UTEP coach Scotty Walden tried to keep under wraps, as much as he could, what the Miners are going to do on defense this year.
A look at his first defensive staff makes the answer pretty obvious: What they did last year at Austin Peay.
Seven of the nine defensive assistants are coming with him from Peay, the biggest part of the big exodus to El Paso. That means a 3-3-5 defense, and it was a good one last year at Austin Peay.
Here is a look at the defensive assistants.
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J.J. Clark, defensive coordinator/linebackers
Clark was the coordinator at Peay last season, his second at the school after earning a promotion from linebackers coach in 2022. Prior to that he spent three years at Indiana Wesleyan.
He graduated from Wheaton College in 2012, where he was a tight end and fullback.
“J.J. is one of the best defensive minds in the nation,” Walden said. “He comes from a family of coaches and has an amazing track record as a defensive coordinator. He is a great teacher and inspires his players to play above themselves daily.
“He will have an attack style and multiple defense that will be fun for Miner fans to watch. I cannot wait to see him lead the ‘Orange Swarm Defense’ as we develop our fearless, fast, physical brand of football! We are thrilled to have J.J. and his awesome family here in El Paso!”
Aaron Foster, cornerbacks/passing game coordinator
Foster spent one year at Austin Peay in the same capacity he is taking over at UTEP. Before that he spent two years at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne in North Carolina.
He played collegiately at Bowling Green, where he helped the Falcons to the 2013 MAC Championship.
Chris Jones, defensive line/run game coordinator
Jones was a co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Austin Peay the previous three seasons. He coached at Texas A&M-Kingsville in a spring 2021 COVID season and before that he was at his alma mater Hardin-Simmons in Abilene for 10 years.
He was a lineman for Hardin-Simmons from 2003-06, then graduated from there in 2008.
Seth McDonald, bandits/co-special teams coordinator/defensive recruiting coordinator
One of the younger coaches in the staff — he graduated from Eastern Illinois in 2017 after earning first-team, all-conference linebacker honors. He spent last season at Peay, his first there, after moving from South Alabama. He was a graduate assistant at South Alabama for two years.
Joe Pappalardo, special teams coordinator/Miner backs
Pappalardo is following Walden to a new school for a second time, as he went to Peay from Southern Miss, where he was on the staff with Walden. At Peay, he had the same job he’ll have at UTEP (except UTEP calls the fifth defensive back a Miner back instead of a Guv back).
He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2019 before going to Southern Miss for two seasons.
Kelvin Sigler, co-defensive coordinator/safeties
One of two members of the defensive staff who didn’t come to UTEP from Austin Peay, Sigler spent the last six seasons at Jacksonville State. He was part of the staff, as the defensive coordinator, for the team that beat the Miners in last year’s opener.
A player at Alabama from 1995-98, he was on the defensive staff there in 2012 when the Tide beat Notre Dame for the national championship. He was a high school head coach before that for four years, then had stops at Northern Illinois and Southern Alabama before going to Jacksonville State.
Kyle Beyer, lead defensive analyst
The other defensive staffer not coming from Austin Peay, Beyer was the defensive coordinator at Roosevelt University, a Division II school in Chicago. Before that, he spent six years at Indiana Wesleyan, eventually working up to defensive coordinator.
He was a four-year starter and a captain at Division III Grove City College from 2014-17.
Kade Glenn, graduate assistant defensive backs
Glenn coached last season at Austin Peay after spending one year at Northern Alabama, which was his first as a coach. He played for Keiser University for three years (2017-20) and received his degree, then took a graduate transfer for a final year at New Haven.
Addison Tucker, graduate assistant, defensive line
Tucker spent two years as a defensive line quality control coach at Austin Peay after spending four years at his alma mater Lincoln University (Missouri). Tucker played four years of linebacker at Lincoln, where he graduated in 2018.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP football defense coordinators for 2024 season
The El Paso Times
