Justin Kramer begins his second season on Head Coach Jake Dickert’s staff, and first as the special assistant to the head coach and assistant offensive line coach. Last season, Kramer served as the program’s director of scouting.
Kramer arrived in Pullman after spending the previous two seasons on the staff at Southeast Missouri State, where he was the assistant head coach and coached tight ends. It marked the second stint at SEMO for Kramer, who was an assistant coach with the Redhawks from 2006-12 before moving on to coaching positions at Missouri and Missouri State.
He was at Missouri State for five years (2015-19) as the Bears offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, and worked with the tight ends and special teams during his time in Springfield.
Under Kramer’s direction, MSU’s special teams were some of the most consistent units in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. In particular, the Bears ranked among the Valley’s top three units in kickoff return average (22.2), punt return average (13.0), punt average (41.0) and field goals made per game (1.09) in 2018.
Kramer initially left SEMO to join Gary Pinkel’s staff at Missouri, where he worked with Dave Steckel in shaping one of the SEC’s top defensive units. Steckel was later the head coach at Missouri State.
Kramer was a key defensive analyst for the Tigers and also served as the assistant director of recruiting during his tenure at Mizzou. In that role, he helped oversee scouting and assisted the staff with scripting and practice planning. Kramer helped coordinate Missouri’s football camps, as well.
At SEMO, Kramer coached four First-Team All-OVC offensive linemen. He mentored three All-Americans, including Sean Middleton, the FCS Rimington Award winner. Kramer’s offensive line paved the way for the nation’s #3 rushing offense and led the FCS with six sacks allowed in 2010.
Kramer joined the SEMO coaching staff for the first time as a graduate assistant in 2006, where he worked with the defensive line. He also served as director of football operations for a year and a half.
A native of Liberty, Missouri, Kramer was a four-year letterman at Southern Illinois from 2002-05. He was a standout offensive lineman who was part of three Saluki NCAA Playoff teams and three Missouri Valley Football Conference titles.
Kramer and his wife, Killian, have a daughter, Leyna, and a son, Vince.
