A Will to Win
In naming a new football coach in December, Angelo State University picked up a couple of W’s without ever playing a game.
Thanks to the alliterative quality of his name plus a resume that is filled with W’s, Will Wagner has Rams fans thinking W’s, as in wins, with the start of the 2011 calendar year.
A West Texas native and former assistant head coach at perennial NCAA Division II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State University, Wagner became the seventh football coach to lead the ASU Rams. Athletic Director Kathleen Brasfield announced the appointment Dec. 23, lauding Wagner’s solid coaching and administrative credentials.
“He’s the future of ASU football,” Brasfield said.
And if the past is any indication, Rams football fans will be seeing more gold and singing fewer blues because Wagner has been a winner everywhere he’s played or coach.
“Will is a winner, a proven winner,” said Craig Naivar, an assistant coach at Rice University and Wagner’s former college roommate.
After joining the Northwest Missouri staff in 1998, Wagner helped lead the Bearcats to 10 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) championships, seven national championship games and three national titles. During his tenure, the Bearcats were 108-8 (.931) in the 12-member MIAA.
Northwest Missouri State head coach and Wagner mentor Mel Tjeerdsma said, “Our success here has been a combination of a lot of us doing a lot of work together, and Will was an integral part of that. I’m thrilled for him. I think it’s a great opportunity and I think it’s great for Angelo State. I don’t know if you could have gotten a better one.”
As a player, Wagner was an All-American defensive back at Hardin-Simmons University, where he played from 1992-95 and earned selection to the university’s 20th Anniversary Team in the fall of 2009.
Jimmie Keeling, Hardin-Simmons’ former head coach who directed Wagner as a player and then graduate assistant, said, “Will thinks, and I think as well, that Angelo State is going to be one of the top Division II schools in America. That’s what it deserves to be and it made a giant step in that direction by hiring Will.”
In appointing Wagner as ASU’s head coach, Athletic Director Brasfield said, “I have never seen anyone present a better plan than Coach Wagner for elevating the competitiveness of a football program, not just on the conference level, but also on the national level. He’s very impressive with the plan he will implement. Coach Wagner has learned well from Mel Tjeerdsma, who has developed Northwest Missouri into a perennial Division II power.
“Coach Wagner knows the X’s and O’s, but equally important, he understands how to manage scholarships effectively. He’s able to handle budget reductions without compromising the opportunity for success. In Division II, the challenge is managing scholarships. Learning how to maximize those dollars decides whether you are successful or not. You can know all the X’s and O’s in the world, but if you have not done an effective job with scholarships, you won’t be successful.”
Wagner succeeds Dale Carr, who had a 28-36 record in six seasons with the Rams. Wagner was an assistant coach on the Northwest Missouri team that defeated ASU, 45-14, in San Angelo Stadium in the first round of the D-II playoffs in 2005, Carr’s inaugural year as ASU coach.
“I’ve been watching and learning from Mel Tjeerdsma for 11 years and in the last couple of years I started to figure out that I’m ready to do this,” Wagner said. “The great thing is Angelo State’s history. They’re in Division II, and that’s what I know more than anything. They’re in a great conference, the Lone Star Conference, where we’re going to be competing every weekend with a top team. That’s very similar to the MIAA Conference that Northwest Missouri State is in. I just see it being a perfect fit right now. It’s a program that wants to get back to its tradition and its history of winning, and I believe I’m the guy that can take it the next step.”
At Northwest Missouri, Wagner first served as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons before being hired fulltime to serve as defensive backs coach, a job he held even after being named assistant head coach prior to the 2007 season.
Under his tutelage, 12 defensive backs combined to earn 18 All-MIAA honors, including Myles Burnsides, a two-time All-American who was named National Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. Northwest Missouri has finished six of the last eight seasons with at least 10 defensive players recording interceptions. In 2009, 11 Bearcats picked off 25 passes, the second-highest total in the nation. The Bearcats have averaged nearly 18 interceptions per season since 2004.
This past season, Northwest Missouri finished 12-2 and advanced to the D-II national semifinals before losing to Minnesota Duluth, 17-13.
