YSU hires Matsakis for football staff

New coach Eric Wolford worked with Matsakis during his first coaching job at Emporia State.

VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State football coach Eric Wolford has hired Louie Matsakis special teams coordinator and running backs coach.

Matsakis, a Shadyside, native, spent the past three years in the same capacity at Kansas.

Wolford worked with Matsakis during his first coaching job at Emporia State. Matsakis was the team’s kicker and punter while Wolford was on the coaching staff.

“I am very excited to have special teams coordinator with Louie’s experience on staff to guide those units,” Wolford said. “He is one of the young and upcoming coaches in our profession and we are very fortunate to have him at Youngstown State.

“He will recruit the Columbus and Eastern Ohio area for us,” Wolford said. “He’s been at two programs that have experienced success and has an impressive track record coaching running backs.”

Matsakis spent five of the past six seasons with Kansas. From 2007-09, he was the Jayhawks’ running backs coach and oversaw the special teams units. In 2004-05 he was a quality control coach.

Last season, Kansas had a freshman running back lead the program in rushing for the first time since 2002. Toben Opurum had a team-high 554 yards while scoring nine touchdowns.

The Jayhawks averaged 41.3 yards per punt and made 13 field goals during the campaign.

Kansas placekicker Jacob Branstetter drilled a 57-yard field goal against Oklahoma while punter Alonso Rojas was a candidate for the Ray Guy Award.

In 2008, Kansas running back Jake Sharp earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors finishing the year with 860 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Sharp also became the first running back in school history to record 100 yards receiving in a game when he had 107 versus Iowa State.

Branstetter set a school record with 49 consecutive PATs made and Rojas averaged 40.7 yards per punt. The Jayhawks’ punt return unit ranked 26th nationally averaging 11.58 yards per return.

In 2007, running back Brandon McAnderson rushed for 1,125 yards, while Sharp added 821, as the Jayhawks produced a potent one-two punch.

At Capital in 2006, Matsakis was the special teams coordinator. He coached an All-America place and first-team all-league kicker Matt Spitz and tutored the first-team all-conference punt returner, Thom Hausler. The Crusaders set a school record for wins in a season with 11.

In his first stint at Kansas from 2004-05, Matsakis assisted with the day-to-day operations and game planning alongside the special teams coordinator.

Matsakis was a three-year letterman as a placekicker and punter at Emporia State University from 1995-98.