Bruce Carpenter, a coach with high school and collegiate experience, has been named an assistant coach for the Chadron State College football program, head coach Jay Long announced Monday.
Carpenter, a native of Johnsburg, Illinois, replaces Joe McLain, who resigned earlier in July. In addition to coaching wide receivers and handling the Eagles’ filming duties, Carpenter will also be responsible for the game day operations of CSC’s other sports.
“We are very fortunate to be able to hire a coach with as much knowledge as Bruce has,” Long said. “He comes to Chadron State College with a lot of experience and he comes from college programs that are used to winning. I am eager to get to work with him and the other coaches are, as well. I know he will help make our program stronger.”
Carpenter most recently coached the offensive line and served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Montana Western, an NAIA institution located in Dillon. The Bulldogs went 6-5 in 2014 and two of Carpenter’s offensive linemen earned all-conference honors.
Carpenter said he hopes his experience at different levels will translate to success at CSC.
“I’m very excited to be at Chadron and I am looking forward to having an opportunity to learn and contribute to the tradition of the Eagle football program,” he said. “Through different experiences at different institutions, I’ve had the opportunity to see many successful coaches and how they work. I’m excited to have an opportunity to bring some of those perspectives to the Eagle program.”
Carpenter will have a talented group of players to work with this fall. The Eagles welcome back their two top receivers in seniors Kyle Vinich and Danny O’Boyle. Vinich and O’Boyle combined to catch 98 passes for 1,465 yards and 16 TDs in 2014. In addition, three other receivers played in all 11 games.
“I’m excited to work with the receiving corps,” he said. “They are a veteran group and they’ve had a lot of success. Joe (McLain) did a great job with them and I hope to help them continue their development.”
Prior to Montana Western, he was the head football coach from 2011 to 2014 at Cotter High School in Winona, Minnesota.
He earned much of his coaching experience at his alma mater, Winona State University, where he coached for eight seasons. Beginning in 2006, he was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2010, he was elevated to the assistant head coach and was responsible for NCAA compliance.
While coaching at Winona, Carpenter helped lead the Warriors to several conference championships and two playoff appearances.
Carpenter also had plenty of success at Winona as a student-athlete. He started at quarterback for four years and led Winona to the playoffs twice and two bowl appearances. He graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in art education. He also owns a master’s of science in education leadership from Winona State.