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College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

The Young and the Dedicated: Best Coaches 35 and Under

Potential is limitless for this group of early-career leaders

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By Mike Huesmann

We’re always looking for the next big thing. The hot up and comers. And never more so than in today’s world of instant feedback and social media. In this piece, I make a staff out of the top coaches at each position who are age 35 or younger. We will have some names you know and some you might not, but all of these guys are top-notch coaches and the sky’s the limit for many of them.

Head Coach – GJ Kinne, Texas State, 35

Kinne getting a P4 job feels like a “when” not an “if” at this time. He spent one year as head coach at Incarnate Word and promptly took them to the national semifinals. In 2023, his first at Texas State, they went 8-5 and won a bowl game. What makes him an appealing candidate, beyond the stellar offense, is his ability to adapt and modernize. Still at the ripe young age of 35, he has done as well in the portal as anyone. The 2023 Bobcats had the second-most transfer imports of anyone in the FBS, behind only Colorado. Being that coach and roster GM is the way of the future in FBS football, my guess is it will lead Kinne to the top spot at a major soon.

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Offensive Coordinator – Zac Kittley, Texas Tech, 32

Few in the business have had the mercurial rise of Kittley. He coached Bailey Zappe to success at Houston Baptist and then Western Kentucky before being snatched up by Joey McGuire in Lubbock. His time to be a head coach will come sooner rather than later. The question is: Does he want this to be his first head job with the success others have had here? Waiting for a better job is an option for him.

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QB Coach – Ben Arbuckle, Washington State, 28

Arbuckle is already on his second FBS OC job and he isn’t even 29. He spent multiple years at Western Kentucky as a quality control before being promoted to QB coach and OC. There is a lot of uncertainty around Wazzu and their conference future, but Arbuckle is a good coach to help lead them through it. He is also the Coug’s OC in addition to mentoring the QB’s.

RB Coach – Jordy Joseph, Houston, 31

Joseph reunites with Willie Fritz in Houston this season. Originally he was a grad assistant and analyst for him at Tulane before moving to Southern Miss as RB coach in 2021-22 and QB coach last year. He moves back to RB  s for the Cougars this year. Like most on this list, he looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

WR Coach – Kenny Guiton, Wisconsin, 32

Guiton rose to the level of P4 position coach spectacularly early. That’ll happen when you play for Ohio State and in the NFL. He has already coached at Houston, Louisiana Tech, Colorado State, and Arkansas. This offseason he was hired by Luke Fickell to coach the WRs for the Badgers. He should be an OC before too long if he doesn’t bounce back to the NFL.

TE Coach – Alec Abeln, Tennessee, 29

Abeln has a very impressive resume of analyst and assistant jobs already at Missouri, UCF, and Ole Miss in addition to his current job at Tennessee. That’s big school to big school. He was promoted by Heupel, his former coach at Mizzou when he was a player, to fill the void when Alex Golesh left for USF. He’ll have a long career at blue blood programs.

OL Coach – Andy Kwon, Arkansas State, 29

After a slow start to 2023 the Red Wolves finished 2024 strong. With Jaylen Raynor at QB and a feisty OL in front of him, they were tough in the Sun Belt. That OL is led by Kwon, who initially was TE coach before shifting to OL. Butch Jones might have them turned around and Kwon is a big reason why.

Defensive Coordinator- Glenn Schumann, Georgia, 34

Another coach familiar with both Nick Saban and Kirby Smart – that’s pretty impressive. He was a student assistant and graduate assistant for the Tide before going to UGA with Smart. Schumann has continually climbed the ladder and looks to get the chance to be a HC soon.

DL Coach – Winston DeLattiboudere, Minnesota, 26

The baby of this list – and that’s saying something. DeLattiboudere is a Gopher alumni, having played for PJ Fleck. He spent time as a graduate assistant at Charlotte and Oregon before becoming DL coach for Akron at 24. He is now back with the Gophers. Everyone who has worked with him, that I’ve seen, has raved about this guy. 

LB Coach – Zac Alley, Oklahoma, 31

Alley comes from Jacksonville State where, in Year 1 at the FBS level, they finished 33rd in total defense. They allowed an impressive 1.2 TDs per game and were Top 15 in run defense. He’s considered one of the young risers in the game. He will also be Co-DC for the Sooners, but he qualifies here as being the LB coach.

DB Coach – Ishmael Aristide, Texas A&M, 33

Purdue alumni Aristide is in his second stint at A&M, following Mike Elko from Duke where he spent the last two seasons. Prior to that he was at Miami, A&M as an analyst, Ole Miss, and Auburn. He has been at schools with top-notch talent and accomplished mentors. Elko has a habit of unearthing elite young coaches and he did that here.

Special Teams – Greg Froelich, Charlotte, 30

Froelich was an analyst at Michigan under Biff Poggi and then spent two years at Illinois before Biff hired him to Charlotte. His special teams units have ranked near the top of the nation, with punt return being a particular strong phase of the game. Veteran coaches know how important being good on special teams is and Froelich has been noticed because of this. 

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