USU football: Andersen adds couple of coaches to USU staff

Gary Andersen might be keeping himself involved with his former team's bowl game preparations, but he's also been busy interviewing potential assistants and trying to assemble a coaching staff he believes will help him take his new team, Utah State, closer to the top of the Western Athletic Conference standings and earn a bowl berth for the Aggies.

On Wednesday, after interviewing several candidates, Andersen announced what might be his most important hire — offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin.

The veteran coach brings a wealth of experience with him to Utah State, and Andersen said that was the deciding factor when it came to offering him the position.

"There's no question about it," Andersen said. "That was a huge key. Dave comes in and is somebody I can lean on. What he's done at schools like Michigan State speaks for himself."

Baldwin is joined by Ilaisa Tuiaki as Andersen's most recent additions to his staff. Tuiaki will make the move to Utah State after a year as a graduate assistant at Utah, where he worked with the linebackers.

At USU, Tuiaki will serve as the running backs coach. He played for Andersen as a running back at Southern Utah in 2003 and will be a key cog in the Aggies' recruiting plans.

"He'll give us the ability to recruit Polynesian kids," Andersen said. "To be able to recruit those kids, you need to have a Polynesian or two on our staff. He'll be a huge asset to the staff."

Baldwin, likewise, is expected to pay dividends as a recruiter after more than 25 years as a college coach.

For the past two seasons, Baldwin has been the offensive coordinator at New Mexico. Though the Lobos struggled this season, UNM had a prolific passing game in Baldwin's first season there. Prior to that, Baldwin was John L. Smith's offensive coordinator at Michigan State and helped Spartan quarterback Drew Stanton become a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 2006.

Baldwin also served as the offensive coordinator at Cincinnati and Baylor after spending four seasons as the head coach at San Jose State from 1997-2000, where he had a record of 18-27 after taking over one of the worst programs in the West.

"Dave has been a Division I offensive coordinator for eight years and has 11 years of head coaching experience. He always finds a way to get the best out of his offensive personnel," Andersen said.