After a disappointing 5-6 season that ended in Shawn Clark’s dismissal, Appalachian State installed former South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains as the program’s 23rd head coach. This week, Loggains finalized the 12-member, full-time coaching staff that will guide the Mountaineers in what they hoped will be a bounce-back campaign in 2025.
Dowell Loggains – Head Coach
-17 years as an NFL assistant
-Last two years as South Carolina offensive coordinator. Spent 2021 and 2022 at Arkansas (tight ends) and a brief stint at Penn State in the spring of 2021.
Clyde Christensen – Associate Head Coach
-Two-time Super Bowl winner (Tampa Bay, Indianapolis)
-45 years of coaching experience, 27 in the NFL
DJ Smith – Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers
-Returns to App State, where he was a player and spent four years on staff. Spent the last five years on staff at Missouri
-Four years as an NFL player
Jeff Crosby – Special Teams Coordinator
-Two college football playoff trips
-Spent past three seasons at Texas as senior special teams analyst
Curtis Fuller – Defensive Pass Game Coordinator / Defensive Backs
-Super Bowl champion as an assistant coach (Green Bay, 2010)
-Past coaching experience: Nine seasons in the NFL, Texas A&M–Commerce (2022), Vanderbilt (2022), three seasons with Myers Park High School in Charlotte
Aashon Larkins – Offensive Recruiting Coordinator / Running Backs
-Michigan (2019-21), Ole Miss (2022), Dartmouth (2023-24), Holy Cross, Wagner, The Citadel, Jacksonville State, Bethune-Cookman, Philadelphia Eagles
Anthony Shakir – Defensive Recruiting Coordinator / Edges
-Past experience: App State 2018-2020, East Tennessee State (2021), Chattanooga (2022-23), Ball State (2024), University of Rochester (2017), Brevard College (2015-2016)
Joe Dailey – Wide Receivers
-Past experience: Buffalo, Kansas, Bethune-Cookman, Liberty, New Mexico, Boston College, Carolina Panthers, Hampton
-Former North Carolina and Nebraska quarterback
Keith Jones Jr. – Defensive Line
-Past experience: New England Patriots (2023-2024), Arkansas (2022), Arkansas State (2021), Missouri Southern State (2020)
-Former UT-Martin standout defensive tackle and Indoor Football League champion (2018, Iowa Barnstormers)
Allen Mogridge – Offensive Line
-Past experience: Georgia Tech, East Carolina, USF, FIU, Georgia Southern, UCF, Temple and Buffalo
Riley Watkins – Quarterbacks
-Comes from South Carolina, where he was a GA in 2024. Other experience: Missouri (quality control, 2022), Arkansas (offensive/recruiting undergraduate assistant)
Ryan Yurachek – Tight Ends
-Two years with South Carolina (2023: analyst, 2024: tight ends), other experience at Austin Peay (tight ends) and Arkansas (graduate assistant)
-Played at Marshall from 2014 to 2017, followed by a brief NFL stint.
Matt Greenhalgh – Director of Athletic Performance for Football
-Retains his role after serving in it for the last two seasons in Boone.
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This content is reposted from the source: https://www.si.com/college/group-five/sun-belt/appalachian-state-football-finalizes-first-coaching-staff-under-dowell-loggains
