Regional notes: Idaho State hires Cody Hawkins; Troy Taylor hires Klayton Adams; Mike Leach
Bouncing around the sporting regions, near and far: Cody Hawkins tackles the toughest job in the Big Sky Conference; Zach Chappell dazzling at Sac State; Kai Wallin is a Cornhusker; Klayton Adams hired at Stanford; Mike Leach’s impact on a former Grant Pacer; and transfer portal blues. Away we go.
Hawk a Bengal: Cody Hawkins grew up around football, tagging along with his father, Dan Hawkins, when the elder Hawk coached at Boise State, then playing for him at Colorado in the Pac-12, and then rising from volunteer coach at UC Davis under his dad to prominent offensive coordinator in recent seasons with his own unique personality and zest for life and football.
Not seeking a head coaching job, the 34-year-old Hawkins was pleasantly stunned by the interest of Idaho State, and he accepted the head coaching gig, the native son of Idaho back for another run. Idaho State is coming off successive one-win seasons. It’s a job that devours people. Hawkins will inject a new offense and new life, and may yet prove that this isn’t a dead-end job. He dazzled in his introductory news conference Sunday, acknowledging that Idaho State players “have been through a lot the last three years. College football should be a fun, amazing experience that helps propel young men to heights greater than they ever thought imaginable.”
▪ Also in the Big Sky, Weber State bid farewell to Jay Hill, who was hired by BYU as defensive coordinator/associate head coach after leading the Wildcats of Ogden to four Big Sky titles; Northern Colorado hired BYU assistant coach Ed Lamb as head coach (he coached Southern Utah for eight years, ending in 2015); and Paul Wulff, a Woodland native and one-time Davis High lineman star, went from assistant head coach at Cal Poly to head coach after Beau Baldwin accepted the offensive coordinator post with Arizona State.
Zach attack: Sacramento State guard Zach Chappell was named the College Insider Lou Henson National Player of the Week after scoring two game-winning baskets in the closing seconds. The Capital Christian High School product scored 25 points and had the winners in an 87-85 overtime effort over Denver and a 76-74 decision over Long Beach State.
Chappell went coast-to-coast for a contested layup against Long Beach State. Against Denver, he sent the game to overtime with a game-tying basket and then scored the game-winner with two seconds left in OT. He is averaging 15.7 points this season for the 5-5 Hornets, who next play on Saturday at Fresno State.
Cornhusker Kai: Kai Wallin was the grunt guy at Jesuit High School, setting screens, boxing out and throwing down an occasional thunder dunk. He was even better in football, rushing the passer or dropping ball carriers for a loss when he wasn’t muscling in for a touchdown catch at tight end. After one season at American River College, the 6-foot-6, 245-pound rush end committed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers to chase down quarterbacks.
He is further proof that the JuCo route is a launching pad for those who didn’t get scholarship offers — or the offers they wanted — out of high school.
Klayton a Cardinal: Klayton Adams, a Sheldon High School graduate and ARC product who coached small college, mid-major and big-boy ball in the Pac-12, was on Monday hired by Troy Taylor to coach the offensive line at Stanford. Adams the past two seasons coached tight ends with the Indianapolis Colts. Adams starred at ARC and played at Boise State, where he got his coaching start in 2008. He had assistant coaching stints at Sacramento State, San Jose State and Colorado. Taylor was hired by Stanford after a successful run at Sacramento State.
Remembering Mike Leach: The college football world was rocked by the death of beloved Mississippi State coach Mike Leach, one of the game’s great offensive innovators and personalities. He was 61.
Darryl Paulo, the one-time Grant Pacers lineman star, played for Leach at Washington State a decade ago. He posted on his Facebook that in 2013, he “did not pass enough academic credits to play football. I thought my time going to school and playing college football had come to an end. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, and Mike Leach believed in me and fought to keep me in the program. His actions allowed me to be able to play three amazing seasons with him as my head coach, and most importantly, earn a degree. I love you and miss you coach. RIP.”
Coming and going: The transfer portal can be a good thing for players seeking a change of pace or a new challenge, or both, but it can gut programs, too. Sacramento State lost two key players via the portal in Big Sky leading rusher Cameron Skattebo and receiver Jared Gipson in the days following Troy Taylor’s departure as Hornets coach to Stanford.
Other portal names of note: quarterback Tyler Vander Waal of Christian Brothers roots is leaving Idaho State; and receiver Josh Farr out of Jesuit and Sierra College is leaving UTEP.
McCallan Castles, an NFL prospect at tight end at UC Davis, entered the portal after this past season and soon committed to Tennessee of the SEC.
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.