Minnesota State University Reporter

Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Mens Sports

Media Credit: University of South Dakota Sports Information Todd Hoffner spent the last two seasons as offensive coordinator at South Dakota.

As of last Friday, the Todd Hoffner era is upon us.

Hoffner is set to be the 14th coach in Minnesota State football history - after signing a four-year deal last weekend - and with that brings excitement and optimism to a program that has struggled in the last few years.

Hoffner took his first head coaching position at the collegiate ranks at Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1995, where he posted six-consecutive conference winning records and finished his seven-year career with a record of 46-28. In 2001, Hoffner led the Blugolds to a conference title with an 8-2 record, and at one time his program was ranked sixth in the nation.

Prior to his position at Eau Claire, Hoffner started his college-coaching career as a graduate assistant for North Dakota and from there was on staff at Wisconsin-Stevens Point for eight years. There, he was the offensive coordinator for four seasons and a defensive coordinator for two seasons.

Hoffner's D-III powerhouse at Eau Claire he created several years ago helped move his name around in the Midwest region. He eventually took a job as the offensive coordinator for South Dakota and two years later, he's a Maverick.

"I started my career wearing purple and gold, and now I'll probably end my career wearing purple and gold," Hoffner said. "I'm definitely very excited; it's a dream job for me."

At South Dakota, Hoffner put the Coyotes on the map as one of the most proficient offenses in nation. He has also coached a few All-Americans on offense.

Just last season, Hoffner led the Coyotes to 496.2 yard per game in total offense - first in the North Central Conference - and was second in pass efficiency and third in first downs. The Coyotes also averaged 263.5 yards per game on the ground last season, 222 more yards per game than the Mavericks.

In his first season on the Coyotes' staff, he helped lead them to a 9-4 record, and the team was nationally ranked all season and advanced to the second round of the postseason playoffs.

"As far as the X's and O's, he's been around a lot of offenses," said MSU quarterback Ryan Fick. "He's going to put us in the best position possible for what we have."

One thing no one will doubt is that the signing of Hoffner will bring a ton of coaching experience to MSU football.

Kevin Buisman, MSU's director of athletics, said one of the main questions he asked all the candidates that came in for interviews was: If the glass was half-empty, or half-full?

[Todd] sees the glass more than half-full, and he can fill it to the top with abundance," Buisman said.

Hoffner stressed that he will expect his team to represent the program, be kind, respectful and build a trust system.

"Our program will have a very positive image," Hoffner said. "We are going to do our best to put out an image people will be proud of."

It is not yet clear how the coaching staff around Hoffner will shape-out. He said they will start evaluating the current staff over the next five months, and then get a better idea of what he will be working with. Hoffner did say, however, that he will not be calling the plays this year, something he did as a head coach in Eau Claire.

The newest head coach at MSU will have some road bumps though, coming in a little late and dealing with a team that has talent, but has struggled with consistency the past few seasons.

Hoffner will also be a little behind on recruiting - with the recruiting deadline to bring in new-coming freshmen ending Feb. 6 - but has said he is confident in the assistants during the recruiting process and that they have done a tremendous job.

"I'm going to try and maximize the talents of the young men who chose MSU as their institution," Hoffner said. "And do the best we can to put them in positions where they can succeed on the football field, but also academically."

With Hoffner only being able to participate during the final stretch of the recruiting process, especially during a year the Mavericks lose 12 scholarships with the move to the Northern Sun Conference, you'd think he would be under a little pressure next season.

"Pressure is getting my daughter to preschool on time every day," he said. "And we will have plenty of opportunities in the future to deal with the full recruiting calendar."

With Hoffner at the helm, MSU football should be in pretty good shape.


Josh Berhow is the Reporter assistant sports editor

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