SIOUX FALLS – University of Sioux Falls Football Coach Jon Anderson announced the hiring of two coaches and the promotions of two others in an announcement on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Anderson promoted Jim Chapin to Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator and Brandon Johnson Farrell has been named Special Teams Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach. In addition to the promotions, Anderson announced that linebackers coach Brad Vonnahme and defensive line coach Luke Olson have joined the USF coaching staff, both of whom have joined USF with experience at some of the top FBS and FCS programs in the nation.
Chapin is in his third season at USF where he has served as offensive coordinator. He has coordinated one of the top offenses in the NSIC and NCAA DII and helped the Cougars earn playoff berths twice in three seasons while extending their consecutive season winning streak to 26 years, which ranks fourth across all NCAA levels.
Under Chapin’s direction, USF ranked second in the NSIC (32nd in NCAA DII) in scoring with 35.25 points per game in 2019 and ranked fifth in the league in 2018 with 33.8 per game. USF ranked third in the NSIC (35th nationally) in total offense with 427.6 yards per game in 2019 and USF was first in the NSIC (19th nationally) with 466.0 yards per game. Also in 2019, first team All-NSIC quarterback Caden Walters led the NSIC in yards, touchdowns, completion percentage and passing efficiency. USF, which led the NSIC with 273.7 rushing yards per game in 2018 (3,011 yards) and ranked second in 2019 with 216.2 yards, has recorded over 5,000 yards in total offense in back-to-back seasons and had 1,000 yard rushers (Gabe Watson, 2018; Thuro Reisdorfer, 2019) in back-to-back seasons.
During his tenure, Chapin has coached All-Americans Gabriel Watson, who was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, and Trey Pipkins, who was USF’s first ever NFL Combine invite and drafted in the third round by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018. In addition, Chapin has coached Honorable Mention All-American Adam Sheffield, 18 All-NSIC performers, four All-Region performers as well as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans Nick Stanke (2017) and Nick Zimmerman (2019).
Chapin, originally of Troy, Mich., joined the USF football staff in 2017 after coaching the previous two seasons with UC-Davis, where he was running backs coach for the FCS program in the Big Sky Conference. A 2009 graduate of Michigan, also spent three seasons at DII Indiana University (Pa.), a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
“Jim Chapin has been instrumental in our success at USF since my arrival here three years ago. Our offense has been extremely productive under Coach Chapin’s leadership and I rely upon him greatly in helping me lead this program,” said Anderson.
Johnson-Farrell will begins his sixth season at USF where he adds the Special Teams Coordinator responsibility to his role as coach of wide receivers and serving as USF’s NFL liaison. During his time at USF, the Cougars have made three playoff appearances and his receiving groups have been among the best in the NSIC. A year ago, he had two receivers to rank in the league’s top 10 in catches or yardage. In 2018, Michael Maxwell and Nate Johnson (2018, 2019) were named All-NSIC performers under Johnson-Farrell’s guidance.
A native of Odenton, Maryland, Johnson-Farrell was a coach on the 2016 NSIC championship team, in which he mentored receivers including all-league performers Josh Angulo, Brady Rose and Kyle Groeneweg. The Cougars won the NSIC with a perfect 11-0 league mark and finished 12-1 with a berth in the NCAA DII “Sweet 16” while earning a No. 8 ranking in the final AFCA Poll.
He earned his Bachelor’s degree in human development in 2012 from the University of Rhode Island.
“Coach Johnson-Farrell has been a mainstay on our staff for three years and has steadily gained increased responsibility. I am excited for him to coordinate our Special Teams and look forward to him developing and leading those units on the field,” said Anderson. ——————-
As for the additions of Olson and Vonnahme, Anderson believes they offer unique and winning attributes to the Cougars program.
“I am very excited to add Coach Olson and Coach Vonnahme to our staff and football program. The experience and professionalism these two have will be great additions to an already strong staff,” said Anderson. “They come highly recommended from Fresno State and NDSU and have had success in their areas of expertise. I look forward to helping them build relationships within our team and university as they get started.”
A native of Omaha, Neb., Vonnahme, who has FBS and DII coaching experience, will serve as linebackers coach for the USF defense, which finished ranked fifth in NCAA DII in total defense a year ago. He comes to USF after spending 2016-19 as an offensive analyst with Fresno State. At Fresno State, he worked with former USF Head Coach Kalen DeBoer, who is now Head Coach of the Bulldogs, and served as a primary consultant for the offensive staff. While there, Fresno State won the 2018 Mountain West title and captured the Las Vegas Bowl while setting the school record for wins (12) in 2018. In 2017, Vonnahme was part of a staff that guided FSU as the Bulldogs became the second program in FBS history to go from double-digit losses (1-11) to double-digit wins (10-4). That same season, the Bulldogs won the West Division of the Mountain West and captured the Hawaii Bowl.
A graduate of Utah State (B.A., 2011) and Wayne State (M.A., 2013), Vonnahme served as a special teams/defensive line assistant for Utah State in 2015 when they ranked 17th in total defense in FBS at 332.5 yards per game and made an appearance in the Potato Bowl. He also served as defensive backs coach at the University of Hawaii in 2014, linebackers coach at Midland University in 2013, and linebackers coach at Wayne State College in 2011-12. He also was the defensive administrative assistant for Utah State in 2009-10. Vonnahme and his wife Ashley have three boys (Cooper, Maddox, and Owen).
Olson, a native of Plymouth, Minn., will serve as the defensive line coach on a USF defense that has been one of the best in the past three years in DII. Olson, who has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, comes to USF with FCS and DII coaching experience. Since February 2019, Olson has served as the Defensive Quality Control Coach for North Dakota State, which captured the FCS National Championship in 2019 with a 16-0 record. He coordinated the scout offense and special teams during practice and led all scout offensive meetings for Bison Head Coach Matt Entz.
From 2018-19, Olson was the cornerbacks coach/assistant special teams coordinator/video coordinator at Truman State. He was part of a staff that helped guide TSU to a 6-5 record and coached an All-American kicker returner. He also worked at Doane University (Crete, Neb.) where he was secondary coach/recruiting coordinator/video coordinator for a team that had a 30-12 record and made two NAIA Football Championship series appearances from 2014-18.
While at Doane, he coached 17 All-GPAC defensive backs and an NAIA All-American. Olson also served as a recruiting assistant at the University of Minnesota, which had a 14-12 record and two bowl appearances while he was on staff from 2012-14. In addition, he was the linebackers coach/junior varsity defensive coordinator at Wayzata (Minn.) High School in 2011.
