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The University of Utah Athletics
Holliday joins Ute staff; Powell, Whittingham Jr. Change Roles
1/6/2016 12:00 AM | Football
Jan. 6, 2016
SALT LAKE CITY—
Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham announced today that he has added an assistant coach and filled two other vacancies through staff restructuring. Guy Holliday, who spent the last three seasons at BYU, is Utah's new wide receivers coach. Lewis Powell will take over the defensive line after a season coaching the tight ends. The tight ends are now under the direction of Fred Whittingham Jr., Utah's director of player personnel for the past four years.
"Guy Holliday has a wealth of experience at the collegiate level and is a proven commodity, both as a wide receivers coach and as a recruiter," said Whittingham. "Lewis did a great job coaching the defensive line at Hawaii before joining our staff and he also played the position for us, so it should make for a seamless transition. Freddie has been in our system for several years now and has been immersed in virtually every aspect of our program and is ready to take the next step as a position coach. With these moves our staff is now complete and we can turn our full attention to finishing off our 2016 recruiting class."
Holliday is a 23-year veteran of college coaching, including 18 years as a wide receivers coach and six as an offensive coordinator. He has coached at four FBS schools—Western Michigan (2000-02), Mississippi State (2003-06), UTEP (2008-12) and BYU (2013-15). His other stops were at Clark-Atlanta (1991), Tuskegee (1992-94), Alabama State (1995 and 1998-99) and Cornell (2007).
Powell recently completed his first season as a full-time Utah coach and his fourth season overall on the staff. He was a Ute graduate assistant coach from 2009-10 and a football administrative assistant in 2011 before becoming the defensive line coach at Hawaii.
While this is Fred Whittingham Jr.'s first coaching job, he has a varied football background. As Utah football's director of player personnel, he managed all aspects of recruiting administration and organization, as well directing camps and clinics, and serving as the NFL liaison for the Utes.
Holliday joins the Ute after assisting with BYU's No. 21-ranked passing offense in 2015 (296.5 yards per game) and No. 26 passing game in 2014 (278.7 yards per game). He coached Cody Hoffman, the leading receiver in BYU history.
In 2008, Holliday worked with the nation's No. 14-ranked passing offense at UTEP and the Miners ranked No. 20 in passing offense in 2009. In 2000, Western Michigan won the Mid-American Conference Western Division title. As the offensive coordinator at Alabama State in 1995 and from 1998-99, the Hornets were one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference's top passing teams. Holliday was also the offensive coordinator at Tuskegee and the Golden Tigers finished second in Division II in scoring in 1992, averaging 38 points per game. Tuskegee ranked in the top 10 in passing offense all three years he was the offensive coordinator.
Seven of Holliday's wide receivers have made NFL active rosters: UTEP's Kris Adams, Mississippi State's Justin Jenkins and Lance Long, Western Michigan's Kendrick Mosley and Corey Alston, and Alabama State's J.J. Huggins and Reggie Barlow.
Jenkins was an all-SEC receiver—one of four all-conference players for Holliday in his FBS stops. The others were UTEP's Jeff Moturi, and Western Michigan's Mobolaji Afariogun (at tight end) and Steve Neal.
Holliday, 50, earned a bachelor's degree from Cheyney (Pa.) in 1987, where he played on the football team for three seasons.
Powell returns for his second season in a familiar role. In his three seasons as the defensive line coach at Hawaii from 2012-14, the Rainbow Warriors improved 33 places nationally in total defense. They ranked third in the nation in tackles for loss per game (8.3) in 2013.
Powell played on the defensive line at Utah from 2001-03 and was the 2003 Liberty Bowl Defensive Player of the Game. Utah won the Mountain West Conference championship and finished with a 10-2 record. He graduated from Utah in 2004.
Whittingham was a former first-team Academic All-America football player for Brigham Young. He was team captain in 1990, when he was named BYU's Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete for all sports.
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