Boise State coaches, administrator follow Harsin to Auburn; Shakir is finalist for award
At least two members of former Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin’s staff are reportedly following him to Auburn.
Auburn confirmed Tuesday that strength and conditioning coach Jeff Pitman is joining Harsin’s new staff. Defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson is also heading to Auburn, according to AL.com.
Senior associate athletic director Brad Larrondo will also join Harsin’s staff at Auburn as his “chief of staff,” according to AL.com. He spent the past two seasons in the same role at Boise State, serving as the athletic department’s football liaison with a focus on fundraising and community outreach.
A graduate of Boise State, Larrondo joined the athletic department in 1993 as a sports information director and worked his way up to senior associate athletic director. He had the support of several current and former players as a candidate to replace Curt Apsey as athletic director.
Larrondo’s Twitter bio was updated to reflect his new role at Auburn on Wednesday afternoon.
Danielson is currently serving as the Broncos’ interim head coach. He joined the program in 2017 as a graduate assistant, working with the STUDs — a position that then included All-American Curtis Weaver, who ended his career No. 2 all-time at Boise State with 34 sacks.
Danielson worked with the STUDs again in 2018 before he was promoted to defensive line coach. Before the 2020 season began, he was also named co-defensive coordinator and his base salary increased from $215,000 to $275,000.
It’s unclear what role Danielson will fill at Auburn, but there is speculation that he could still be a candidate for defensive coordinator at Boise State if Andy Avalos is hired as the new head coach, given the close relationship they formed while coaching at Boise State together.
Avalos — currently the defensive coordinator at Oregon — was the Broncos’ defensive coordinator when Danielson joined the staff in 2017.
Pitman, a Boise State graduate, was in his second stint as the Broncos’ strength and conditioning coach. He joined the staff in 1999 and stayed until 2006, before making stops at Colorado and Western Carolina. He was on Harsin’s staff at Arkansas State in 2013 and followed Harsin back to Boise State in 2014. He made $158,017 in 2019 and $185,000 in 2020.
Pitman is the first addition to Harsin’s new staff that Auburn has officially announced. Harsin was named Auburn’s new coach on Christmas Eve.
There are unconfirmed reports that Boise State offensive line coach Brad Bedell will be heading to Auburn and that linebackers coach Zac Alley is joining Terry Bowden’s staff at Louisiana-Monroe as defensive coordinator.
Shakir named finalist for Polynesian POY
Boise State’s top wide receiver, Khalil Shakir, is a finalist to be named the 2020 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year, the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced Wednesday.
The junior from Murrieta, California, led the Broncos this season with 52 catches for 719 yards and had six receiving touchdowns. He was also second on the team with 148 rushing yards and third with 17 carries.
He ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West in receptions, and No. 3 in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Shakir posted four 100-yard receiving games this season, including a career-high 139 in a loss to BYU. He also hauled in 11 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the Broncos’ win at Hawaii. In December, he was named first-team All-Mountain West.
Last season, Shakir was named honorable mention all-conference after leading Boise State with 63 receptions and finishing No. 2 on the team with 872 receiving yards. He also scored 10 total touchdowns: six receiving, three rushing and one passing.
Waleed heading to Sun Belt
Former Boise State wide receiver Khyheem Waleed announced Wednesday on Twitter that he’s transferring to Arkansas State.
The Queen Creek, Arizona, native announced Dec. 22 that he was transferring. He appeared in three games in 2019, preserving his redshirt year, and in five this fall, recording one tackle on special teams.
Waleed (6-foot, 199 pounds) joined the 2019 class as a three-star prospect from Casteel High in Arizona. 247Sports rated him as the No. 10 overall prospect in the state, and he was rated in the top 100 nationally at his position by 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals.
At Arkansas State, he’s joining a program that has to replace top receiver Jonathan Adams Jr., who finished the season with 79 catches for 1,111 yards and 12 touchdowns and declared for the NFL Draft in December.
Arkansas State led the Sun Belt Conference and ranked No. 2 nationally this season with 364.4 passing yards a game.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 12:31 PM.
