March 20, 2006
LOGAN, Utah - Former Utah State football player Shaun Johnson and former Louisiana State University graduate assistant Tracy Smith, have been hired as assistant football coaches at Utah State it was announced by Aggie head coach Brent Guy on Monday.
Johnson will coach the Aggie running backs, while Smith will be responsible for the USU tight ends. They replace former defensive line coach Tom McMahon, who moved to Louisville and former running backs coach Chris Tabor, who is now at Western Michigan.
Danilo Robinson, who coached USU's tight ends last year, has been moved to defensive line, a position he played while at Utah State from 1993-96. Robinson will also take over the recruiting coordinator position as well.
In addition, Tony Flores, who served as a work-study assistant last year, has been named a graduate assistant coach.
Johnson played wide receiver at Utah State in 1993 and 1994. He comes to Logan after spending the last two seasons at Brown University where he coached the NCAA I-AA leading rusher in Nick Hartigan. Hartigan was a first-team All-America selection and was one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award given to the top player at the I-AA level after rushing for 172.2 yards per game.
Brown won the Ivy League title this past fall with a 9-1 overall record. The Bears averaged 409.2 yards of total offense to rank 22nd in the nation, including 219.3 yards per game rushing, a figure that ranked 16th in the country.
As a player at Utah State, Johnson was on the 1993 Aggie team that won the Big West Championship and the Las Vegas Bowl. In 1994 he played in all 11 games, catching 20 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
Johnson, who graduated from USU with a degree in communications in 1995, coached at Hampden-Sydney College (1998), Adams State College (1999-2000), Brown (2001, 2004-05) and Langston (2002-03), prior to coming to USU.
He is married to the former Marsha Halaufia and they have two children Kavi (9) and Makana (5). Johnson was born Oct. 3, 1970 in Bryan, Texas.
"Shaun is a Utah State grad who I have known for a long time and has been coaching the running backs at Brown and they had a very successful year last season," Guy said. "He played on our championship team in 1993 and is a very experienced coach. He was a coordinator at one time (Langston)."
"I am excited that Coach Guy has given me an opportunity to return to my alma mater and I look forward to helping get this program back to the level it was at when I played," Johnson said. "We have a good nucleus of players and staff. This is something that I have dreamed of and have wanted to do for quite awhile."
Smith spent the past year as the offensive graduate assistant at LSU. In his position he worked with the Tiger quarterbacks under the direction of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jimbo Fisher.
The Tigers won the western division of the SEC with a 7-1 league record and were 11-2 overall, including a 40-3 win against Miami in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.
In 2005, LSU had the nation's 43rd leading scoring offense at 29.5 points per game and the country's 60th-ranked total offensive unit at 374.0 yards per game. Tiger quarterback JaMarcus Russell ranked 69th in the nation in total offense with 201.0 yards per game.
Prior to coaching at LSU, Smith was a restricted earnings coach working with tight ends and serving as the team's video coordinator at Stephen F. Austin. While there he worked with current USU offensive coordinator Mike Santiago and current Aggie wide receivers coach Greg Stevens.
Smith is the son of Carl Smith, who is currently the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. Smith, who was born Feb. 23, 1982 in Beaumont, Texas, is married to the former Corey Guyott. He graduated from LSU with a business degree in the fall of 2003.
"Tracy is a young, bright mind, who is going to be an up and coming coach," Guy said. "He knows the offense because he has already worked with Santiago and Stevens at Stephen F. Austin, so the transition should be easy for him."
"I am excited to be here," Smith said. "I am excited about the opportunity to work with Mike Santiago again. I enjoy his offense and know it from two years ago. I like Coach Guy's energy and enthusiasm and I feel like this is a program headed in the right direction and I am looking forward to being a part of it."
