BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State football team will usher in a new era with a new offensive coordinator.
First-year head coach Andy Avalos will bring former UC Davis offensive coordinator Tim Plough to Boise to run the Broncos' offense, the university announced shortly after announcing that assistant coach Spencer Danielson will become the next defensive coordinator on Tuesday.
Plough is widely regarded as a bright young offensive mastermind in the coaching industry. He was even recognized as one of the top coaches under 35 years old by the American Football Coaches Association in 2018.
“A big reason we wanted to be here to work for a great program, but also to work for someone like Andy Avalos, someone we believe in. We are focused on putting together a group that Bronco Nation can be proud of, and one that will score a bunch of points," Plough said in a statement.
The Aggie offensive has been nothing short of prolific since Plough returned to his alma mater four years ago. In his first season as the play-caller in 2017, UC Davis threw for 348.3 yards per game, third-most in the FCS. That was just the beginning because the Aggies ranked third in passing the following year (322.8) and sixth (309.2) in 2019.
On top of that, two of the last three players to claim Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year honors benefited from Plough's system.
Wide receiver Keelan Doss won the award in 2017. He finished the regular season No. 1 in the FCS in receiving yards (1,499), receiving yards per game (136.3) and receptions per game (10.5).
The following season, the man responsible for getting Doss the ball claimed the league’s top offensive honor. Quarterback Jack Meier led the Big Sky in every single major passing category, including completions (364), attempts (557), passing yards (3,931) and touchdowns (34).
Meier experienced a slight dip in production the following season as a senior, but he still led the league in completions (322), attempts (492) and ranked third in both passing yards (3,563) and touchdown tosses (28).
Plough played at UC Davis from 2004-07. As a senior he passed for 1,355 yards and 11 touchdowns. Upon graduation, Plough immediately joined the Aggies coaching staff as a student assistant in 2008. Just one year later he was elevated to a full-time position, serving as the quarterbacks coach.
He then left to coach wide receivers at Northern Arizona in 2013. After two seasons in that role, he was promoted to offensive coordinator. The Lumberjacks ranked 11th in the FCS in total offense in 2015 (470.7) and 9th in 2016 (475.5).
Plough is connected to a number of well-known coaches in the Treasure Valley. The most obvious is his ties to former Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins, who is now the head coach at UC Davis.
Prior to Hawkins' arrival, Plough was also an assistant coach on the staff at UC Davis when current College of Idaho head football coach Mike Moroski was with the Aggies.
Then there is the Chris Petersen connection. During his tenure at the University of Washington, the Huskies coaching staff made a trip to UC Davis to study the Aggie offense. Petersen and company then reciprocated by hosting Plough for two weeks in Seattle. Plough worked with Petersen to help the staff analyze and improve the Husky offense.
Plough has passed on numerous FBS and FCS coaching opportunities over the last couple of years, according to a source.
Boise State had not yet announced the hiring of Plough as of Monday morning.
Previous Boise State Offensive Coordinators (Last 20 Years):
- Tim Plough, 2021-Current
- Eric Kiesau, 2020*
- Zak Hill, 2016-19
- Eliah Drinkwitz, 2015
- Mike Sanford, 2014
- Robert Prince, 2012-13
- Brent Pease, 2011
- Bryan Harsin, 2006-10
- Chris Petersen, 2001-05
*Served as co-offensive coordinator in 2019
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