Jim Harding - Football Coach - University of Utah Athletics

Jim Harding

Title:
Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line
Email:
jharding@huntsman.utah.edu

Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line
12th Year

Jim Harding is in his 12th season as Utah's offensive line coach in 2025, and in that time has firmly established the Utes' offensive line as one of the best in the country. He also has served in a key leadership role as Utah’s assistant head coach since 2017, and prior to that spent two seasons as the co-offensive coordinator (2015-16).

Harding has coached nine first-team All-Pac-12 or All-Big-12 selections to date and has had six offensive linemen selected in the NFL Draft, including four members of the 2016 offensive line.

Garett Bolles (2016), Jordan Agasiva (2018), Jackson Barton (2018), Darrin Paulo (2019), Nick Ford (2020, 2021), Braeden Daniels (2022) and Sataoa Laumea (2022) were named to the All-Pac-12 first-team, Spencer Fano (2024) landed on the All-Big-12 First-Team and all were coached by Harding for their entire Ute careers.
In 2024, Fano was also honored as an All-American by Pro Football Focus and was named to the 2024 Walter Camp All-America Second-Team.
Freshman tackle Caleb Lomu also garnered recognition in 2024 in the form of a spot on the The Athletic's Midseason Freshman All-American roster.
In 2022, Daniels and Laumea led the Utah offensive line to rank 16^th nationally in sacks allowed per game (1.07), also ranking 10^th in the FBS in tackles for loss allowed per game (4.00).
Isaac Asiata in 2016 and Ford in 2021 won the Morris Trophy, which honors the best offensive lineman in the conference by vote of the league’s starting defensive linemen.
In addition to Ford in 2021, three Utes (Braeden Daniels, 2^nd Team; Bamidele Olaseni, 2^nd Team; Sataoa Laumea, HM) earned All-Pac-12 honors after the Utes ranked first in the league and 13^th nationally in rushing offense.
Ford earned first-team honors in 2020 with Laumea landing on the second-team as a freshman.
In 2019, Paulo headlined the first-team nods with Ford, Simi Moala and Orlando Umana earning honorable mention status after the Utes led the Pac-12 in rushing offense.
Bolles also earned All-America honors in 2016 by USA Today (2^nd Team) with Olaseni earning second-team Sporting News All-America in 2021.

Harding linemen have also made a name for themselves at the next level with seven players being drafted to the NFL during his time at Utah.

Jeremiah Poutasi was taken in the third round (66^th overall) in 2015 to Tennessee.
Bolles, Utah’s second-highest drafted offensive lineman, went in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft to Denver (20^th overall) with Asiata and J.J. Dielman also going in the fifth round to Miami and Cincinnati. Sam Tevi was drafted in the sixth round in 2017 to the L.A. Chargers.
Jackson Barton earned a spot as a pro after being taken in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft to Indianapolis.
As the co-offensive coordinator with oversight of the run game in 2015, Harding was instrumental in the career of another NFL draft pick in running back Devontae Booker (2016 to Denver).

Harding’s linemen have blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher in eight of the last 11 seasons: Booker in 2014 and 2015, Joe Williams in 2016, Zack Moss in 2017, 2018 and 2019, Tavion Thomas in 2021 and Micah Bernard in 2024.

Moss, the 2019 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, became Utah's all-time rushing leader (4,067) and broke five other Utah career records while becoming the first Ute with three 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Williams set the school record for rushing yards per game in 2016 with his 156.3-yard average.
Booker and Williams were drafted in the fourth round in back-to-back seasons (Booker by Denver in 2016 and Williams by San Francisco in 2017).
Thomas set the single-season rushing touchdowns record at Utah in 2021 (21).

Before coming to Utah, Harding spent five seasons at Wyoming as the offensive line coach (co-coach his first four seasons) from 2009-13. In 2012, he served as the run game coordinator.

He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator his final season in Laramie, when the 2013 Cowboys finished 22nd in the country in total offense, averaging 472.8 yards a game. Wyoming allowed just 12 sacks in 2011, which ranked 11th in the nation, and center Nick Carlson was a three-time all-MWC selection (first team in 2012) under Harding.

Harding’s college coaching career began at Missouri, where he was an offensive graduate assistant from 2002-04. From 2005-08, he coached at Troy High School (Mich.). He was the head coach and defensive coordinator in 2008 after three seasons as the defensive coordinator.

Playing Career
A four-year starting offensive tackle at Toledo from 1997-2000, Harding set a school record with 46 consecutive starts. Harding was a first-team all-Mid-American Conference selection as a senior in 2000, when he captained a Toledo team that finished with a 10-1 record and a No. 25 ranking in the final Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ polls. He was named the co-recipient of the Jim Nicholson Award, presented each year to the Toledo player who contributes the most toward the team’s success. Toledo won or shared three MAC West Division titles in his four seasons, winning the 1997 and 1998 MAC West Division outright and finishing as co-champions of the MAC West in 2000.

Coaching Experience

2014-	Utah
2017-	Assistant Head Coach
	Offensive Line
2015-16	Co-Offensive Coordinator
	Offensive Line
2014	Offensive Line
2009-13	Wyoming
2013	Co-Offensive Coordinator
	Offensive Line
2012	Co-Offensive Line
	Run Game Coordinator
2009-11	Co-Offensive Line
2005-08	Troy HS (Mich.)
2008	Head Coach
	Defensive Coordinator
2005-07	Defensive Coordinator
2002-04	Missouri
	Offensive Graduate Assistant

Bowl Games

2023	Las Vegas Bowl
2022	Rose Bowl
2021	Rose Bowl
2019	Alamo Bowl
2018	Holiday Bowl
2017	Heart of Dallas Bowl
2016	Foster Farms Bowl
2015	Las Vegas Bowl
2014	Las Vegas Bowl
2011	New Mexico Bowl
2009	New Mexico Bowl
2003	Independence Bowl

Education
Toledo, 2001
Bachelor’s in secondary education

Missouri, 2004
Master’s in career and technical education

Personal Data
Hometown: Maumee, Ohio
Family: Wife Meredith; sons Colton and Jackson