Jimmy Rogers’ WSU coaching staff is taking shape

Jan 4, 2025, 4:37 PM

Fans of the WSU Cougars during a college football game. (William Mancebo/Getty Images)

(William Mancebo/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports

The WSU Cougars’ coaching staff is starting to take shape under new head coach Jimmy Rogers.

WSU hired Danny Freund as its next offensive coordinator and Jesse Bobbit as its next defensive coordinator this week, according to multiple reports. The school has yet to announce either hiring.

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Rogers, who was hired last week after two seasons as the head coach of FCS power South Dakota State, is turning to a pair of familiar faces to run his offense and defense. Freund and Bobbit both held the same roles on the Jackrabbits’ staff in 2024.

Freund was hired at South Dakota State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last season. The Jackrabbits ranked fourth in the FCS in scoring, 12th in total offense, third in rushing and 72nd in passing under Freund.

Freund spent 12 seasons coaching at alma mater North Dakota before joining the Jackrabbits, serving as a running backs coach and receivers coach before taking over as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2018. Freund broke multiple school passing records while playing quarterback at North Dakota from 2004-08.

Bobbit, a former WSU graduate assistant, took over as South Dakota State’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2023 following one season as a safeties coach. He helped the Jackrabbits win the FCS national title in 2023 while holding opponents to just 9.4 points per game, the top mark in the nation. South Dakota State led the nation in scoring defense again this past season and ranked fifth in total defense, fifth against the run and 31st against the pass.

Prior to joining the Jackrabbits’ staff, Bobbit was at WSU from 2020-21 under Nick Rolovich and Jake Dickert. He also served as a graduate assistant at South Dakota State in 2019 and spent the two previous years as an assistant at Bellevue West High School in Nebraska.

Bobbit was a three-year starter at linebacker during his playing days at South Dakota State while Rogers was the program’s linebackers coach.

Additionally, the Spokesman-Review’s Greg Woods reported WSU is hiring former UW Huskies defensive lineman Everette Thompson as its next defensive line coach. Thompson, a Renton native who played at UW from 2008-11, spent the past three seasons serving various roles on the coaching staff at Cal Poly. He was the defensive line coach at Northern Arizona from 2019-21.

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Along with his offensive and defensive coordinators, Rogers is bringing one of his top offensive weapons from South Dakota State to the Palouse.

ESPN’s Max Olson reported Saturday that Jackrabbits running back Angel Johnson has committed to WSU.

Johnson piled up 1,134 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns while helping the Jackrabbits reach the FCS semifinals this season. He rushed for 646 yards and three TDs while averaging 7.1 yards per carry, adding another 181 yards and one TD on 15 receptions. Johnson also served as the team’s primary kickoff returner, accounting for 307 yards and one TD on 14 returns.

Johnson has one year of eligibility remaining and provides another option for in the backfield for WSU after standout freshman Wayshawn Parker transferred to Utah.