By: Kaleb Center
CSC Sports Information
Chadron State College assistant football coaches Craig Jersild and Logan Masters both accepted the vacant coordinator positions for their respective phases of the game this week, according to CSC Head Football Coach Jay Long. Jersild will coordinate the Eagles’ defense and Masters will run the offense, making both coaches’ roles official after they were assigned coordinator duties throughout spring football practice.
“This is big for our program,” said Long. “We hired two people with great work ethics, who care about their athletes and have unmatched passion for their jobs. They both really make Chadron State football better with their presence.”
Jersild, now a fixture at CSC, has national championship credentials on his resume, having been defensive coordinator at Butler County Community College in 1998 when the Grizzlies won the NJCAA title.
Since joining CSC full-time in 2010, he has coordinated special teams and coached defensive backs.
“We’re going to be an aggressive, attacking defense which plays off the formation of the offense,” said Jersild. “The pride and tradition of CSC football cannot be entrusted to the timid or the meek.”
He coached a DB unit in 2012 which accumulated 19 of the team’s 21 interceptions and broke up another 29 passes. The 21 interceptions is the most by a CSC football team since the 1995 season. He guided All-RMAC performer Trelan Taylor to several All-America honors and two of his other defenders, Lane Haller and Ryan Wood, earned a total of five All-RMAC nods.
Jersild’s special teams units have led the league in multiple statistical categories over the years, including kick return average, punting average, blocked punts, kick and punt return defense, and blocked kicks and punts allowed.
The special teams responsibilities were entrusted to new staffer Clint Sasse, a former CSC player, in April.
Masters also has previous experience as a coordinator. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2014 at his alma mater, Wayne State College, and spent three years in that position before joining the CSC staff. Masters, a former Wildcat standout receiver and 1 of 24 Harlon Hill Award candidates as a senior, also spent time coaching quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends. He will coach his 10th season in NCAA Division II football this year.
After three successful seasons as a receivers coach and game operations manager, Masters will once again take on the challenge of implementing offensive schemes.
“We really want to play fast,” said Masters. “Another part of what I want to do is to open up the whole field. In order to do that, you may see some new formations we haven’t used in the past.”
In his two most recent seasons, both starting tight ends Colt Foster and Matt Vargas were named to the All-RMAC teams. Foster also received All-Region honors.
In 2017, Masters’ receivers caught the second-most passes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and they ranked 35th nationally. That was an improvement from third and 47th, respectively, the previous season. Sophomore Jackson Dickerson alone had 78 receptions, which is second-best all-time at CSC.
Both Jersild and Masters have contracts in place immediately.