The Portland State football coaching staff has three more new faces for 2006, two of which were former players under Tim Walsh. Josh Fetter will take over as defensive ends coach, Ryan Wells will coach safeties, and Nick Chenault is the new cornerbacks coach.

Those three coaches have begun work on the Viking staff along with new Offensive Coordinator Jeff Hoover, who was on staff during spring practice.

Fetter comes to Portland State after spending five seasons at Division II Western State of Colorado. He spent the past three years as defensive coordinator and strength and conditioning coach. He was also assistant head coach.

?€œJosh brings tremendous experience as a defensive line coach and as a defensive coordinator. He also has great recruiting ties in the state of Washington,?€ť said Coach Tim Walsh. ?€œHe should be a great help to Coach Tuitele on the defensive line, and to coach Lupfer with game planning. I would also expect he will really help in an area we are already successful - recruiting in the state of Washington.?€ť

A 1996 graduate of Idaho, Fetter coached at Central Washington for five years. He was in charge of defensive tackles in 1996, then defensive ends from 1997 to 2000.

Former Viking defensive back Ryan Wells joins the Portland State coaching staff after four years of collegiate coaching at other programs.

Wells coached defensive backs at Morningside College last year. Morningside, an NAIA program, was 12-1 during the 2005 season, reaching the semifinals. Prior to coaching at Morningside, Wells was an assistant coach at Eastern Oregon from 2002 to 2004.

?€œRyan has gone out and made himself a great football coach,?€ť Tim Walsh said. ?€œHe comes from a great program at Morningside and that experience has really helped him grow. He is another person who is from PSU, knows PSU, and really wants to continue building this program.?€ť

A 2002 graduate of Portland State, Wells earned a bachelors degree in Social Science. He was a four-year letterwinner on the football team and received Special Teams Player of the Year Awards in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Wells was the team?€™s Most Improved Player in 2001.

Nick Chenault, the new cornerbacks coach, joined the Viking staff prior to spring practice. A former defensive back himself, Chenault played four seasons (2001-04) as a safety for the Vikings, making over 180 tackles, seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

One of five former Viking players who are now coaches at PSU, Chenault is in his second season as a coach. He spent the 2005 season as the secondary coach at Eastern Oregon University, working with both cornerbacks and safeties. The Mountaineers were 6-3 last year.

?€œNick had a great experience at Eastern Oregon,?€ť said Tim Walsh. ?€œWhat he lacks in overall coaching experience, he makes up for with his youth and enthusiasm. He will become a very good football coach for us this year.?€ť

Chenault graduated from Portland State in 2005 with a degree in Communications.

Jeff Hoover, who served as offensive line coach at Portland State from 1995 to 1999, spent five seasons as the offensive line coach at Utah State. Last year, he was the offensive coordinator and line coach for Henderson State in Arkansas.

2006 VIKING FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF
Head Coach: Tim Walsh (83-64, 14th year)
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers: Greg Lupfer (12th year)
Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends: Jeff Hoover (6th year, 1995-99)
Quarterbacks/Special Teams Coordinator: Jim Craft (6th year)
Offensive Line: Eric Reid (5th year)
Defensive Tackles/Recruiting Coordinator: Saga Tuitele (4th year)
Wide Receivers: Steve Broussard (3rd year)
Running Backs: Frank Geske (2nd year)
Defensive Ends: Josh Fetter (1st year)
Safeties: Ryan Wells (1st year)
Cornerbacks: Nick Chenault (1st year)