Michigan State announces hiring of six assistant football coaches, several support staff

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith announced several staff hires on Thursday, many of whom were with him during his tenure at Oregon State. That group includes six of the allotted 10 assistant coach positions.

Those six assistants are Blue Adams (secondary), Keith Bohnapha (assistant head coach/running backs), Brian Lindgren (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks), Jim Michalczik (offensive line/run game coordinator), Legi Suiaunoa (defensive line) and Brian Wozniak (tight ends/recruiting coordinator).

Several support staff hires were also announced by Michigan State, including head strength and conditioning coach Mike McDonald, general manager Cole Moore, chief of staff Dan Van De Riet, director of recruiting and player relations Michael Doctor, and director of recruiting communications Austin D’Armond.

Blue Adams – Secondary Coach

During his five seasons as secondary coach on Smith’s staff at Oregon State, defenders totaled 51 interceptions, including 11 this season. Most of those picks have been made by defensive backs.

When Adams was at South Florida in 2017, The Bulls ranked second in the FBS with 20 interceptions. Last season, Oregon State led the Pac-12 with 77 passes defended. This season the Beavers rank No. 13 in the FBS in passes defended (61) through 12 games.

Adams was an all-conference defensive back at the University of Cincinnati and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft in 2003. He broke into the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant at Purdue (2009-2010). After Purdue, he spent two seasons at Northern Iowa before returning to the NFL as an assistant defensive backs coach in his hometown for the Miami Dolphins. After two seasons in the NFL, Adams spent a year at West Virginia in 2016 and two years at South Florida, before joining Smith’s staff at Oregon State in 2018.

Adams brings a strong recruiting resume to Michigan State, and has proven himself to be a effective recruiter in his home state of Florida.

Brian Lindgren – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

The offensive coordinator at Oregon State since 2018, Lindgren has been successfully calling plays at the collegiate level for more than a decade. He has also served as o-coordinator at Colorado (2013-17), San Jose State (2012), and Northern Arizona (2009-20011).

Lingren is a two-time nominee for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the top assistant coach in college football. This season, Oregon State averaged 33.8 points per game and set a new program record for yards per play (6.56). That yards-per-play mark eclipsed the previous mark of 6.4 set by Lindgren’s 2021 Oregon State offense.

A Washington native, Lindgren was a record-setting quarterback in high school. He was a three-year starter at the University of Idaho.

Brian Wozniak – Tight Ends Coach/Recruiting Coordinator

Wozniak is an Ohio native and former star tight end at Wisconsin. He has Midwestern roots that could help Michigan State re-establish itself as a program that is serious about signing high school players within a five-hour drive of campus.

After serving as a graduate assistant at Oregon State (2015-2017), Wozniak took on the job of offensive quality control specialist. In 2018, Wozniak was elevated to tight ends coach for the Beavers. Tight end play at Oregon State has strong on Wozniak’s watch. Oregon State tight ends have shown themselves to be accountable run-blockers as well as productive pass-catchers.

Wozniak was instrumental in the development of NFL tight end Luke Musgrave, a second-round draft pick in 2023, with nine starts and 33 catches for 341 yards before suffering an injury. Wozniak has also been a central figure in the development of sophomore Jake Vellum, who has eight touchdown catches on the year.

Wozniak was recruited by Michigan State in high school.

Jim Michalczik – Run-Game Coordinator/Offensive Line/Associate Head Coach

Michalczik is one of the best o-line coaches in college football. Twelve Oregon State offensive linemen earned All-Pac-12 honors under Michalczik’s tutelage entering the 2023 season. The 2021 Oregon State O-Line was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award given to the top o-line in college football each year. This season Oregon State averaged 5.06 yards per carry with 26 rushing touchdowns. The cohesion of the run-game operation is strong  

Michalczik has coached o-line at Oregon State since 2018. Michalczik has coached o-line at Arizona (2013-2017), California (2002-2008, 2001-2012), and Montana State (1992-1998).

Michalczik spent time in the NFL as the O-line coach for the Oakland Raiders (2009-2010).

