Who is Nate Dreiling?

A fairly new face at Utah State will be leading the Aggies’ football program this summer and fall on an interim basis.

First reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel Tuesday morning, and later confirmed by the university, USU head coach Blake Anderson has been placed on administrative leave and defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling has been named the Aggies’ interim head coach.

Dreiling will serve as the Aggies’ head coach for the upcoming 2024 season.

Who is Nate Dreiling?

Dreiling was hired by Anderson in early January to serve as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator, replacing Joe Cauthen, the program’s defensive coordinator during the 2023 season.

Dreiling came to Utah State by way of New Mexico State, where he coached for two seasons and dramatically improved NMSU’s quality on defense.

A former standout player at Pittsburg State (a Division II program), where he was a four-time All-American and the DII defensive player of the year (in 2011), Dreiling, 33, has been viewed as something of a rising star in the college football coaching ranks.

Anderson brought him aboard with the hopes of seeing immediate improvement from USU’s defense, which ranked among the worst in all of the FBS last season.

“We are all aware that was where our biggest need was,” Anderson said on National signing day. “We needed to make an impact on the defensive side of the ball. And I feel like we’ve done that in every room. All guys needed to compete at our level.”

Anderson went on to note that Dreiling’s success at New Mexico State was a major plus .

“I think if you look at where he was at, in terms of what you can recruit at New Mexico State and who they are playing against, I felt like he did more with less than maybe anybody else in the country. I know that program and what they have and what they don’t have very, very well. Probably played against them maybe more than anyone else, if you look at my history. I know the deficiencies there and to be able to put together the defense they did and play as effectively as they did in a short period of time, tells you everything you need to know.

“We need that same sort of turnaround here. We’ve got to get better on defense. Immediately, to be able to win championships. If he can have that kind of impact here, I think we can recruit at a higher level and we have better resources, so if we can take that model and plug it in here and I’m hoping we have even better results.”

How do Utah State players view Nate Dreiling?

USU star safety Ike Larsen had nothing but praise for Dreiling during spring camp. Dreiling is the third defensive coordinator that Larsen has been coached by while at Utah State.

Said Larsen : “Coach Dreiling is a great guy and an even better person. ... I feel like he has proven (himself) to us and we have worked through the bumps and bruises. I feel like we can be a really great defense if we trust in him and he trusts in us and we build that family character that every defense needs. This far, it has been great, we all love him.”

This story will be updated.