Utah State football: Aggies hire Weber's McGiven as QB coach

LOGAN — Utah State head coach Gary Andersen announced Wednesday that Kevin McGiven has been hired as the Aggies' quarterbacks coach. McGiven is USU's first offensive assistant hired and is also the third Weber State assistant coach to join Andersen's staff.

McGiven was Weber State's offensive coordinator for three seasons, recently helping the Wildcats to a share of the Big Sky Conference title and advancing to the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs, where they lost at No. 5 Montana, 24-13, last Saturday.

"I'm very, very excited for the opportunity to coach at this level. It's been a goal of mine since I got into coaching to be a Division I coach. I'm excited to be a part of Gary Andersen's staff. I've heard nothing but good things from coaches who have worked for and with Coach Andersen. His track record speaks for itself," McGiven said. "Having grown up in Utah, I'm familiar with Utah State's history. It's a school and a program with a great deal of tradition and promise. I'm excited to get the pieces together and get the Aggies back on the winning track."

Weber State improved from fifth in the Big Sky last season in total offense to leading the league and ranking seventh in FCS this season with 455.4 yards per game. The McGiven-led Wildcat offense also led the conference and ranked 12th in FCS in scoring offense at 35.1 points per game, improving from 27.2 ppg last year and fifth-best in the league. McGiven's offense was also second in the conference and fifth in the FCS in passing offense (324.3 ypg) and fifth in the league and 70th in the nation in rushing offense (131.0 ypg).

Under McGiven, Weber State had seven players earn first-team all-Big Sky Conference honors this season, part of a Big Sky Conference record 12 players on the first team overall.