Gordie Haug Accepts Assistant Head Coach Position at North Dakota

LARAMIE -- Wyoming football's longest-tenured staff member is leaving.

Gordie Haug, who arrived in Laramie with Craig Bohl back in 2014, has accepted a job at the University of North Dakota where he will serve as the assistant head coach and lead the tight ends.

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"Thank you, Wyoming," Haug penned on X Thursday morning. "These past 11 seasons have been nothing but amazing. To the past and current players, I love you guys and (you) are in great hands with coach (Jay) Sawvel and staff. To the fans and administration, Thank you. Your endless support is unmatched. You are the reason Wyoming is such a special place.

"Thank you, Poke Nation."

Haug, who was initially the team's director of recruiting, slid into a coaching role in 2015, leading the receiver room. He bounced back to the scouting side the next two seasons before being named the running backs coach in 2018.

That's where he remained, until once again adding recruiting duties to his plate in '22.

Haug helped reel in names like Josh Allen, Logan Wilson and Marcus Epps, among many others that went on to play at the NFL level. He also guided a running-back room littered with 1,000-yard rushers like Nico Evans, Xazavian Valladay and Titus Swen. Barring injuries, Harrison Waylee would likely also be on that list.

"Gordie is one of the most respected offensive minds in college football, with a reputation as an elite recruiter and developer of players," North Dakota head coach Eric Schmidt said in a school release.

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Prior to his time at Wyoming, Haug helped lead the Fighting Hawk's biggest rivals, North Dakota State, to back-to-back FCS national titles in 2012 and '13. He was Bohl's running back coach after spending the previous five seasons at his alma mater, Bemidji State University in Minnesota.

Joining Haug in Grand Forks is Wyoming alum and former graduate assistant Keaton Wilkerson, who spent the previous two seasons at the University of Washington. He helped coach the safeties in Seattle and led the Huskies to a berth in the College Football Playoff and eventually the national championship game in '23.

He will serve as the safeties coach at North Dakota.

"Keaton immediately impressed me and was a big piece of our success at UW in 2023-24," Schmidt added. "He is a rising star in this profession who has developed some of the best safeties in the country the last two years."

Wilkerson, a Gillette native, wore many hats during his tenure in Laramie from 2018-23, including working with receivers, cornerbacks and defensive ends before moving to defensive quality control, along with coaching safeties and nickelbacks under Sawvel.

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