MOSCOW, Idaho – University of Idaho head football coach Jason Eck announced the hire of two new coaches and a staff shuffle as part of other positions. The Vandals added former West Texas A&M Head Coach Hunter Hughes as the Sam/Nickel Coach and former University of Washington team captain and two-time KingCo high school Coach of the Year Deontae Cooper as the Vandal running backs coach.
 
Along with the two additions, Tight Ends coach Tyler Sutton added Special Teams Coordinator duties, Matt Linehan was named the Recruiting Coordinator and David Lose added defensive edges to his coaching responsibilities, taking over the entirety of the defensive line.
 
Hughes comes to Idaho after a short stint in the USFL, where was a DBS and quality control coach for the New Orleans Breakers. He helped the Breakers to a 7-3 record and a second-place finish in the south division. The Breakers led the South Division in points allowed. 
 
Before coaching in the USFL, he spent seasons as the head coach at DII West Texas A&M in the tough Lone Star league. He carried a six-year record of 32-29, including a 2021 season that saw the Buffs finish 7-4 and 5-2 in the Lone Star. He coached John Cummings and Tobias Harris to DII All-American honors and Six players under his tutelage earned CoSIDA Academic All-American honors.
 
He came to West Texas A&M after 10 seasons as an assistant coach for Colorado State-Pueblo where he was the defensive coordinator for a dominant stretch that saw the ThunderWolves win six straight RMAC titles and the 2014 DII National Championship.
 
He was named the 2011 Football Scoop Division II Coordinator of the Year and guided the ThunderWolves' defense that led all of Division II in scoring defense (12.8 points allowed per game), passes intercepted (29), defensive touchdowns (7) and turnovers gained (43).  The defensive line totaled 3.8 sacks per game to finish fourth nationally and CSUP ranked 13th in total defense allowing just 296.8 yards per game.
 
He led CSUP to shutout Minnesota State-Mankato 13-0 in the 2014 championship game, the first shutout in the DII Championship game in 17 years.
 
In the first four years Hughes was at CSUP, the ThunderWolves finished in the top 25 nationally in points allowed three times including ninth in 2010.  In 2008, Hughes squad allowed the 37th-fewest points in the nation during the program's first season of competition.
 
"We are very excited to add an experienced and decorated coach like Hunter Hughes to the staff," Eck said. "Hunter won a national championship as a defensive coordinator, and I am very familiar with from having coached against him and from working with him. He is going to bring a veteran voice to help Coach Jackson coordinate our defense and do a great job developing our Sams and Nickels. We are happy to welcome Hunter to Moscow."
 
Hughes started his college coaching career as graduate assistant at Colorado during 2003 season where he worked alongside Eck as a GA. He stayed at Colorado for three seasons before working at Tennessee in 2006-07.
 
He is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State where, as a student, he was the head equipment manager. He was a high school coach and teacher in Tennessee before joining Colorado's staff as an analyst before taking the GA position.
 
"I am thrilled to join the staff here at Idaho and be a part of this special team that coach Eck has assembled," Hughes said. "I have known coach Eck for over two decades and jumped at the opportunity to work with him again. What he and his staff have done here in just two seasons is impressive and I'm excited to be a part of building a great program here in Moscow."
 
Hughes brings a veteran's knowledge of the game, but Cooper brings youth and energy to the running backs room.
 
"Deontae did a great job at Highline High School and is a rising star in our profession," Eck said. "He came highly recommended by Vandal great Joel Thomas, from his time at Washington. Deontae will do a great job of mentoring our student-athletes and recruiting Western Washington. We are happy to welcome Deontae to Moscow."
 
Cooper is coming off a five-year stint as head coach at Highline High School in Burien, Washington. He took over a program that finished 4-6 in 2018 and led them to 4-0 conference record in 2019 and a trip to the Washington 2A Playoffs.
 
After going 2-2 in a COVID-shortened 2020 season, he led the Pirates to a 28-7 mark, including an 18-0 league record, over the last three seasons. Highline advanced to the state 2A semifinals in 2022 with a 10-2 record and the quarterfinals in 2023, again with a 10-2 mark.
 
He was named the Kingco Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021, the Highline School District Coach of the Year in 2020 and a Seattle Seahawks Coach of the Week in 2022.
 
"I am really excited to be a Vandal and get my first opportunity as a position coach in the DI ranks," Cooper said. "I am excited to work with Coach Eck and grateful for the opportunity and the chance he has taken on me. I am ready to get to work coaching a tremendous group of running backs."
 
He spent one season as the running backs coach at Bellevue High School in 2018, helping the Wolverines to a 12-1 record.
 
During 2017-18, he was a recruiting assistant for the University of Washington, helping with all aspects of recruiting for the Huskies. Washington finished with the 16th-best class in college football in 2018, according to 247Sports.
 
He had short minicamp stint with the Oakland Raiders in 2017, but never saw the field in the NFL.
 
His promising playing career at UW was hindered by three ACL tears. After coming to Washington as one of the best running backs in the nation, he didn't see his first college snap until he was just months away from earning his bachelor's degree.
 
He ended up racking up 555 yards and three touchdowns in two seasons, but also earned the respect of his teammates, earning team captain honors for the 2014 season.
 
He earned his bachelor's degree and master's degrees from Washington and added two additional professional certificates while at Montlake.
 
In addition to the two new coaches, Sutton was named the Special Teams Coordinator. He spent the last two seasons as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator for the Vandals. He was previously the Offensive Coordinator at San Diego in 2020 and 2021 and was the Special Teams Coordinator for the Toreros in 2018 and 2019. He was also the Special Teams Coordinator at the University of the Redlands for the 2012 season.
 
Linehan, the youngest full-time coach on the staff, added recruiting coordinator duties to his responsibilities as wide receivers coach.
 
Defensive Line Coach David Lose will take over defense edge coaching duties alongside his defensive line group.
 
The Vandal staff continues recruiting process with National Signing Day on February 7. Spring football begins on March 26 with the annual spring game scheduled for April 26 at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.