Mario Acitelli (Ack-eh-tell-ee) is in his first season as Utah State’s run game coordinator and offensive line coach. He has been part of seven postseason teams. The 2025 campaign will be his 16th year as a collegiate coach, and he has mentored seven players who have played in the NFL.
Acitelli has coached in five bowl games and three FCS Playoffs and has been part of one conference championship team.
Acitelli came to Utah State after spending the past three seasons (2022-24) as the offensive line coach at William & Mary, including serving as the offensive coordinator this past season.
In 2024, Acitelli’s unit helped the Tribe rank fourth nationally in rushing at 232.8 yards per game and 24th in total offense at 413.2 yards per game. Acitelli coached a pair of offensive linemen who earned postseason honors in Charles Grant and Ryan McKenna, as both earned Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) accolades. Grant was also named a first-team All-American by seven different publications and was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which is annually presented to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.
Grant and McKenna both garnered postseason honors following the 2023 season under Acitelli as the Tribe ranked 13th nationally and third in the CAA in rushing at 196.9 yards per game. In 2023, Grant was named to four separate All-America teams, while McKenna earned honorable mention All-CAA accolades.
Grant was the nation’s first player to accept an invitation to play in the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl. He was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft with the 99th overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders.
William & Mary's offensive line established itself as one of the nation's top units and was a dominant force in the record-breaking 2022 season under Acitelli, marking the best statistical performance by the offensive line in school history. The Tribe ranked first nationally in sacks allowed (0.64 pg), second in explosive runs (97), third in rushing yards (274.0 ypg), third in rushing yards per carry (6.3), and sixth in rushing yards before contact (1,307). Additionally, the Tribe recorded 35 rushing touchdowns, marking the third-most in school history. They averaged 448.8 total yards and 33.5 points per game, which rank fourth and fifth, respectively, on the program’s all-time single-season list.
That success helped propel William & Mary to new heights as the Tribe equaled a school record with 11 victories, won a share of the CAA title and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
Acitelli impacted the development of one of the nation’s top linemen Colby Sorsdal, who was a consensus All-America selection and garnered an invite to the prestigious East-West Shrine Bowl before being selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Acitelli served as the lead offensive analyst and interim running backs coach at LSU during the 2021 season. With the Tigers, he helped Ty Davis-Price set the single-game school record for rushing yards with 287 against Florida. Davis-Price was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
Before William & Mary, Acitelli spent the 2020-21 season at Elon as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach. Acitelli's special teams were strong in his first season as the Phoenix ranked 18th in the country in net punting, 20th in kick return defense and 29th in punt return defense. Elon was also second in the CAA in net punting and punt return average, third in kickoff return average and fourth in kickoff return defense. Individually, punter Hunter Stephenson was 12th nationally in punting average and was named first team All-CAA.
Acitelli joined Elon after spending the 2019 season in the Atlantic Coast Conference at North Carolina. As a special teams analyst for the Tar Heels, Acitelli helped UNC block three kicks, which tied for 14th in the nation.
Acitelli spent the previous five seasons (2014-18) at William & Mary as the team’s tight ends and fullbacks coach and added special teams coordinator to his role his last two years.
During his first stint at William & Mary, Acitelli coached wide receiver Devonte Dedmon, who garnered CAA Special Teams Player of the Year honors in 2015. Acitelli’s position group also consistently ranked among the best in the CAA, as the team’s tight ends and fullbacks combined for eight All-CAA recognitions in five years. Highlighting those honorees was three-time All-CAA tight end Andrew Caskin, who earned a rookie camp invite with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. During the 2018 season, sophomore tight end Nick Muse set William & Mary records for receptions per game, yards per game and yards per catch by a tight end.
In addition to his tight end success, a trio of fullbacks – Andrew Weidinger, Darnell Laws and Tyler Crist – earned all-league accolades during Acitelli’s tenure. Caskin and Weidinger also distinguished themselves by being selected as semifinalists for the prestigious Campbell Trophy, now the Draddy Trophy, announced by the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame and is awarded annually to the nation’s top football scholar-athlete.
Acitelli joined William & Mary in 2014 after serving as a graduate assistant at Texas for the previous three seasons (2011-13). In addition to coaching the Longhorns defensive scout team, he assisted with on-field instruction for the offensive line and tight ends.
Before Texas, Acitelli served as a student assistant coach at his alma mater, Appalachian State, in 2010. In that role, he coached the defensive scout team and assisted with multiple aspects of the program, including on-field instruction for the offensive line.
A four-year starter, All-American and team captain at Appalachian State, Acitelli was a member of the 2006 and 2007 FCS National Championship teams. In 2009, he won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, awarded to the Southern Conference’s top offensive lineman. A highlight of Acitelli’s career came during the 2007 season as a member of the Mountaineer program that upset No. 5 Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Acitelli earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Appalachian State in 2010 and a master’s degree in advertising from Texas in 2013. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Acitelli attended Charlotte Catholic High School and he was inducted into their Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
Acitelli is married to the former Sara Cline. The couple have two children, Leona and Graydon.
MARIO ACITELLI FILE
Coaching History
2025- Utah State – Run Game Coordinator/OL
2024 William & Mary – Offensive Coordinator/OL
2022-23 William & Mary – Offensive Line
2021 LSU – Offensive Analyst/Interim RB
2020-21 Elon – Special Teams Coordinator/TE
2019 North Carolina – Special Teams Analyst
2017-18 William & Mary – Special Teams Coordinator/TE/FB
2014-16 William & Mary – Tight Ends/Full Backs
2011-13 Texas – Graduate Assistant
2010 Appalachian State – Student Assistant
Conference Championships (1)
William & Mary (1): 2022 Coastal Athletic Association
FCS Playoffs (3)
William & Mary (2): 2022 Quarterfinals; 2015 Second Round
Appalachian State (1): 2010 Second Round
Bowl Games (5)
LSU (1): 2021 Texas Bowl
North Carolina (1): 2019 Military Bowl
Texas (3): 2013 Alamo Bowl; 2012 Alamo Bowl; 2011 Holiday Bowl
Playing Experience
2006-09 Appalachian State
Education
2013 Texas – Advertising (Master’s)
2010 Appalachian State – Business Administration (Bachelor’s)
Family
Wife, Sara, and children, Leona and Graydon.