Keith Bhonapha – Running Backs/Associate Head Coach

Bhonapha has had success as a position coach throughout his career as collegiate assistant. He also has a strong special teams background, which Smith touted when announced his hire after the 2022 season. This past season, Bhonapha mentored Oregon State star Damien Martinez, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards with nine touchdowns, while averaging more than six yards per carry.

Bhonapha has coached 11 running backs that have been 1,000-yard rushers at the collegiate level. He was coached at Washington (2014-2021), Boise State (2006-2013, 2002), and Hawaii (2003-2005). He was the running backs coach at Boise State during the heyday for the Broncos ground success with tailbacks like Doug Martin and Jay Ajayi, both NFL tailbacks. Bhonapha coached another NFL tailback at Washington in Myles Gaskin. Bhonapha played collegiately at Hawaii, where he played defensive back.  

Legi Suiaunoa – Defensive Line

A veteran defensive line coach that has a reputation as a strong recruiter, Suiaunoa also has defensive coordinator experience from his time at Hawaii. Suiaunoa served as the defensive line coach for Oregon State since Smith took over as head coach in 2018.

Smith praised Suiaunoa earlier this year after the d-line did its part in holding Utah to seven points. That d-line was instrumental in limiting Utah to its lowest rushing output of the season.

A two-year starter at linebacker at Nevada, Suiaunoa broke into the coaching ranks as a linebackers coach for two years at Palomar Junior College in the San Diego area before returning to his alma mater as a graduate assistant in 2004. From there he worked his way through the FCS ranks with stops at Western Washington (2005-2008), Eastern Oregon (2009), Portland State (2010), and Montana State (2011-2015).

Suianoa served as defensive line coach for four years at FCS powerhouse Montana State. He added the title of associate head coach during the second half of his tenure. He moved up to the FBS in 2016, serving as the d-line coach at Hawaii. One year later, he was elevated to defensive coordinator.

Mike McDonald – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach

McDonald was with Smith from the beginning at Oregon State after working with him at Washington where Smith served as the offensive coordinator on Chris Peterson’s staff. McDonald served as assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Huskies before taking over the lead role at Oregon State in 2018.

McDonald graduated from Purdue in 2008 after playing two seasons for the Boilermakers as a junior college transfer from Texas. After serving as a strength and conditioning intern for his alma mater, McDonald broke into the coaching ranks at Boise State (2009-20014) as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. He held similar positions at Washington State and Washington before being hired by Smith.

Cole Moore, General Manager

Director of Player personnel at Oregon State from 2022-2023, Moore takes on the role of general manager at Michigan State. Prior to his time at Oregon State, Moore served as the assistant director of player personnel at Texas. In that role, Moore served as the co-camp director for the Longhorns.

Moore broke into the college ranks at Washington where he served as a recruiting GA (2015-2016). From there he went to FCS Montana State where he held a number roles including chief of staff before moving up to the FBS ranks at Texas.

Dan Van De Riet, Chief of Staff

Director of football operations and chief of staff at Oregon State, Van De Riet is a veteran administrator with more than 20 years of experience at the FBS level. Van De Riet held the role of assistant director of football operations at Oregon State for seven years before being promoted to director of football operations in 2008. Van De Riet also held the title of associate athletic director at Oregon State, before serving in a similar capacity at Nebraska.

Michael Doctor, Director of Recruiting and Player Relations

A star linebacker at Oregon State where he started 38 games between 2010-2014, Doctor broke into the coaching profession as a recruiting assistant. He was promoted to director of on-campus recruiting in 2019. Two years later, he took over as the director of recruiting for the Beavers, a role which he will reprise at Michigan State.

Austin D’Armond, Director of Recruiting Communications

D’Armond takes over the role of director of recruiting communications after a two-year stint on Smith’s staff Oregon State where he served as assistant director of recruiting. D’Armond joined Smith’s staff at Oregon State after five years at the University of Texas. In Austin, D’Armond started out as a recruiting intern. He spent a year as the lead student recruiting assistant before working with personnel as a graduate assistant.