TUCSON--Arizona head coach Mike Stoops announced today that former Wildcat safety Jeff Hammerschmidt will be?hired as special teams coordinator and assistant defensive line coach.
There are some paperwork details to be completed, UA associate AD John Perrin said, but Hammerschmidt is expected to start on Monday, a short week before the start of spring practice on Saturday, March 8.
Hammerschmidt?leaves San Jose State, where he was linebackers coach for former UA coach Dick Tomey in 2007.
"I'm fired up," he said. "Ever since I spoke to Mike and the staff about the opportunity I've just been excited every day. It's great to be back. I can't even find the words to describe how it feels," Hammerschmidt said.
Stoops, who fills a vacancy left by Joe Robinson's departure for LSU a month ago, said, "Jeff's the right guy. He's a Wildcat, and a smart young coach. We think he'll fit in this staff extremely well.
"He has a solid background in special teams and defense and we're ready for him to get here," defensive coordinator Mark Stoops said.
Hammerschmidt echoed the sentiment. "Being around the Stoops brothers, and talking about defense, it's a special thing. Arizona's had some tough years but they have a great feel among the current staff and are really excited about the prospects for 2008. ?I'm privileged to return to the UA, to?bear down and help get things going."
Hammerschmidt, 40,?spent the 2006 season as special teams coordinator at Stanford,?coaching outside linebackers, and was with?former UA defensive mentor Rich Ellerson at Cal Poly in 2005.
He was defensive coordinator for five years at St. Mary's and Montana,?coordinated special teams and coached OLBs?for two years in the Big Ten at Indiana, and worked with Ellerson for two years at Southern Utah as defensive coordinator. After his playing career as a Wildcat, he began his career as a graduate assistant on Tomey's 1992?staff and became a fulltime UA secondary coach in 1993, working in Tucson three seasons.
He was a first-team All-Pac-10 safety in 1989 as a junior on the Wildcat team that featured future NFL veterans Glenn Parker, Anthony Smithl, John Fina, Darryll Lewis?and Chris Singleton, among others. He was an honorable mention selection his senior year agter coming back following a knee injury suffered late in his junior year.
In 1989 he was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. He also had some folk-hero status when Tomey switched him from safety to option quarterback in 1987 as a?redshirt freshman three weeks into the season.
Hammerschmidt and his wife, Felicity, have a infant daughter, Bryn.
The Hammerschmidt File
| Full Name: | Jeff Hammerschmidt |
| Date of Birth: | December 9, 1967 |
| Hometown: | San Diego, CA |
| High School: | Helix |
| College: | Arizona, 1991 (B.S., Sociology) |
| Wife: | Felicity |
| Children: | daughter, Bryn |
| Playing Experience: | DB, Arizona (1987-90) |
Coaching Assignments
| YEAR(S) | SCHOOL | POSITION |
| 1992 | Arizona | Graduate Assistant, Defensive Backs |
| 1993-95 | Arizona | Defensive Backs (1994-95) |
| 1996-97 | Southern Utah | Defensive Coordinator (1996-97), Linebackers (1996), Defensive Line (1997) |
| 1998-99 | Indiana | Outside Linebackers/Special Teams |
| 2000-02 | Saint Mary's | Defensive Coordinator |
| 2003-04 | Montana | Defensive Coordinator |
| 2005 | Cal Poly | Linebackers |
| 2006 | Stanford | Outside Linebackers/Special Teams |
| 2007 | San Jose State | Linebackers |
Bowl Experience
| YEAR | BOWL | SCHOOL |
| 1993 | Sun Bowl | Arizona |
| 1994 | Fiesta Bowl | Arizona |
| 1995 | Freedom Bowl | Arizona |
Playoff Experience
| YEAR | PLAYOFF | SCHOOL |
| 2003 | Division I-AA Playoffs | Montana |
| 2004 | Division I-AA National Championship Game | Montana |
| 2005 | Division I-AA Playoffs | Cal Poly |
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