USC (Finally) Hires Justin Wilcox, Marques Tuiasosopo And Offensive Line Coach Tim Drevno

The only real news is the hiring of Drevno, who worked for the San Francisco 49ers, Stanford and the University of San Diego under Jim Harbaugh. So does this qualify as one of the best staffs in America?

Still to be hired: Defensive line. Here’s the full release:

WILCOX, TUIASOSOPO, DREVNO NAMED USC FOOTBALL ASSISTANT COACHES

LOS ANGELES­- Justin Wilcox and Marques Tuiasosopo, who were on new USC head football coach Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Washington, and current San Francisco 49ers assistant Tim Drevno have been hired as USC assistant coaches, Sarkisian announced today (Dec. 30).

Wilcox will be Troy’s defensive coordinator, Tuiasosopo will be the tight ends coach and Drevno will handle the offensive line and be the running game coordinator.

Sarkisian also announced that Ivan Lewis, who once worked in USC’s weight room, has been hired as USC’s strength and conditioning coach after serving in that role at Washington.

Sarkisian previously announced the hirings of former Washington assistants Johnny NansenPeter Sirmon and Keith Heyward, and the retention of current USC assistants Clay Helton and Tee Martin.

Sarkisian said that Nansen will coach running backs and be the special teams coordinator, Sirmon will be the linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator and Heyward will coach the defensive backs, while Helton­-who served as USC’s interim head coach in its Las Vegas Bowl victory earlier this month­-will continue in his role as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and Martin will remain the wide receivers coach.

Wilcox, who has been a defensive coordinator at 3 schools during the past 8 years, helped the Husky defense move from the bottom 20 in the nation statistically to the top 40 the year he took over.  UW’s 41 pass sacks in 2013 are second most nationally and its pass efficiency defense ranks first in the Pac-12.

Tuiasosopo, who led Washington to a bowl win over BYU last week as its interim head coach after Sarkisian left for USC, was the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year and Rose Bowl MVP during his 2000 senior season at UW and then played quarterback in the NFL.

Drevno, a longtime collegiate assistant before joining the 49ers in 2011, has been Jim Harbaugh’s offensive line coach for 9 years at 3 stops.

“These new additions to our staff bring not only tremendous coaching expertise, but they are outstanding recruiters and good, solid people,” said Sarkisian.  “They are great additions to the USC football program and the Trojan Family.”

Sarkisian said he will name a new defensive line coach in the near future.

Season tickets for USC’s 2014 football season, which includes home games against Notre Dame, Fresno State, Arizona State, Oregon State, California and Colorado, are available for new season ticket holders online by visiting GetTrojanTix.com or by calling 1-855-WePlay4.

Full Bios on New Coaches

Wilcox

Wilcox, who has been a defensive coordinator at 3 schools during the past 8 years, served in that role at Washington the past 2 seasons (2012-13).  In 2012, the Huskies were in the national Top 40 in total defense, scoring defense and pass defense after finishing the previous year ranked lower than 105th in each category.  UW’s scoring defense was in the national Top 35 in 2013, while its pass efficiency defense improved 60 spots to 27th nationally in 2012 and then was 11th in 2013 (first in the Pac-12).  Its 41 pass sacks in 2013 are second most nationally.  The Huskies played in the 2012 Las Vegas Bowl and 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl.

Before that, Wilcox was Tennessee’s defensive coordinator for 2 years (2010-11).  The Volunteers were 28th nationally in total defense (340.5) in 2011.  In 2010, his defense limited foes to 14 or fewer points in 4 November games.  Tennessee played in the 2010 Music City Bowl.

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Boise State in 2001 and 2002.  BSU was in the 2002 Humanitarian Bowl.

He then was the linebackers coach at California for 3 seasons (2003-05) as the Golden Bears went 26-12 and played in 3 bowls in that span (2003 Insight Bowl, 2004 Holiday Bowl, 2005 Las Vegas Bowl).

