Nevada Football: Four more assistants offically announced to Ken Wilson’s staff

Four more assistants have been officially been hired to Nevada head football coach Ken Wilson’s staff, it was announced Monday. Three of the four have previous coached with Wilson. Here were the coaching positions announced:

• Offensive coordinator
• Quarterbacks
• Offensive line
• Defensive line

Here were the coaches that have already been made official:

• Running backs coach: Vai Taua (also named the assistant head coach)
• Co-defensive coordinators: Kwame Agyeman and Mike Bethea
• Linebackers: Bethea
• Outside linebackers: Joe Bolden
• Safeties: Agyeman
• Cornerbacks: Jalen Ortiz
• Special teams coordinator: Bolden
• Strength and conditioning: Mason Baggett

Read more about them here.

The only spot available left for hiring is the wide receivers coach. Let’s jump into the bios of the four aforementioned assistants announced Monday!

Offensive coordinator: Derek Sage

Previous: Matt Mumme (2017-21) - Now at Colorado State as offensive coordinator

Sage has been a Division-I assistant for nearly two decades. He returns to the Wolf Pack after he spent two years as a graduate assistant with the defensive backs and wide receivers in 2003 and 2004, respectively, under head coaches Chris Tormey and Chris Ault, when Wilson re-joined the staff as a defensive assistant. This will be Sage’s first job as an offensive coordinator. Sage has spent his last four years as UCLA’s tight end coach — adding the special teams coordinator title in his final three seasons. He helped coach Mackay Award semifinalist Greg Dulcich, Devin Asiasi and Caleb Wilson. Before his stint at UCLA, he was the outside receivers coach at Washington State in 2017 — when the Cougars ranked second in the FBS in passing offense (366.8 ypg). Sage has had other stints as a wide receivers coach at Wyoming (2010-13) and New Hampshire (2005-09).

Quarterbacks coach: Nate Costa

Previous: Mumme (2017-21)

Costa, a five-year quarterback Oregon, just finished two seperate three-year stints with the Ducks. He most recently served as the senior offensive analyst while working closely with Oregon’s quarterbacks for three seasons (2019-21). Costa’s first three-year stint with Oregon came as a graduate assistant from 2013 to 2015, primarily working with the wide receivers and the quarterbacks. In 2017, he spent one season as the offensive coordinator and quarterback’s coach at IMG Academy, a nationally-ranked high school; Costa spent 2018 at UCLA as an offensive analyst that helped with coaching the team’s running backs and tight ends.

Offensive line coach: Louie Addazio

Previous: Bill Best (2020-21) - Now at Colorado State as offensive line coach

We have a coaching swap! Best, previously the offensive line coach at Nevada is now Colorado State’s offensive coach; Addazio, previously the offensive line coach at Colorado State (where he spent two seasons under his father, Steve Addazio), is now at the same role with the Wolf Pack. A fun tid bit (I guess?)! Addazio will be one of Nevada’s younger coaches on its staff. Addazio, a three-year tight end under his father at Boston College (2013-15), was previously the tight ends coach at Bowling Green in 2019 after spending three years at Ohio State as a graduate intern (2016) and graduate assistant (2017-18) with the offensive line.

Defensive line coach: C.J. Ah You

Previous: Jackie Shipp (2019-21)

Ah You, a former seventh-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, spent 2021 as USC’s quality control coach. Though Ah You does have previous coaching experience as a defensive line coach in the XFL for the New York Guardians (2020) and in the SEC at Vanderbilt for three seasons (2016-18). Ah You, who spent six seasons as a defensive end with the Buffalo Bills (2007, practice squad) and the then-St. Louis Rams (2007-12), began his coaching career as a special teams quality control coach at Oklahoma in 2015.