Pat Cashmore begins his first season in Pullman as special teams coordinator on Jimmy Rogers staff, a similar role he held under Rogers at South Dakota State.
Cashmore arrived in Pullman following two seasons at SDSU. In 2024, the Jackrabbits finished second nationally in net punting at 43.04 ypp while it matched that ranking in punt return defense, allowing just 0.46 yards per return. Kickoff return defense finished the year 12th in FCS, allowing just 16.35 yards per return. Punter Hunter Dustman, who averaged 44.15 ypp, earned All-MVFC Honorable Mention honors.
In his first season, solid play on special teams contributed to the Jackrabbits' success as they pursued a second consecutive Football Championship Subdivision national title in 2023. SDSU ranked sixth in both punt returns (17.63 yards per attempt) and punt return defense (2.9 yards per attempt), while also ranking among the national leaders with four blocked kicks.
Individually, Tucker Large ranked third nationally with an average of 18.9 yards per punt return and set an SDSU single-game record with 149 punt return yards against Drake en route to earning second-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors as a return specialist. Hunter Dustman topped the 100-point mark for the second year in a row in the kicking department and also earned second-team all-conference recognition after averaging 43.5 yards per punt.
Long snapper Kaydon Olivia also was named to the all-MVFC Second Team and running back Amar Johnson was a first-team all-purpose back after leading the squad in kickoff returns.
Prior to his arrival in Brookings, Cashmore coached three seasons at Pittsburg State (Kan.), where his kickoff return units placed highly in the NCAA Division II rankings. The Gorillas recorded consecutive top-10 showings for kickoff returns, placing sixth in 2022 with an average of 25.4 yards per return after finishing 10th in 2021. In addition, Pitt State led the D-II ranks in kickoff return defense by allowing 12.7 yards per return during the 2022 campaign while advancing to the second round of the Division II playoffs.
Cashmore served two previous stints at the Division I level, serving as special teams quality control at Toledo from 2016-17 and as a special teams coordinator and offensive graduate assistant at Oklahoma State for two seasons (2018-19). Toledo captured the 2017 MAC Championship and Cashmore coached two all-conference performers on special teams.
At Oklahoma State, Cashmore created weekly special teams game plans and scouting reports, while assisting with running backs and wide receivers. The Cowboys won the Liberty Bowl to conclude the 2018 season and played in the Texas Bowl to close out the 2019 campaign.
Cashmore started his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, from 2012-13, serving as outside linebackers coach. He then moved on Iowa Western Community College, where he served as special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach. Iowa Western advanced to the NJCAA national championship game his first season with the Reivers.
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Cashmore played collegiately at Drake, where he was part of the 2011 Pioneer League championship team. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Drake in 2011 and completed a master's degree in education from Midland in 2015.