He returned to Boise State as defensive coordinator for 4 seasons (2006-09), helping the Broncos to a 49-4 record while leading the Western Athletic Conference in defense each year.  In 2006, BSU was eighth nationally in rushing defense (89.1) as the team went 13-0.  In 2008, BSU was third nationally in scoring defense (12.6) as 8 of its 13 opponents scored just 10 points or less.  In 2009, BSU was 14th nationally in total defense (300.2) and scoring defense (17.1) and third in turnover margin (+1.5).  The Broncos played in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, 2007 Hawaii Bowl, 2008 Poinsettia Bowl and 2010 Fiesta Bowl.

Wilcox, 37, played safety and cornerback at Oregon (1996-99) as the Ducks played in 3 bowl games (1997 Las Vegas Bowl, 1998 Aloha Classic, 1999 Sun Bowl).  He made the 1999 Pac-12 All-Academic first team.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Oregon in 1999.

He was born Nov. 12, 1976.  He is single.  His father, Dave Wilcox, was a Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers (1964-74).  Justin’s father (1962-63), as well as his uncle, John (a tackle, 1958-59), and his brother, Josh (a tight end, 1993-96), all played at Oregon.  John then played with the Philadelphia Eagles (1960) and Josh with the New Orleans Saints (1998-99).

Tuiasosopo

Marques Tuiasosopo, who played quarterback at Washington and in the NFL, spend 2013 as Washington’s quarterbacks coach.  He served as UW’s interim head coach in the 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl (a 31-16 UW victory) after Husky head coach Steve Sarkisian became USC’s head coach.

Before that, Tuiasosopo was the tight ends coach at UCLA in 2012 after having served as an intern in the Bruins’ football office in 2011.  He was elevated to UCLA’s fulltime quarterback coach for the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.  UCLA played in the 2012 Holiday Bowl.

He was an assistant strength coach at Washington in 2009 and 2010.

Tuiasosopo, 34, was the 2000 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year and 2001 Rose Bowl MVP as a quarterback at Washington, where he lettered 4 seasons (1997-2000).  He set UW’s career total offense record as he passed for 5,879 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for 1,495 yards with 21 TDs.  In a victory over Stanford in 1999, he became the first NCAA Division I player to pass for 300 yards and rush for 200 yards in a game (he threw for 302 and ran for 207).  In the 1997 Oregon game, he became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Washington.  He was the Huskies’ team captain in 1999 and 2000.  Washington also played in the 1997 Aloha Bowl, 1998 Oahu Bowl and 1999 Holiday Bowl.

Tuiasosopo earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Washington in 2001.

A second round NFL draft pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2001, he played quarterback for the Raiders for 7 seasons (2001-06, 2008) and the New York Jets in 2007.

He starred in football and baseball at Woodinville (Wash.) High.  He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins out of high school, but chose to play collegiate football.

Three of Tuiasosopo’s 4 siblings were varsity athletes at Washington.  His sister, Leslie, was an All-Pac-10 volleyball player at Washington (1995-98) and is now the Huskies’ associate head coach.  His brother, Zach, played fullback and linebacker at UW (2001-04), while his sister, Ashley, played softball at UW (2008-11).  Another brother, Matt, signed a letter of intent to play quarterback for UW, but instead signed a professional baseball contract out of high school and has played in the majors with the Seattle Mariners (2008-10) and Detroit Tigers (2013).

He has football running throughout his immediate and extended family.  His father, Manu, played defensive line at UCLA (1975-78) and then in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks (1979-83) and San Francisco 49ers (1984-86).  Cousin John Tautolo played at UCLA (1977-80) and then with the New York Giants (1982-83) and Los Angeles Raiders (1987) as a guard, while cousin Terry Tautolo played at UCLA (1974-75) and with the Philadelphia Eagles (1976-79), San Francisco 49ers (1980-81), Detroit Lions (1981-82, 1984) and Miami Dolphins (1983) as a linebacker.  His second cousins are former USC offensive guard Titus Tuiasosopo (1990-92), Navy Tuiasosopo, who played at Utah State (1983-86) and then with the Los Angeles Rams (1987), and Mike Tuiasosopo, who played at Pacific Lutheran, then was an assistant coach at Pacific (1991), Utah State (1996-99), Nevada (2000-02), Utah (2003), Arizona (2004-10) and Colorado (2011-12).

He was born on March 22, 1979.  He and his wife Lisa, a former volleyball player at North Carolina, have two sons, Brayden and Bryce, and a daughter, Kylie.

