first team, and Stats Perform FCS third team All-America honors.

Taylor Kolste – Wide Receivers Coach
Coach Kolste joins the Utah Tech staff after serving as an offensive analyst at Boise State last season. Prior to his time at BSU, Kolste was an assistant quarterbacks coach and later an assistant wide receivers coach during a two-year stint at Southern Utah (2020-21).

Ray Clark – Defensive Backs Coach
Coach Clark comes to Utah Tech after serving as a defensive backs graduate assistant coach at Arizona State last year. Clark has also had defensive coaching stops at Stanford (2022), Idaho (2021), San Diego (2020), and Montana State-Northern (2019).

Clark played four seasons at San Diego, where was a three-year starter at safety and helped lead the Toreros to three FCS playoff appearances, including the school's first-ever NCAA postseason bid in 2014.

Nolan Givan – Tight Ends Coach
Coach Givan is joining his former SLU OC Greg Stevens on the Utah Tech staff as the Trailblazers' new tight ends coach. Givan had served as the Lions' wide receivers offensive analyst last season, this after he played tight end at SLU during the 2021 season.

Givan also played tight end at both San Diego State (2020) and at Ball State (2017-19), for which he caught 51 career passes for 352 yards and six touchdowns as a Cardinal.

John Sikora – Offensive Line Coach
Coach Sikora joins Coach Anderson's staff spending two seasons as offensive line coach at Berry College in 2022-23. Prior to his time at Berry, Sikora worked as an offensive assistant and an offensive line assistant at Stanford from 2018-21.

Sikora began his coaching career at his alma mater, Waynesburg University from 2015-17, where he worked his way up from being a strength and conditioning intern to becoming a position coach (assistant DL 2015, LB 2016), recruiter, video operations coordinator, and strength and conditioning coach. He was a three-time all-Presidents Athletic Conference pick during his playing career at Waynesburg, and was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America selection.

Ali'i Niumatalolo – Outside Linebackers Coach
Coach Niumatalolo comes to Utah Tech after serving as an offensive line graduate assistant coach at UCLA last year.

Niumatalolo, who is the son of former longtime Navy head football coach and new San Jose State head coach Ken Niumatalolo, played four seasons at Utah from 2017-21, where he saw time at both tight end and fullback. He then joined the Utes' staff as a quality control coach ahead of the 2022 season.

Steve Clark – Senior Offensive Assistant
Coach Clark joins his son Jamison on Utah Tech's staff ahead of the 2024 season after serving eight years as tight ends coach at BYU from 2016-23.

Prior to his second stint with the Cougar program, Clark served as offensive coordinator at both Weber State (2014-16) and Southern Utah (2008-13). He was also a graduate assistant at BYU (2005-07), and had coaching stops at both Utah (defensive assistant, 2004) and St. Mary's (passing game coordinator, 2003).

Coach Anderson will announce the final additions to his staff in the coming days.