Dec. 8, 2008
LOGAN, Utah - A pair of Weber State defensive assistants in Kevin Clune (pronounced Kloon) and Chad Kauha'aha'a (pronounced Cow-ha-a-ha-a) have been added to the Utah State football staff, new Aggie head coach Gary Andersen announced Monday, completing the defensive coaching staff. Andersen also announced that Steve Mathis has been hired as USU's director of football operations.
The two new defensive assistants not only join new defensive coordinator Bill Busch as Andersen's three new hires, while retaining John Rushing as USU's cornerbacks coach, but also completes Andersen's defensive staff.
Clune was Weber State's defensive coordinator and will be Utah State's linebackers coach, while Kauha'aha'a will be the Aggies' defensive line coach, the same position he held at Weber State.
Mathis, who worked with Andersen at Utah for the last four years as the Utes' defensive administrative assistant, will be the director of football operations, handling the program's daily operations as well as coordinating recruiting campus visits.
Clune and Kauha'aha'a come to Utah State after four years at Weber State, recently helping the Wildcats to a share of the Big Sky Conference title and advancing to the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, where they lost at No. 5 Montana, 24-13, this past Saturday.
Clune's defense was fourth in the Big Sky Conference and 76th in FCS in total defense (363.9 yards per game), as well as leading the Big Sky in pass defense (208.4 ypg), good for 69th in FCS. Weber State also led the league in pass efficiency defense (109.4), which ranks 17th in FCS.
"I'm very excited about the opportunity to work with Coach Andersen again," Clune said. "I'm looking forward to the challenge of building on the success that Utah State has had and turning that program into one with continued success. I believe in Gary Andersen 110 percent and know that he will get that done."
Clune was Andersen's defensive coordinator at Southern Utah in 2003 and was at SUU through 2004 until joining the Weber State staff in 2005.
"Kevin and I worked together when he was my defensive coordinator at Southern Utah so our defensive beliefs are extremely close. He brings coordinator experience to us, something that is invaluable to a program, and he will only strengthen our defensive staff," Andersen said. "Kevin is very familiar with the state of Utah and everything that it has to offer. He's a terrific recruiter and will help us maintain our goal of continuing to build a successful program here at Utah State and pursue a conference championship."
Under Clune, Weber State's defense was ranked second in the Big Sky in both 2006 and 2007. The 2007 Wildcat defense yielded an average of just 348.4 yards per game. Weber State also ranked first in the league in pass defense (212.2 ypg) and third in rushing defense (136.2 ypg). Weber State's 23-0 win at Northern Colorado on Oct. 13, 2007 was the Wildcats' first shutout of a league opponent since 1980 and the first shutout of a league opponent on the road since 1966.
During his tenure at Weber State, Clune coached 15 all-Big Sky Conference winners, including nine this past season, as tackle Bryce Scanlon, end Kevin Linehan, linebacker J.D. Folsom, cornerback Josh Morris and safety Beau Hadley all earned first-team accolades; while tackle Ryan Eastman, end Pate Moleni, linebacker Biff Swan and safety Scotty Goodloe were on the honorable mention list. In 2005, defensive end Brady Fosmark was a second-team All-American and first-team all-Big Sky selection.
While at Southern Utah, Clune mentored outside linebacker Nick DiPadova, who earned second-team NCAA Division I-AA All-American honors in 2004 and was honorable mention in 2003. Marques Harris also earned third-team NCAA Division I-AA All-American accolades in 2004 as well.
Clune was a graduate assistant coach on the Utah staff in 2001 and 2002, spending the 2001 season with the running backs before shifting to the defensive side of the ball where he worked with the linebackers, where he coached with Andersen who was the defensive tackles for the Utes that season. Clune also assisted with special teams preparation and scouting.
Clune also spent time on the football staffs at Occidental College and Fullerton Junior College. At Occidental, his primary responsibility was the defensive line, while coaching the linebackers at Fullerton JC as well as the special teams coordinator. Clune also coached at Dos Pueblos High School and Palma High School.
Clune was a defensive lineman at Fullerton JC for one year and spent one season at the University of San Diego.
Kauha'aha'a was Weber State's defensive line coach all four years he was there, helping guide the Wildcats to 2.1 sacks per game, good for tied for 42nd in FCS.
