MOSCOW, Idaho – Vandal Football head coach Jason Eck announced the hire of Outside Linebackers Coach Kapono Roy Asuega. The hire completes the on-field coaching staff.
 
"I want to thank coach Eck, Coach Rob Aurich and the rest of the Vandal community for this unbelievable opportunity," Asuega said. "I am excited to be a part of this amazing staff and look forward to assisting in creating a championship culture on the Palouse."
 
"I am excited to get Roy. He is a guy with a strong west coast background coming from Southern California," Eck said. "He spent some time at junior college so that is good at helping us make some inroads there and he brings DI experience from his time at Liberty. I like guys that have done the dirty work that you have to do at DII. He is a relentless recruiter and finally came highly recommended from Mike Iupati."
 
Asuega comes to Idaho from New Mexico Highlands where he was the Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Line coach. He also served as the Community Outreach Director.
 
The Cowboys finished 5-6 overall, the most wins in program history since 2012 while racking up 23 sacks and 71 tackles for loss. Defensive lineman Trejan Lawrence earned All-RMAC First-team honors under his tutelage. Another Cowboy player, Victor Villareal, is training for the NFL Draft.
 
He spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons as a graduate assistant at Liberty University, where he worked with the defensive line. During his time at Liberty, he worked with Jessie Lemonier who was among the leaders in the FBS for sacks and signed an UDFA deal with the Chargers and now plays for the Lions.
 
He was the defensive line coach at Golden West College for three seasons starting in 2015. He jumpstarted the student-athlete success program to assist at-risk student athletes. Under his
 
He earned his Bachelor's degree from Gardner-Webb in 2013.  Asuega grew up in Southern California. He has Hawaiian and Samoan heritage.