Blake Anderson (hired on Dec. 12, 2020) is in his fourth year as Utah State’s head coach and is the 29th head coach in program history. He has a 74-54 overall record, including a 53-27 conference mark. He has posted a 23-17 record at USU, including a 15-9 Mountain West record. In fact, Anderson is just the second head coach in school history to lead the Aggies to a bowl game in each of his first three seasons.
Anderson has 30 years of coaching experience and has been part of six conference championships. He has coached in 14 bowl games and won a national championship at the junior college level.
In his first year as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2023, Anderson led Utah State to six wins and its 11th bowl game in the past 13 seasons. Offensively, USU was one of the best teams in the nation with Anderson serving as the offensive coordinator as the Aggies led the Mountain West and ranked 25th in the nation in total offense at 433.1 yards per game and was second in the MW and 26th in the nation scoring 33.2 points per game. Nine Aggies earned all-conference honors under Anderson, including three All-Americans in graduate senior linebacker MJ Taifsi Jr. (honorable mention), junior wide receiver Jalen Royals (third team) and sophomore safety Ike Larsen (honorable mention).
During the 2022 campaign, Anderson led Utah State to six wins and its 10th bowl game in the past 12 seasons, including its second in as many years as it appeared in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. USU also tied for second place in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West with a 5-3 mark as the Aggies had nine players earn various all-conference accolades, including graduate senior safety Hunter Reynolds, who was named a ProFootballFocus Honorable Mention All-American and redshirt freshman safety Ike Larsen, who was named a College Football News Honorable Mention Freshman All-American. Additionally, 25 of his players earned academic all-MW accolades.
In his first season at Utah State, Anderson led the Aggies to their first-ever Mountain West Championship with a 46-13 win at No. 19 San Diego State, their sixth bowl win in school history with a 24-13 victory against Oregon State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, and a school-record-tying 11 wins after being picked to finish fifth in the Mountain Division of the MW in the preseason polls. USU concluded the season ranked 24th in the nation in the final Associated Press poll, marking just the fifth time ever that USU has finished a season nationally ranked.
Utah State began the 2021 campaign by posting its first road win against a Power 5 opponent since 1971 with its 26-23 victory at Washington State. Following its second-ever MW Mountain Division title, USU posted its first win against a top-25 opponent in six seasons with its victory against SDSU in the MW Championship Game. USU then capped off its season with its first-ever bowl win against a Power 5 opponent in OSU, which gave the program two Power 5 wins in the same season for the first time ever.
Under Anderson, Utah State tied for the best turnaround in the nation in 2021, as the Aggies became the first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program ever to go from zero or one win to 11 wins the following season. USU also became the first FBS team in eight years to post a 7-0 road record.
During the 2021 season, Utah State set 10 school records, including 4,248 passing yards and 41 touchdown passes, and tied four more. USU also ranked 15th in the nation in passing offense (303.4 ypg) and 23rd in total offense (445.6 ypg), and was top three in the MW in passing offense, total offense and scoring offense (32.6 ppg).
Anderson, who was named the 2021 AFCA Region 5 Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award, was the only first-year head coach in the nation to lead his team to nine or more wins. Along the way, he mentored a pair of Aggies that broke several single-season school records in quarterback Logan Bonner and wide receiver Deven Thompkins. Bonner set school records in passing touchdowns (36) and passing yards (3,628), while Thompkins set school records for receptions (102) and receiving yards (1,704).
Overall, Anderson saw nine of his players earn all-MW honors, including Thompkins, who was also named a third-team All-American by The Associated Press, while 18 of his players earned academic all-MW accolades.
Furthermore, Thompkins and Derek Wright both signed NFL free agent contracts with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers, respectively.
Anderson joined Utah State after spending seven years as the head coach at Arkansas State, leading the Red Wolves to six-consecutive winning seasons and six-straight bowl games from 2014-19, including a 31-13 win against UCF in the 2016 Cure Bowl and a 34-26 win against FIU in the 2019 Camellia Bowl.
During that six-year stretch, the Red Wolves broke 12 school records, including 494.8 yards of total offense per game, 4,106 passing yards and 38 touchdown passes in 2017, 520 points scored and 69 total touchdowns in 2015, and 6,174 yards of total offense and 1,024 total plays in 2014.
Arkansas State also won back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Championships under Anderson in 2015 and 2016, and competed for another in 2017 in A-State’s regular-season finale that was a de facto championship game.
Entering the 2020 COVID season, the Red Wolves had won at least seven games, including at least five league games, every year under Anderson, including a nine-victory campaign in 2015 and eight-win seasons in 2016, 2018 and 2019. In all, Anderson posted a 51-37 (.580) record during his seven seasons at Arkansas State, including a 38-18 (.679) mark in the Sun Belt Conference. Those 51 wins, 40 of which were by double digits, are tied for the third-most in school history.
