Kramer Fills Bobcat Coaching Staff
3/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Leaning heavily on championship playing experience and returning to familiar programs, Mike Kramer has rebuilt his coaching staff with Montana State’s spring practice on the horizon.
Jason Linders joins the Bobcat coaching staff from Millsaps College as the program’s defensive line coach. Former Washington State player Jeremy Thielbahr will coach Bobcat tight ends, while former Fresno State standout Charles Smith will assist on the defensive side of the ball. Additionally, Brock Berryhill, who coached MSU’s receivers last year, will become the team’s secondary coach.
“We’ve hired young, energetic assistants that bring not only outstanding expertise but recruiting savvy to our program,” Kramer said. “Our coordinators, Don Bailey on offense and Pete Kwiatkowski on defense, do an excellent job, and we believe we’ve hired people that will allow our program to continue to perform at a championship level.”
Berryhill moves to the secondary this season after coaching Bobcat receivers that made a dramatic in-season turnaround last fall. A 1996 Boise State graduate, Berryhill coached the secondary at Southeast Oklahoma State in 2002. He also worked as linebackers coach at Tulsa in 2000-01, and was Cal Poly’s secondary coach in 1999. He served as a graduate assistant at Arkansas (1998-99) and Boise State (1996-97), and has served as recruiting coordinator in his previous three stops. “Brock has an extensive coaching background on the defensive side of the ball,” Kramer said. “He did an excellent job with our receivers last year, and is moving to a more familiar position this season. He has a wealth of experience, and as the son of a coach really understands what this profession entails.”
Linders served as defensive line and strength coach at Millspas last fall. His team’s defense led its conference in sacks and turnovers forced, and finished second in rushing defense. He coached defensive linemen at Southern Utah in 2002, and was a graduate assistant at Nevada in 2001. He also coached linebackers and defensive linemen in 1999-2000 at Humboldt State, his alma mater. He earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a linebacker in 1996, and graduated in 1998. “Jason is a young, enthusiastic coach who comes with a very high recommendation from Chris Tormey, who worked with him at Nevada,” Kramer said. “He has a reputation as an excellent recruiter, and I’m very comfortable with his ability to coach our defensive line.”
Thielbahr earned four varsity letters as a running back and tight end at Washington State, was part of the the Cougars’ Rose Bowl squad as a redshirt in 1997, then helped the team bounce back from three straight losing seasons as a senior with a 10-2 record and a win over Purdue in the Sun Bowl. Thielbahr won several weekly special teams awards, and finished with 68 yards rushing in his career. Thielbahr, from Sandpoint, Idaho, graduated from WSU in 2002, worked as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2002 and as on-field special teams coordinator last fall, and served as a team captain his senior season. “I’ve known Jeremy for a long time,” Kramer said. “He was an excellent all-around player at Washington State, as a running back and a tight end, and was an accomplished special teams player. He was on a Rose Bowl team, so he has had quality, championship experience as a player. He is the first experienced tight ends coach we’ve had in my time here, and I’m looking forward to watching Jeremy work this spring and next fall.”
Charles Smith joins the MSU staff after an outstanding career at Fresno State, where he played with All-America quarterback David Carr. The former Freshman All-America finished his career fourth in school history with 171 catches and sixth with 2,368 receiving yards. Smith’s brother Eddie is slated to join the Bobcat program next fall as a cornerback. Smith will be MSU’s defensive assistant, handling both quality control and on-field coaching chores. “Charles has made the determination to forego additional attempts at a career in professional football, and we think he has an excellent coaching career ahead of him,” Kramer said. “He had an outstanding career at Fresno State, where he caught a lot of passes from David Carr, and he brings quality playing experience to our coaching staff.”
Jason Linders joins the Bobcat coaching staff from Millsaps College as the program’s defensive line coach. Former Washington State player Jeremy Thielbahr will coach Bobcat tight ends, while former Fresno State standout Charles Smith will assist on the defensive side of the ball. Additionally, Brock Berryhill, who coached MSU’s receivers last year, will become the team’s secondary coach.
“We’ve hired young, energetic assistants that bring not only outstanding expertise but recruiting savvy to our program,” Kramer said. “Our coordinators, Don Bailey on offense and Pete Kwiatkowski on defense, do an excellent job, and we believe we’ve hired people that will allow our program to continue to perform at a championship level.”
Berryhill moves to the secondary this season after coaching Bobcat receivers that made a dramatic in-season turnaround last fall. A 1996 Boise State graduate, Berryhill coached the secondary at Southeast Oklahoma State in 2002. He also worked as linebackers coach at Tulsa in 2000-01, and was Cal Poly’s secondary coach in 1999. He served as a graduate assistant at Arkansas (1998-99) and Boise State (1996-97), and has served as recruiting coordinator in his previous three stops. “Brock has an extensive coaching background on the defensive side of the ball,” Kramer said. “He did an excellent job with our receivers last year, and is moving to a more familiar position this season. He has a wealth of experience, and as the son of a coach really understands what this profession entails.”
Linders served as defensive line and strength coach at Millspas last fall. His team’s defense led its conference in sacks and turnovers forced, and finished second in rushing defense. He coached defensive linemen at Southern Utah in 2002, and was a graduate assistant at Nevada in 2001. He also coached linebackers and defensive linemen in 1999-2000 at Humboldt State, his alma mater. He earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a linebacker in 1996, and graduated in 1998. “Jason is a young, enthusiastic coach who comes with a very high recommendation from Chris Tormey, who worked with him at Nevada,” Kramer said. “He has a reputation as an excellent recruiter, and I’m very comfortable with his ability to coach our defensive line.”
Thielbahr earned four varsity letters as a running back and tight end at Washington State, was part of the the Cougars’ Rose Bowl squad as a redshirt in 1997, then helped the team bounce back from three straight losing seasons as a senior with a 10-2 record and a win over Purdue in the Sun Bowl. Thielbahr won several weekly special teams awards, and finished with 68 yards rushing in his career. Thielbahr, from Sandpoint, Idaho, graduated from WSU in 2002, worked as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2002 and as on-field special teams coordinator last fall, and served as a team captain his senior season. “I’ve known Jeremy for a long time,” Kramer said. “He was an excellent all-around player at Washington State, as a running back and a tight end, and was an accomplished special teams player. He was on a Rose Bowl team, so he has had quality, championship experience as a player. He is the first experienced tight ends coach we’ve had in my time here, and I’m looking forward to watching Jeremy work this spring and next fall.”
Charles Smith joins the MSU staff after an outstanding career at Fresno State, where he played with All-America quarterback David Carr. The former Freshman All-America finished his career fourth in school history with 171 catches and sixth with 2,368 receiving yards. Smith’s brother Eddie is slated to join the Bobcat program next fall as a cornerback. Smith will be MSU’s defensive assistant, handling both quality control and on-field coaching chores. “Charles has made the determination to forego additional attempts at a career in professional football, and we think he has an excellent coaching career ahead of him,” Kramer said. “He had an outstanding career at Fresno State, where he caught a lot of passes from David Carr, and he brings quality playing experience to our coaching staff.”
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