Cal Poly Adds Rouse, Casteel to Football Coaching Staff
3/30/2022 2:33:00 PM | Football
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly head football coach Beau Baldwin has announced the addition of two new assistants to his coaching staff.
Robbie Rouse, who coached the running backs at North Dakota for two seasons, has been hired to coach the running backs at Cal Poly. Rouse replaces James Montgomery, who is now running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Fresno State.
Jake Casteel, a defensive graduate assistant at West Virginia for the 2021 season, takes the position formerly occupied by J.C. Sherritt and will work with the defensive ends. Sherritt is currently a defensive analyst at Auburn.
Two more positions will be filled in the coming weeks to replace offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Nick Edwards along with cornerbacks coach Jeff Anderson. Edwards is an offensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons while Anderson will be a defensive quality control coach for the Cleveland Browns.
Cody vonAppen, who coaches the defensive secondary and also served as the Mustangs' defensive passing game coordinator last fall, will share defensive coordinator duties with defensive line coach Will Plemons, who was defensive running game coordinator for the 2021 season.
Who will serve as offensive coordinator, previously handled by Edwards, will be decided after all positions are filled.
Rouse is a former running back at Fresno State, where he became the program's all-time leading rusher. In four years with the Bulldogs, Rouse rushed for a total of 4,647 yards and 37 rushing touchdowns while also finishing with 794 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns, and one passing touchdown.
He is the first player in Bulldog history to record three 1,000-yard seasons and helped Fresno State reach a bowl game in all four seasons.
After a brief stint in the National and Canadian football leagues with the Cleveland Browns and Edmonton Eskimos, respectively, Rouse began his coaching career in 2017 at the College of St. Scholastica, where he coached the running backs, tight ends, wide receivers and returners.
In 2019, the San Diego, Calif., native and Madison High School graduate coached the running backs for Augustana (Sioux Falls, S.D.), helping the Vikings to a 9-3 overall record and a NCAA Division II postseason berth. As a team, Augustana amassed over 1,800 yards on the ground and Jarod Epperson finished seventh in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) with 732 yards and six touchdowns.
At North Dakota, Rouse coached Otis Weah to successful seasons -- 730 yards rushing in 2020 and 818 in 2021. He scored nine touchdowns on the ground in each season, earned multiple All-America nods and twice was selected to the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference squad.
Rouse graduated in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Recreation Administration from Fresno State before receiving his master's degree in sports administration and leadership from Augustana.
Casteel was a linebacker at Northern Arizona from 2014-18 before launching his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2019. He joined the Boise State staff in 2020 as a defensive graduate assistant and filled the same position at West Virginia last fall.
After redshirting the 2014 campaign at Northern Arizona, Casteel played in 44 contests over the next four seasons, making 250 tackles (125 solo), including a team-leading 90 in 2018. He enjoyed his finest season as a Lumberjack in 2018, notching 90 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, and an interception.
A year prior, he was instrumental on a defense that helped the Lumberjacks earn an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs, the program's first postseason berth since 2013.
Casteel's father, Jeff, has coached football on the defensive side for over 35 years, 27 of them as a defensive coordinator. Currently a senior defensive analyst at West Virginia, he was at Nevada from 2017-19, Arizona from 2012-16, West Virginia from 2001-11, UTEP in 2000 and at Shepherd University, first as the defensive line and strength coach from 1988-90 and as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 1991-2000.
Robbie Rouse, who coached the running backs at North Dakota for two seasons, has been hired to coach the running backs at Cal Poly. Rouse replaces James Montgomery, who is now running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Fresno State.
Jake Casteel, a defensive graduate assistant at West Virginia for the 2021 season, takes the position formerly occupied by J.C. Sherritt and will work with the defensive ends. Sherritt is currently a defensive analyst at Auburn.
Two more positions will be filled in the coming weeks to replace offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Nick Edwards along with cornerbacks coach Jeff Anderson. Edwards is an offensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons while Anderson will be a defensive quality control coach for the Cleveland Browns.
Cody vonAppen, who coaches the defensive secondary and also served as the Mustangs' defensive passing game coordinator last fall, will share defensive coordinator duties with defensive line coach Will Plemons, who was defensive running game coordinator for the 2021 season.
Who will serve as offensive coordinator, previously handled by Edwards, will be decided after all positions are filled.
Rouse is a former running back at Fresno State, where he became the program's all-time leading rusher. In four years with the Bulldogs, Rouse rushed for a total of 4,647 yards and 37 rushing touchdowns while also finishing with 794 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns, and one passing touchdown.
He is the first player in Bulldog history to record three 1,000-yard seasons and helped Fresno State reach a bowl game in all four seasons.
After a brief stint in the National and Canadian football leagues with the Cleveland Browns and Edmonton Eskimos, respectively, Rouse began his coaching career in 2017 at the College of St. Scholastica, where he coached the running backs, tight ends, wide receivers and returners.
In 2019, the San Diego, Calif., native and Madison High School graduate coached the running backs for Augustana (Sioux Falls, S.D.), helping the Vikings to a 9-3 overall record and a NCAA Division II postseason berth. As a team, Augustana amassed over 1,800 yards on the ground and Jarod Epperson finished seventh in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) with 732 yards and six touchdowns.
At North Dakota, Rouse coached Otis Weah to successful seasons -- 730 yards rushing in 2020 and 818 in 2021. He scored nine touchdowns on the ground in each season, earned multiple All-America nods and twice was selected to the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference squad.
Rouse graduated in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Recreation Administration from Fresno State before receiving his master's degree in sports administration and leadership from Augustana.
Casteel was a linebacker at Northern Arizona from 2014-18 before launching his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2019. He joined the Boise State staff in 2020 as a defensive graduate assistant and filled the same position at West Virginia last fall.
After redshirting the 2014 campaign at Northern Arizona, Casteel played in 44 contests over the next four seasons, making 250 tackles (125 solo), including a team-leading 90 in 2018. He enjoyed his finest season as a Lumberjack in 2018, notching 90 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, and an interception.
A year prior, he was instrumental on a defense that helped the Lumberjacks earn an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs, the program's first postseason berth since 2013.
Casteel's father, Jeff, has coached football on the defensive side for over 35 years, 27 of them as a defensive coordinator. Currently a senior defensive analyst at West Virginia, he was at Nevada from 2017-19, Arizona from 2012-16, West Virginia from 2001-11, UTEP in 2000 and at Shepherd University, first as the defensive line and strength coach from 1988-90 and as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 1991-2000.
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