Furthermore, the Anderson-led Red Wolves were one of just 20 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs, including six from the Group of Five, to post a winning record in six-consecutive seasons from 2014-19. In fact, A-State’s 51 wins under Anderson were tied for the 41st-most in the country during his seven seasons at the helm, while his 38 league wins are the second-most in Sun Belt history.
Statistically, Arkansas State annually ranked as one of the top offensive teams in the nation under Anderson. In 2020, the Red Wolves led the Sun Belt Conference and ranked 15th nationally in total offense at 489.7 yards per game. ASU also led the Sun Belt in total offense in 2018 (466.2 ypg), 2017 (494.8 ypg) and 2014 (476.5 ypg), and ranked second in 2015 (438.5 ypg). Furthermore, the 2017 team ranked 10th in the nation in total offense, while the 2018 team was 17th and the 2014 team was 20th nationally.
As for passing offense, Arkansas State led the Sun Belt Conference and ranked third in the nation in 2020 at 364.4 yards per game. In 2019, the Red Wolves finished second in the conference and 10th in the nation with 312.1 passing yards per game. ASU also led the Sun Belt in passing offense in both 2017 and 2018 with 342.2 and 281.5 passing yards per game, respectively. The 2017 team also ranked fifth nationally in that category, while the 2018 team was 21st in the nation.
Arkansas State also led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring offense three times under Anderson as the 2017 team averaged 37.8 points per game to rank 13th nationally, while the 2015 team averaged 40.0 points per game to rank 12th in the nation, and the 2014 team averaged 36.7 points per game to rank 18th nationally. In fact, six of Anderson’s seven Red Wolves teams averaged over 30 points per game.
Overall, each of Anderson’s first six squads at Arkansas State ranked among the top-45 teams in the nation in at least 23 combined offensive, defensive and special teams categories, including the 2018 team that led the nation in punt return defense (-1.9 ypr), the 2016 team that led the nation in tackles for loss (9.6 pg and the 2015 squad that led the nation in both defensive touchdowns (8) and passes intercepted (26).
Along the way, Anderson saw 11 of his players earn all-Sun Belt recognition in 2014, followed by 16 in 2015, 2016 and 2019, and a school-record 18 in 2017. All six seasons combined, Anderson coached 65 different players to 97 all-conference selections – the most in the league over that span.
Following the 2019 campaign, Anderson received the Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award and was named the Grant Teaff Coach of the Year, presented annually by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, as he guided the Red Wolves to an 8-5 record and Camellia Bowl championship after his wife, Wendy, passed away prior to the start of the season following a courageous battle with cancer.
The native of Hubbard, Texas, went to Arkansas State after spending the previous two seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at North Carolina, where he helped lead the Tar Heels to an Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division title in 2012 and the Belk Bowl in 2013. Under Anderson’s direction, North Carolina averaged 432.4 total yards per game in 2013 after setting the school record the previous year with 485.6 yards per contest. Prior to his arrival in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels had not averaged 400 yards in a season since 1993.
North Carolina’s offense posted more than 500 yards of total offense seven times during Anderson’s two seasons at the school, including a school-record 721 yards versus Old Dominion in his last season, and scored 40-or-more points in nine games. The Tar Heels also averaged 44.2 points per game at Kenan Stadium (14 games) with Anderson as their offensive coordinator.
Anderson led a passing offense during the 2013 season that ranked 23rd in the nation, averaging 286.3 yards per game. North Carolina posted 27 passing touchdowns, which were the second-most in school history, and just two behind the 29 recorded in 2012. The Tar Heels ranked among the top-44 teams in the nation in total offense, completion percentage, passing offense, red zone offense, scoring offense, passing efficiency, fourth down conversions and turnovers lost in 2013.
North Carolina’s offensive success was just a continuation from Anderson’s initial season, which saw the Tar Heels establish more than 35 school records. The Tar Heels finished eighth in the country in scoring, averaging 40.6 points per game, and were 14th nationally with 485.6 yards per game. Their passing attack was 26th nationally with 291.8 yards per contest, and the Tar Heels also rushed for 193.8 yards per game, their highest average since 1994.
Anderson went to Chapel Hill after a record-setting run as Southern Mississippi’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Golden Eagles set school records for total offense in each of Anderson’s last two years. He was part of a Southern Miss staff that won a school-record 12 games in 2012, including the Conference USA championship over previously-unbeaten Houston, and the Hawaii Bowl over Nevada.
