UW Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer adds four coaches to staff, keeping Junior Adams and Scott Huff
New Washington football coach Kalen DeBoer remained busy filling his coaching staff, announcing four more assistant coaches Friday morning, including two who have been at UW.
Junior Adams will return to the Huskies for a fourth season, continuing his role as receivers coach, and Scott Huff will be back for sixth season at UW, continuing as the offensive line coach.
New to the program are Nick Sheridan, who will coach the tight ends, and Inoke Breckterfield, who will coach the defensive line.
Adams was considered the most likely of the previous UW coaches to return.
“It’s clear that he is an all-around great coach, who brings experience and success in recruiting,” DeBoer said in a news release. “He has a track record of excellence throughout his career. He develops players and has done a great job building our wide receivers room.”
On Huff’s return, DeBoer said: “I’ve known Scott for almost 10 years and I’ve been impressed with the production and success he’s had throughout his career. He has built strong bonds with his players here at UW and I’m excited to see that continue and grow.”
Sheridan has spent the past two seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Indiana. He was the tight ends coach with the Hoosiers in 2019 when DeBoer was the offensive coordinator at Indiana.
He will also be reunited with redshirt junior quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who announced earlier this week he was transferring to UW.
DeBoer and Sheridan helped lead the Hoosiers to an 8-5 record in 2019. When DeBoer left to become the head coach at Fresno State, Sheridan was subsequently promoted to fill his shoes. That Indiana offense struggled mightily in 2021, ranking 123rd nationally in scoring (17.3 points per game) and 124th in total offense (289.7 yards per game).
A Saline, Mich., native, Sheridan previously served as Indiana’s quarterbacks coach in 2017 and 2018, a graduate assistant at Tennessee from 2014 to 2016, South Florida’s passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2013 and Western Kentucky’s passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2012. He also coached quarterbacks at Saline (Mich.) High School in 2010, before joining Western Kentucky’s staff as a graduate assistant a year later.
Sheridan walked on as a quarterback at Michigan in 2006, started four games in 2008 and earned a scholarship during his junior season. His father, Bill Sheridan, is the defensive line coach at Air Force and has had stints as defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13) and New York Giants (2009).
“Having worked with Nick, I’ve seen how he is able to build strong relationships with his players, as well as with prospects during the recruiting process,” DeBoer said in a release. “He has a great offensive mind and has experience as an offensive coordinator and play-caller, which will continue to enhance our already-productive offensive system.”
Breckterfield was the defensive line coach at Vanderbilt last year after serving in that role the previous six seasons at Wisconsin.
Breckterfield, a native of Kaneohe, Hawaii, was a third-team All-American defensive end at Oregon State in 1998 and played five seasons in the Canadian Football League before starting his coaching career.
While serving as the defensive line coach at Pittsburgh (2012-14), Breckterfield coached Aaron Donald, a unanimous All-American in 2013 and current All-Pro for the Los Angeles Rams.
“He has consistently recruited and developed defensive linemen at a high level during his coaching career,” DeBoer said of Breckterfield in the release. “I am confident that Inoke will continue to be a difference maker as we build our defense.”
DeBoer had previously announced the hiring of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Grubb, cornerbacks coach Julius Brown and director of player personnel Courtney Morgan. With the four new additions, six of the 10 full-time assistant coach positions have been announced.