High school football: Copper Hills names John Teuscher its new head football coach

WEST JORDAN — In front of an animated gymnasium during halftime of a boys basketball game Friday night, Copper Hills announced John Teuscher as its new football coach.

“This is the only high school job that I applied for,” Teuscher said after exuberantly celebrating with the student section following a lengthy introduction at the scorers’ table. “My family and I live here in the boundaries and when we heard this job was open we thought it would be a really exciting challenge to come here and work with the community, the students and the administration here and build something that everyone can be proud of. There’s absolutely no reason, doing it right, that we can’t win big here."

Teuscher, a Salt Lake City native and Olympus High graduate, has worked in the Pac-12, Mountain West, Big Sky and at the junior college level during his coaching career. He spent the last two seasons at the University of Utah and most recently acted as the assistant director of recruiting operations there.

“We’re going to set our standard really high and work,” Teuscher said. “There’s no other way to do it. There’s nothin’ else to go about it. No shortcuts; good hard work; doing it the right way and competin’ like crazy.”

In 2006, Teuscher coached the defensive line at Snow College and helped produce nine FBS Division I signees during an 11-1 season that culminated with a No. 2 national NJCAA ranking.

“Strength and conditioning program — we got to get in the weight room,” Teuscher said when asked what needed to be addressed first. "We gotta get bigger, faster and stronger and develop football strength and mental toughness so we can play in the toughest region in the state. There’s no question that Region 3 is absolutely the toughest league in the state.”

Teuscher served as linebackers and defensive tackles coach at Northern Arizona University and helped develop statistically one of the top rushing defenses in Big Sky history.

Teuscher now has the task of changing the mentality of a habitual losing program.

“I think it’s really attractive that this is biggest school in the state and is an area that is really growing,” he said. “As I did my homework, and talked to a lot of people, they said it was never an athletic problem here. It was a cultural issue as far as not expecting to win. That’s the No. 1 thing we’re going to come in here and change.”

Teuscher is planning to run an offense he compared to what the University of Arizona has and a defensive scheme similar to what Utah and TCU have.

“No huddle, up-tempo, run plays (on offense); be fast and aggressive on defense, bring pressure and get after people — make people adjust to what Copper Hills is doing,” he said.

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