Mike Stoops added some Pac-10 experience to his staff with the early January hiring of Kasey Dunn, formerly an assistant head coach at Washington State for four years. Dunn will coach Arizona running backs and has experience on both side of the ball, as well as experience as a heralded collegiate player and former professional.
Dunn's work in spring ball helped develop what coaches feel could be a strong unit in the Wildcat offensive attack, led by running backs Mike Bell, Gilbert Harris and Pedro Limon.
Dunn, a two-time All-America wide receiver at Idaho in 1988-89, comes to Arizona after a year coaching cornerbacks at Texas Christian in 2003.
Dunn, 35, remains the Idaho career record holder for receptions (268) and receiving yards (3,847), which both ranked No. 2 on the NCAA career lists behind Jerry Rice at the time. He led the nation with 88 catches as a junior, was third with 85 as a senior and fifth as a sophomore with 73 catches. The Vandals, under then coach John L. Smith, won Big Sky titles in 1987, 1988 and 1989 and were 24-12 during his three varsity seasons.
Dunn played professionally for a couple of years following his graduation from Idaho in 1992, spending time that year with three professional teams including the Houston Oilers, British Columbia Lions and Edmonton Eskimos. He caught 20 passes for the Eskimos in 1992.
He joined the coaching ranks in 1993, returning to Idaho to work under Smith as a volunteer wide receivers coach. He earned a full-time position at San Diego, coaching tight ends and running backs for Brian Fogarty in 1994, then returned to Idaho under Chris Tormey in 1995 to coach cornerbacks.
Dunn joined Dennis Franchione's staff at New Mexico for two years, coaching cornerbacks in 1996-97, and joined Mike Price's WSU staff in March 1998. He coached running backs for two years, 1998-99, then was promoted to assistant head coach and special teams coordinator in his last two seasons in Pullman, 2001-02, capped by the Cougars' appearance against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.
He was part of WSU staffs that took the program to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in school history, and began a stretch of 10 or more victories in three seasons.
Dunn helped two WSU backs set school records, Kevin Brown and Deon Burnett in 1998. Brown set the WSU record for a sophomore in posting 1,046 yards, plus rushed for 202 yards against Stanford. Burnett set the school record for a freshman with 974 yards.
Dunn, who prepped in the Northwest at North Kitsap High in Washington, graduated from Idaho with a telecommunications degree in 1992.
He and his wife, Janelle, have two daughters, Kayla (6) and Lauren (3).
The Dunn File
Born: July 22, 1969, San Diego, Calif.
High School: North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo, Wash., 1987
College: Idaho, 1992
Playing Experience: University of Idaho, receiver, 1987-91
Family: Wife Janelle, daughters Kayla (6) and Lauren (3)
Recuits: San Diego, Orange County
Dunn Coaching Chronology
1993 Idaho, Volunteer coach, Wide receivers
1994 University of San Diego, Tight ends/receivers coach
1995 Idaho, Cornerbacks coach
1996 New Mexico, Cornerbacks coach
1997 New Mexico, Cornerbacks coach
1998 Washington State, Running backs coach
1999 Washington State, Running backs coach/ST coordinator
2000 Washington State, Running backs coach/ST coordinator
2001 Washington State, assistant head coach, RB/ST coordinator
2002 Washington State, assistant head coach, RB/ST coordinator
2003 Texas Christian, Cornerbacks coach
Dunn in the Postseason
1988 NCAA I-AA Playoffs, Idaho wide receiver (3 rounds)
1989 NCAA I-AA Playoffs, Idaho wide receiver
1990 NCAA I-AA Playoffs, Idaho wide receiver (2 rounds)
1993 NCAA I-AA Playoffs, Idaho volunteer receivers coach (3 rounds)
1995 NCAA-I-AA Playoffs, Idaho cornerbacks coach
1997 Insight.com Bowl, New Mexico cornerbacks coach
2001 Sun Bowl, Washington State assistant head coach, RBs/ST
2002 Rose Bowl (2003), Washington State assistant head coach
2003 Fort Worth Bowl, TCU cornerbacks coach