"In my opinion, Chad is one of the best recruiters in the country. He has vast knowledge of recruiting all types of players, especially Polynesian players," Andersen said. "He has also coached in basically the same defensive scheme from working under Coach Clune, so he understands our defensive goals and objectives. He's a young, passionate and aggressive coach, and I'm excited to work with him in making Utah State a great football program."
This past season, one of Kauha'aha'a's pupils, first-team all-Big Sky selection Kevin Linehan was second in the Big Sky and tied for 16th in FCS in sacks with 10.5 (0.75 pg). Linehan was also fourth in the Big Sky in tackles for loss with 14.5 and second in the league with five forced fumbles. Another first-team all-Big Sky honoree, Bryce Scanlon was 38th in the league with 67 tackles (4.8 pg) with seven and half tackles for loss including one sack.
"I've very thankful for the opportunity that Gary Andersen has given me to coach at Utah State," Kauha'aha'a said. "I'm anxious for the challenge and can't wait to get started and take the Aggies to the next level. While at Weber State, I have seen the progress that Utah State has made and am looking forward to being part of Coach Andersen's staff to expand on that success."
Under Kauha'aha'a, the 2007 Weber State defensive line was also greatly successful, ranking second in the Big Sky in overall defense (348.4 ypg) and third in rushing defense (136.2 ypg). Scanlon also earned first-team all-Big Sky accolades last season, while defensive tackle Derek Johnson and Linehan were honorable mention selections.
In 2006, defensive tackle Rio Stotler earned first-team all-conference, while Pate Moleni and Patrick O'Keefe garnered honorable mention all-Big Sky accolades. The 2005 Kauha'aha'a-led defensive line also collected several awards as defensive end Brady Fosmark was second-team All-America and first-team all-Big Sky selection and defensive tackle Shane Barkdull was also a first-team all-conference honoree.
Prior to Weber State, Kauha'aha'a was head coach at Baldwin High School on the island of Maui, Hawai'i, where he posted a 25-5-2 record in three seasons, winning two Maui Interscholastic League championships. His teams finished ranked among the top five in the state each of those three seasons.
Kauha'aha'a was a three-year letterwinner at Utah, playing linebacker in 1993 before red-shirting in 1994. Moving to defensive line in 1995, Kauha'aha'a was a second-team all-Western Athletic Conference selection in 1995 after posting seven sacks as part of his 70 tackles. In 1996, he garnered second-team all-WAC accolades, despite missing three games with a knee injury, leading Utah with six tackles for a loss, including four sacks. He was a two-time recipient of Utah's Walt DeLand Award, presented each year to the Ute football player who overcomes adversity to make a contribution. His 110 career tackles for loss yardage is No. 11 on Utah's career list.
Earning his bachelor's degree in sociology, Kauha'aha'a graduated from Utah in 1996. He and his wife Walene, have two children, Walter and Chaseten.
While at Utah, Mathis worked with the defensive coaching staff, handling office duties in addition to scout team cards at practice and game day charting.
"I'm extremely excited that Steve will be joining our program. He will handle all of the behind the scenes tasks, that are vital to our program's operating at the high level that it does," Andersen said. "Not only has he been a long-time friend, he is passionate and dedicated about what he does and he does them exceptionally well."
A native of Salt Lake City, Mathis has owned Abbey Carpets for the last 26 years. He was named Businessman of the Year from 2003-05. Mathis also serves on numerous business advisory boards and councils.
Mathis was an assistant coach at Alta High School from 2002-04. He was also a little league coach, and as head coach of the Alta Ute Conference eighth and ninth grade team, his squads captured five state titles and won a National Youth Football League championship.
He graduated from Snow College in 1980, where he competed with the basketball team. He then attended Weber State and worked as an athletics trainer for the Wildcats, before getting into the business realm.
Mathis is married to the former Suzanne Atencio and the couple have six children: J.D., Nic, Tim, Cassandra, Chandra and Emma.
Utah State finished the 2008 season with a 3-9 overall and 3-5 WAC record, marking the first time since 2005 that the Aggies have three wins in a season. USU won three WAC games in a season for the first time in the Aggies' four seasons in the league. It is also the first time since 2003 that USU won three conference games and just the third time in the 2000's.
The Aggies return 47 letterwinners (24 offense, 20 defense and three special teams) after losing 12 lettermen (five offense, seven defense) among the 17 seniors from this season's roster.
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