Under the eye of Anderson, the Golden Eagles were one of 14 teams in the country that averaged more than 200 yards per game in both rushing and passing in 2011. The Golden Eagles had nearly 6,500 yards of total offense and set a school record with 461.4 yards per game. In addition, USM was 15th nationally in scoring offense, 16th in total offense and 21st in rushing offense. Anderson’s offense posted 30-or-more points in 10 of 14 games in 2011, including a season-high 63 in a win over Navy.
In 2010, Southern Miss was 18th in total offense, 20th in rushing offense and 35th in passing offense. The Golden Eagles also averaged 36.9 points per game to rank 15th in the nation. That season, Anderson’s quarterbacks were among the most efficient in the nation with only eight interceptions thrown – including one by a wide receiver – to 24 touchdowns.
Anderson came to Southern Miss after spending the 2007 campaign at Louisiana-Lafayette as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Ragin’ Cajuns posted the No. 6-rated rushing offense nationally (251.6 ypg) in 2007 and became the Sun Belt’s first-ever 3,000-yard rushing team (3,019).
Anderson, who was in private business from 2004-06, previously worked at Middle Tennessee, where he helped direct an offensive unit as co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2002-04.
Anderson also spent three seasons at New Mexico, serving as the wide receivers coach in 2001 and running backs coach from 1999-2000. The UNM rushing attack was responsible for a major share of the Lobo offense in 2000. The Lobos averaged 148 yards per game on the ground, which accounted for 56 percent of the team’s total offense.
Before joining the FBS ranks, Anderson worked at Trinity Valley Community College (1995-98) in Athens, Texas, where he helped lead the Cardinals to the 1997 NJCAA National Championship.
Anderson began his coaching career at Eastern New Mexico in 1992 (graduate assistant) and 1993 (full-time), where he tutored the wide receivers. He then moved on to Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, to coach the wide receivers as HPU won the Texas IAA conference title in 1994.
A two-year letterwinner at wide receiver for Sam Houston State from 1990-91, Anderson was named Southland Conference all-academic as a senior. He also played for two years as a quarterback and receiver at Baylor (1988-89) before transferring. Anderson graduated with his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Sam Houston State in 1992. He also attained his master’s degree in sports administration from Eastern New Mexico in 1994.
Anderson and his late wife, Wendy, who passed away after a three-year battle with cancer, were married for 27 years and had three children together in daughter, Callie, and sons, Coleton and Cason. Anderson was remarried to his wife Brittany in 2021 and they have two children together in daughters Collins and Ellison. Tragically in February of 2022, Cason was also lost and laid to rest alongside his mother in Anderson’s hometown of Hubbard, Texas.
BLAKE ANDERSON FILE
Coaching History (30 years)
2023- Utah State – Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2021-22 Utah State – Head Coach
2014-20 Arkansas State – Head Coach
2012-13 North Carolina – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2010-11 Southern Miss – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2008-09 Southern Miss – Run Game Coordinator/Quarterback
2007 Louisiana – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2002-04 Middle Tennessee – Co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers
2001 New Mexico – Wide Receivers
1999-2000 New Mexico – Running Backs
1998 Trinity Valley CC – Offensive Coordinator
1995-97 Trinity Valley CC – Recruiting Coordinator/Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs
1994 Howard Payne – Wide Receivers
1993 Eastern New Mexico – Wide Receivers
1992 Eastern New Mexico – Graduate Assistant
Bowl Games (14)
Utah State (3): 2023 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; 2022 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl; 2021 LA Bowl
Arkansas State (6): 2019 Camellia Bowl; 2018 Arizona Bowl; 2017 Camellia Bowl; 2016 Cure Bowl; 2015 New Orleans Bowl; 2014 GoDaddy.com Bowl
North Carolina (1): 2013 Belk Bowl
Southern Miss (4): 2011 Hawaii Bowl; 2010 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl; 2009 New Orleans Bowl; 2008 R+L Carriers Bowl
National Championships (1)
Trinity Valley Community College (1) – NJCAA, 1997
Conference Championships (6)
Utah State (1) – Mountain West, 2021
Arkansas State (2) – Sun Belt Conference, 2015, 2016
Southern Miss (1) – Conference USA, 2011
Trinity Valley CC (1) – Texas Junior College Conference, 1997
Howard Payne (1) – Texas IA, 1994
Divisional Championships (2)
Utah State (1) – Mountain West, 2021
North Carolina (1) -– Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division, 2012
Playing Experience
1990-91 Sam Houston State – Wide Receiver
1988-89 Baylor – Quarterback and Wide Receiver
Education
1994 Eastern New Mexico – Sports Administration (M.S.)
1992 Sam Houston State – Kinesiology (B.S.)
Family
Wife, Brittany; Sons, Coleton, Cason; Daughters, Callie, Collins, Ellison