As a Hardin-Simmons Cowboy, Wagner started a record 47 games, set school records for interceptions in a season with eight and set an American Southwest Conference record for career picks with 23. He was also credited with 185 tackles and 52 pass break-ups. He stayed on as a graduate assistant at Hardin-Simmons for the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
As a high school player, he helped lead Odessa Permian to a Texas State Championship during his senior season in 1991.
Burnsides, the 2008 D-II National Defensive Player of the Year and subsequent graduate assistant under Wagner at Northwest Missouri State, said, “As far as the kind of person he is, I couldn’t describe a better person than Coach Wagner. Not only is he intelligent and can do all the things in football, but he’s so hard-working in everything that he does. He’s a big family man and a role model for us. You couldn’t ask for a better person and I’m happy for him.”
Wagner and his wife, Andrea, have two sons, Brooks and Brayden.
Naivar, Wagner’s former Hardin-Simmons roommate, said, “He’s from West Texas so he really values the people from that part of the country. He’s been around a lot of great coaches that led him to this point and I think you’ve picked a tremendous name there. He’s a guy that the players are not only going to see as a leader and a coach, but as a role model – not only on the football field, but off the field as well. He’s going to do a tremendous job connecting with people in the community.”
Here’s what others are saying about Will Wagner and his new role as ASU’s head coach.
Mel Tjeerdsma, Northwest Missouri State Head Coach
“He’s very deserving of putting himself in that position. He’s been extremely loyal and patient. He’s been a guy that hasn’t been out looking for a job, but rather has been very good at his job. I think he’s going to be an outstanding head coach. He’s a very creative individual. He’s meant so much to me, taking care of all the little things that people take for granted. He was always trying to make things better, and that was great for me because I’m the type of guy that just accepts things and keeps moving on. I’m going to miss him, he was such an asset to us in that respect. He’s a great person. He’s very genuine. What you see is what you get with Will Wagner. He’s a very classy individual, first class all the way.
Bob Boerigter, MIAA Commissioner and former Northwest Missouri Athletic Director
“Whatever we asked Will to do during my time at Northwest Missouri State, he did it well. He obviously had a lot to do with, and was an integral part of the success of our high profile football team there. There’s no question in my mind that he will continue to do whatever is asked of him well, including being a head coach. I expect great things from him and Angelo State in the future.”
Jimmie Keeling, former Hardin-Simmons Head Coach
“It’s a great, great thing for Will and Angelo State both. He’s a super, super young person and a super coach. He was an All-American for us at defensive back and he’s had a great background with Mel Tjeerdsma. Mel is a good friend of ours and he absolutely loves Will. You’re going to be very excited about having him, you’re going to love Will. He’s going to get that thing going like it needs to be..”
Craig Naivar, Rice Assistant Coach and former roommate/teammate at Hardin-Simmons
“It’s a tremendous hire …. He was a big time player in high school with the tradition of Odessa Permian. He was a leader and playmaker in college and he’s been a tremendous teacher and has won three national championships at Northwest Missouri. They couldn’t have picked a better guy to lead that program. (Angelo State) hit a home run with Will. He’s going to do great things there.”
Brandon Clayton, former player and grad assistant under Wagner at Northwest Missouri
“Coach Wagner is a great guy, first and foremost. He taught me a lot about the game of football and some other things in life. He relates well with kids – he can talk to anybody and he’s great at building relationships. He’s a really cool guy. He’s also a really smart coach. He knows the in and outs of everything on the defensive side of the ball. I’ve had a chance to work extensively with him on the headsets, out on the practice field, in the film room, and game planning against different teams. He’s a very knowledgeable guy and I think he’s going to do a great job at Angelo State. I’m sure he’s capable of taking the program where he wants it to go and will have a goal to accomplish some of the great things we’ve done here at Northwest Missouri State.”
Myles Burnsides, former player and grad assistant under Wagner at Northwest Missouri
“I’m really excited for him to get an opportunity like that as a head coach. I’m excited to see what he can do …. He taught me everything and gave this small town kid a chance to play. He was just such a great role model for me and he’s so smart on the football field. As a player he related to me and wanted me to play so well, and he’s a great motivator. I will definitely always look up to him.”