Drevno

Tim Drevno, who has an extensive collegiate coaching background, served as the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive line coach the past 3 years (2011-13).  In 2013, tackle Joe Staley and Guard Mike Iupati made the Pro Bowl.  In 2012, all 5 of the 49ers’ line starters were selected for the Pro Bowl and Iupati was an All-Pro first teamer.  The 2011 line led the way for running back Frank Gore to become the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.  The 49ers advanced to the playoffs in each of Drevno’s seasons, including winning the NFC West title his first 2 years and capturing the NFC championship in 2012.

Prior to joining the 49ers, Drevno was an assistant at Stanford for 4 seasons (2007-10), the first 2 years handling the tight ends and the last 2 seasons coaching the offensive line. His line allowed just 13 sacks during those 2 years, ranking second nationally both seasons, while opening holes for a ground attack that set a school rushing yardage record in 2009 while ranking 11th nationally (218.2).  Center Chase Beeler was an All-American first teamer in 2010.

He was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at San Diego for the 4 previous seasons (2003-06).  The Toreros won back-to-back NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major national titles and Pioneer League championships in 2005 and 2006. Under his direction, USD led the nation in total offense twice and also finished third and ninth in that category.  USD led the nation in 2003 in total yards (483.3) while averaging 39.9 points.  In 2004, the Torero offense was ninth nationally in total offense (432.4), 11th in scoring offense (36.1) and 12th in passing offense (275.4). San Diego set numerous offensive school records in 2005, including average points (42.6) and total offense (485.2). The 2006 San Diego squad led the NCAA Division I-AA in passing offense (293.3), total offense (494.3) and scoring offense (42.8). Quarterback Josh Johnson was one of four offensive All-Americans on the team and led all NCAA Division I-AA quarterbacks in passing yards (3,320), passing efficiency (169.0), touchdown passes (34) and total offense (336.7). He was a fifth round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008.

Drevno, 44, was the offensive line coach at Idaho for 3 seasons (2000-02). The Vandal offense ranked sixth in the nation in 2001 and eighth in 2000. He coached NFL players Jake Scott, Rick Demulling and Patrick Venzke at Idaho.

Prior to his tenure at Idaho, his coaching stops included San Jose State (offensive line, 1999), UNLV (running backs, 1998) and Montana State (tight ends. 1993-95, and running backs, 1996-97).  He was a graduate assistant at Cal State Fullerton, his alma mater, in 1991 and 1992.

Drevno began his collegiate playing career as an offensive lineman for 2 years (1987-88) at El Camino Junior College in Torrance (Calif.), where he helped lead the Warriors to a national title in 1987 and then earned All-Mission League honors the following year. He then went on to start on the Cal State Fullerton offensive line for two seasons (1989-90).

He earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Cal State Fullerton in 1992.

He was an all-league player at South Torrance (Calif.) High.

He was born on March 20, 1969.  He and his wife, Shannon, have 3 children, McKenna, Zachary and Baylee.

Lewis

Ivan Lewis, a one-time USC staffer, spent the past 5 years (2009-13) as the head strength and conditioning coach at Washington.  He worked directly with the Huskies’ football team.

He came to UW after 3 seasons (2006-08) as an assistant at USC, working primarily with the Trojans’ quarterbacks and linebackers.  USC won 3 Pac-10 championships and Rose Bowls during his tenure.

Prior to that, Lewis was on the strength staff with the San Diego Chargers in 2004 and 2005 after spending 2 years (2002-03) at the University of San Diego, where he worked with the football team and various other sports.

He was an assistant football coach and strength and conditioning coach at Mt. Si High School in Snoqualmie (Wash.) in 2000 and 2001.

Lewis played football briefly at Idaho before knee injuries ended his career.  He graduated from Idaho in 2000.  He earned a master’s degree from San Diego in 2003.

13 thoughts on “USC (Finally) Hires Justin Wilcox, Marques Tuiasosopo And Offensive Line Coach Tim Drevno

  1. Scott, the ONLY reason you beat me this time is because I went to a business dinner. Congrats.

  2. Is this really a situation that Coach Orgeron now wants to step into?
    I heard that he was interested, but that was before Wilcox and Co. took their offers. Now, I wonder how this will all pan out.

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