CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah University head football coach DeLane Fitzgerald has announced his coaching staff for the upcoming season.
The 2022 staff includes four coaches retained from the previous staff, and six new additions to SUU.
"I am happy with the way our coaching staff came together," Fitzgerald said. "We have a coaching staff that can coach and recruit with anyone in the country. Most important, though, on top of being good coaches and good recruiters, we have a coaching staff made up of good people. I'm excited to build a great college football program with them."
The coaches from last year's staff staying in Cedar City include offensive line coach Aaron Fernandez, wide receivers coach Brady Measom, linebackers coach Solomona Tapasa and defensive line coach Ryan Hunt. Hunt's responsibilities in 2022 will be changed to coaching the interior of the defensive line in addition to serving as the program's director of football operations.
New faces on the staff for the upcoming season include offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Blair Peterson, defensive coordinator and safeties coach John Kelling, defensive ends coach Shawn Magginson, tight ends coach Will Brunson, cornerbacks coach Nick Rosser and Andrew Bates, who will serve as the football team's strength and conditioning coach.
Information on each individual coach can be read below.
Blair Peterson- Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
No stranger to the state of Utah, Peterson comes to Southern Utah by way of Brigham Young University where he has worked with quarterbacks as an offensive analyst since 2019. Before BYU, Peterson was an offensive quality control assistant at Rice for two seasons. He also spent 2016 as the tight ends coach at Florida International, where he mentored NFL tight end Jonu Smith. Peterson served as an offensive quality control assistant at Texas from 2010-12, and served as the team's interim running backs coach in the 2012 Alamo Bowl.
Peterson played three years of college football, starting as a quarterback for the University of New Mexico in 2007. After one season with the Lobos, he transferred to Towson where he played quarterback from 2008-09. Peterson is originally from San Antonio, Texas, and is joined in Cedar City by his wife, Camille, and daughter, Brooklyn.
John Kelling- Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Coach
Kelling joins the Southern Utah staff after serving as head coach at Lock Haven University since January of 2020. Before his brief stint at LHU, Kelling served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Frostburg State University under coach Fitzgerald. Before meeting coach Fitzgerald in Maryland, Kelling coached at the University of Mary in North Dakota for two seasons in various roles.
From 2004-11, Kelling coached at the University of North Dakota where he faced the Thunderbirds on multiple occasions. Kelling coached the defensive backs in his first two seasons before becoming the team's co-defensive coordinator in 2006. Kelling started his coaching career at his alma mater, Minnesota State Mankato, from 1992-95, and spent the following two seasons at Augustana College in South Dakota. Kelling was named Football Gazette's Division II National Defensive Player of the Year in 1991 during his playing days. In addition to his degree from MSU Mankato, he holds a master's degree in recreation and sports science from Ohio University.
Shawn Magginson- Defensive Ends Coach
Joining Fitzgerald from Frostburg State, Magginson will work as the defensive ends coach at SUU. Magginson spent four years as a coach on the FSU staff, working with the entirety of the defensive line. Magginson was a four-year player for the Bobcat football team and appeared in all 13 games and made two starts as a senior. He finished fourth on the team with 46 tackles, including four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also added one interception, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble.
Will Brunson- Tight Ends Coach
Like Magginson, Brunson comes to Southern Utah by way of Frostburg State as both a player and coach. Brunson played quarterback for the Bobcats in 2019, throwing for 2,067 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding three more touchdowns on the ground. Before transferring to FSU, Brunson played quarterback at the University of Albany where he threw for 2,334 yards with 10 touchdowns in three seasons. After his playing career, Brunson spent one season coaching the offensive line under Fitzgerald's leadership.
Aaron Fernandez- Offensive Line Coach
2022 will mark Fernandez's 14th season at Southern Utah, and 11th as a full-time assistant. After working with the defense for his first four years coach Fernandez made the jump to the offensive side of the ball in 2013 where he coached the Tight Ends and Coordinated the Special Teams for two years. In 2015 he moved to the offensive line. Coach Fernandez also served as the team's recruiting coordinator for 5 years. Fernandez joined the staff as an undergraduate assistant in 2009 following a stellar career as a Thunderbird player.
Ryan Hunt- Interior Defensive Line Coach/Director of Football Operations
Hunt will be in his 18th season when the T-Birds kickoff the 2022 schedule. Coach Hunt has worked with both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. A 2003 graduate of SUU, Coach Hunt was a three-year starter at offensive tackle for the Thunderbirds before joining the staff. While playing for the Thunderbirds, Hunt started 33 straight games from his sophomore to senior seasons, never missing a game during his career. A native of Erda, Utah, he is a graduate of Tooele High School, where he was an all-state and all-region performer.
Brady Measom- Wide Receivers Coach
Following a successful career as a member of the Thunderbird football team, Measom joined the coaching staff at SUU in January of 2017 as a graduate assistant and worked his way into the position of director of operations before being named wide receivers coach. Measom was a team captain for the Thunderbirds during his tenure and served on the leadership committee, along with putting up impressive stats in the wide receiver position. He graduated from SUU with a master's of accountancy in 2018.
Solomona Tapasa- Linebackers Coach
Tapasa will start his seventh season at SUU in 2022. Ahead of the 2016 season Tapasa was brought to Cedar City to serve as SUU's Co-Defensive Coordinator and coach the linebacking unit. Since then, Tapasa has transitioned into a role as assistant coach overseeing the linebackers for Southern Utah. Before joining the Thunderbird coaching staff, Tapasa served as defensive line coach at Sacramento State. The American Samoa native also spent time coaching at Western Oregon, Eastern Oregon and Humboldt State.
Coach Tapasa played college football at Portland State and graduated with a bachelor's degree in pre-law before going on to receive his master's degree in health education from Western Oregon in 2006. Tapasa and his wife, Joanna, reside in St. George and have five daughters.
Nick Rosser- Cornerbacks Coach
Like other coaches on the staff, Rosser follows Fitzgerald from Frostburg State to Southern Utah after serving as the Bobcats' cornerbacks coach for two seasons. Rosser also worked with the defensive backs at the University of Virginia-Wise from 2016-19. Prior to his time at Wise, Rosser was a defensive quality control coach at James Madison, where he helped the Dukes to a CAA Championship and FCS playoff appearance. Rosser played his college football at James Madison from 2000-01 and earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from JMU in 2003.
Andrew Bates- Strength & Conditioning Coach
Bates joins Southern Utah after serving one season as the strength and conditioning coach for Hampton University. Before working with the Pirates, Bates was the head strength and conditioning coach at Jacksonville University for nine and a half years. The Dolphins won 10 conference championships across multiple sports during Bates' tenure. Bates went to Jacksonville after a two-year stint at Marshall University. He also spent time at Michigan State and Wayne State. He was a two-time letter winner playing college football at both Grand Rapids Community College and Wayne State University.
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