Indiana State head coach Curt Mallory bolstered his staff with three hires on the defensive side of the ball, sources told FootballScoop on Thursday.
Pat Shepard will coach Indiana State's special teams while assistant with the defensive line, Dere Hicks will handle cornerbacks, and Wolfgang Shafer will coach the team's safeties.
Shepard arrives from MVFC rival Western Illinois, where he coached tight ends and special teams. He also coached special teams and assisted with quarterbacks at Wyoming, where he helped Josh Allen prepare for the NFL draft and led a unit that paced the Mountain West in kickoff returns, punt coverage and kickoff coverage. A former tight end at Miami (Ohio), Shepard began coaching at Robert Morris in 2010.
Hicks arrives from Savannah State, where he coached defensive backs.
Shafer is the son of former Syracuse head coach and current Middle Tennessee defensive coordinator Scott Shafer. He recently completed his first season as a full-time assistant, coaching defensive backs at Marietta College. Prior to that, Shafer was a graduate assistant at Middle Tennessee and Texas. He was an Academic All-American quarterback at Ithaca College, graduating in 2017.
The Sycamores went 5-6 in 2021, Mallory's fifth season at the helm. Below is the full 2022 ISU staff.
-- Curt Mallory – head coach
-- Jeff Kastl – offensive coordinator/QBs
-- Michael Switzer – offensive line
-- Collin Coffer – wide receivers
-- Aaron Young – running backs/specialists
-- Tyler Funk – tight ends/recruiting coordinator
-- Brad Wilson – defensive coordinator/linebackers
-- Mark Smith – assistant head coach/defensive line
-- Wolfgang Shafer – safeties
-- Dere Hicks – cornerbacks
-- Pat Shepard – special teams
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.