PULLMAN, Wash. - Washington State head coach
Nick Rolovich announced Tuesday that Jake Dickert has been hired to the Cougar Football coaching staff as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
"I am so pumped about this hire, I've been following Jake and his coaching career for a long time. We have competed against him the past couple years and his defenses play tough, they play physical and they play as one," Rolovich said. "Jake came highly recommended from a number of coaches around the country and he has been very successful in recruiting and developing players from this area of the country. I've seen Jake continue to develop as he worked his way up the coaching ladder and he proved himself as a defensive coordinator this past season. He takes pride in how his defense plays, stopping the run, forcing takeaways and pressuring the quarterback, and I think he will be a great fit for this program and the Pullman community."
Dickert owns 13 years of collegiate coaching experience and worked the last three seasons at the University of Wyoming including the 2019 campaign as the defensive coordinator while working with the linebackers and safeties.
This past season, the Cowboys were sixth in the country in red zone defense, No. 11 in the country in rush defense (107.1) and scoring defense (17.8), No. 40 tackles-for-loss (83) and No. 43 in total defense. Dickert saw four Cowboys earned All-Mountain West Conference honors led by second-team All-American linebacker and Butkus Award Finalist Logan Wilson while redshirt-freshman defensive end Solomon Byrd was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.
Dickert originally joined the Wyoming football staff in February, 2017 and coached the safeties for the 2017 and 2018 seasons before he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2019 where he started the season coaching the linebackers and later coached the safeties. In his three seasons at Wyoming, Dickert coached a pair of future NFL safeties including three-time first-team All-Mountain West Conference pick Andrew Wingard and saw four players earn All-MWC honors in 2019 while another earned 2019 Freshman All-America accolades on the defensive line.
In 2018, Wyoming's defense was among the best in the nation, finishing the season No. 19 in total defense (326.2), No. 25 in rushing defense (129.5), No. 28 in scoring defense (22.0) and No. 32 in pass defense (196.7). Dickert coached senior safeties Andrew Wingard and Marcus Epps as Wingard ended his career tied for the Mountain West Conference career tackle record with 454. Wingard earned First Team All-Mountain West honors for the third consecutive season after being named to the preseason watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik, Bronko Nagurski and Jim Thorpe Awards in both 2017 and 2018. Epps concluded his career as the only three-time team captain in the modern era of Cowboy Football, recorded 325 career tackles and was a finalist for the 2018 Burlsworth Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on. Epps was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings where he played in seven games before playing in eight more with the Philadelphia Eagles. Wingard played in the 2019 East-West Shrine Game, was invited to the 2019 NFL Draft Combine and signed a free-agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars where he played all 16 games and made two starts as a rookie.
In his first season at Wyoming, Dickert help the 2017 Cowboy defense become one of the best groups in the country as they led the country in takeaways (38), ranked ninth in scoring defense (17.5), were first in fumbles recovered (18), second in interceptions (20), eighth in defensive touchdowns scored (4 TD), No. 13 in pass defense (174.9) and No. 23 in total defense (335.2). Dickert coached first-team All-Mountain West strong safety Wingard while the safety tandem of Wingard and Epps led the Pokes in interceptions in 2017, with five and four interceptions, respectively.
Before arriving at Wyoming, Dickert spent the 2016 season as the safeties coach and co-special teams coordinator at South Dakota State. Earlier in his career, Dickert was a part of Bohl's coaching staff at North Dakota State from 2008-10.
In his one season on the South Dakota State coaching staff, Dickert helped guide the Jackrabbits to the 2016 Missouri Valley Football Conference Championship and a No. 8 seed in the 2016 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs, where they advanced to the FCS National Quarterfinals.
As defensive coordinator and linebackers Coach at Minnesota State, Mankato for the 2014 and 2015 seasons Dickert was part of a coaching staff that led the Mavericks to back-to-back Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) championships and consecutive NCAA Division II Playoff berths, earning their way to the 2014 National Championship Game. Minnesota State posted a combined record of 24-3 over that two-year span. Dickert's 2014 defense ranked second in the nation in scoring defense (12.9), fourth in turnovers gained, No. 12 in pass defense efficiency and No. 15 in total defense. In 2015, the Mavericks ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense (16.1), third in rushing defense, seventh in pass defense efficiency and sixth in total defense. He coached 16 All-Conference players, three First Team All-Americans and a two-time Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
In his first season as a college defensive coordinator in 2013 at Augustana, Dickert's defense ranked No. 20 in the nation at the NCAA Division II level in scoring defense, giving up only 19.5 ppg. Augustana ranked second in the NSIC in pass defense, third in rushing defense and third in total defense. He coached five All-Conference players at Augustana.
In 2012, he served as the defensive backs coach at Southeast Missouri State. The Redhawks ranked No. 18 in the nation in turnovers gained (25) and No. 23 in interceptions (13). Southeast Missouri State ranked No. 2 in the Ohio Valley Conference in pass defense. Dickert also coached a First Team All-Conference strong safety at Southeast Missouri.
Dickert spent the 2011 season as the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at South Dakota, where the Coyotes ranked second in the Great West Conference in fewest passing yards allowed and interceptions. He coached three All-Conference performers while at South Dakota and his special teams units ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in punting average and net punting and had an individual rank in the Top 10 in punt return yards.
He joined the North Dakota State coaching staff in 2008 as a defensive graduate assistant on Bohl's staff. In 2009 and 2010, he was elevated to serve as safeties coach for the Bison. The 2010 NDSU team advanced to the FCS National Quarterfinals. Dickert began his college coaching career in 2007 as a defensive graduate assistant at his alma mater, Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
He played football at Wisconsin-Stevens Point from 2002-06 where he earned All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) honors as a wide receiver his senior season of 2006 and was named his team's Wide Receiver of the Year both his junior and senior seasons. Dickert earned his bachelor's degree in secondary math education from Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2007, and completed his master's degree in general education, also from UW-Stevens Point in 2009.
He and his wife, Candice, have three children, daughter Rylee and sons Jett and Jace.
