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The Utah State Aggies finally made it official on Friday, naming Kevin Clune the defensive coordinator and Josh Heupel assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Heupel replaces Kevin McGiven, who left the program to join Gary Andersen's staff at Oregon State while Clune replaces Todd Orlando who left to become the defensive coordinator at Houston.
Both coordinators are logical fits for the Aggies, since they are familiar with the program and recruiting bases.
Heupel played for Weber State in 1997 and Snow College in 1998. He had an offer from Utah State, but was persuaded to go to Oklahoma by Mike Leach.
One of Heupel's teammates with the Sooners was USU assistant Luke Wells, who was a quarterback from 1997-99.
However, it was Heupel who gained nationwide fame, finishing as the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Chris Weinke in 2000 when he threw for 3,606 yards and 20 touchdowns and led the Sooners to the national title.
He became the Sooners' quarterbacks coach in 2005 and was promoted to co-offensive coordinator for the 2011 season.
He was recently fired after a disappointing season in which Oklahoma went 0-4 against ranked teams and lost to Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
Utah State coach Matt Wells believes Heupel is a great fit for the Aggies.
"Josh brings a tremendous pedigree and accomplishments to Utah State and the offensive side of the ball," Wells said. "Our philosophies are very similar in how to move the football, and I'm looking forward to a seamless transition this season with our offense."
Heupel has earned a reputation for developing quarterbacks, as he coached Sam Bradford (2007-09) and Landry Jones (2009-12), two of the Sooners' best quarterbacks and relatively recent NFL Draft picks.
He'll have a stable full of quarterbacks with the Aggies, who return Chuckie Keeton, Darell Garretson and Kent Myers, all of whom played in 2014.
Myers, a freshman who finished the season at quarterback after Keeton and Garretson were hurt, was named the Offensive Player of the Game in the Aggies' 21-6 win over UTEP.
"What Utah State University and its alumni base has done in the last decade — stepping up financially and giving themselves an opportunity to compete at the highest level year in and year out — is something I wanted to be a part of," Heupel said. "Utah State has been competing for championships and the program has a lot of momentum and I know its brightest days are ahead."
Clune returns to the program after spending the 2014 season as the defensive coordinator at Hawaii. He previously spent five years as the Aggies' linebackers coach, helping the Aggies to three straight bowl games and developing talent such as Bobby Wagner, Jake Doughty, Kyler Fackrell and Zach Vigil.
"I'm really looking forward to returning to Utah State and the opportunity to work with so many of the players and coaches I have in the past," Clune said.
In his season with the Warriors, Hawaii gave up 26.8 points and 418.2 yards per game and went 4-9, an improvement from the 2013 season when Hawaii allowed 38.8 points and 494.7 yards a game.
Before joining the Aggies in 2009, Clune was the defensive coordinator at Weber State (2005-08) and SUU (2003-04).
He has been credited with helping the Aggies become one of the better defensive units in the nation, with the Aggies ranking seventh in scoring defense in 2012 (15.4) and 2013 (17.1). USU also ranked 15th in total defense in 2012 (322.1 ypg) and 12th in 2013 (330.9).
"Kevin has a tremendous amount of experience with our defense in terms of both terminology and daily operations, and his transition into this position will be very natural," Wells said. "Kevin did a tremendous job at Hawaii improving that defense, and I have great confidence that he will continue to do special things here with our Aggie defense moving forward."
Twitter: @lyawodraska -
USU's new coordinators
Kevin Clune
Coaching
2014 • Hawaii, defensive coordinator
2009-2013 • Utah State, linebackers
2005-08 • Weber State, defensive coordinator
2003-04 • SUU, defensive coordinator
Playing
1990 • San Diego, linebacker/defensive lineman
1995 • Fullerton JC, defensive lineman
Josh Heupel
Coaching
2011-14 • Oklahoma, co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
2006-10 • Oklahoma, quarterbacks
2005 • Arizona, tight ends
Playing
1997 • Weber State, quarterback
1998 • Snow College, quarterback
1999-2000 • Oklahoma, quarterback