Derham Cato, who has spent the last four seasons as an offensive analyst for the Washington football program, has been named the Huskies’ new tight ends coach, head coach Jimmy Lake announced today.
Cato first joined the UW staff as an offensive analyst in February of 2016. In his first season, he helped the Husky offense to one of the most productive seasons in school history. The Huskies scored a school-record 77 touchdowns and 585 points (41.3 per game) while averaging 456.9 yards of total offense, third-best in school history.
“Derham has worked his way up to this position,” Lake said. “He’s a very smart coach and he’s a grinder. He’s knowledgeable in the passing and run games, and he’s been an offensive coordinator and coached tight ends.”
“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to take the next step in my career,” Cato said. “I’m very grateful to Coach Lake and I can’t wait to get going.”
Cato has been on the Husky staff for two Pac-12 Championships (2016 and 2018), three straight 10-win seasons and three straight berths in New Years Six bowl games.
Prior to joining the Washington staff, Cato was a offensive coordinator at Davidson for the 2015 season after having served as offensive line and tight ends coach there in 2014.
Cato joined Davidson’s staff after having served as a graduate assistant at Vanderbilt from 2011 through 2013, where he worked alongside new UW offensive coordinator John Donovan, who was the Commodores’ coordinator and also earned a master’s degree in leadership and organizational performance.
That three-year stretch was easily the most successful in modern Vanderbilt history. The Commodores went 24-15 over those three years, won nine games each in 2012 and 2013, and finished in the AP top 25 each of those years.
During those three years, Vandy posted three of the top-four total yardage marks in school history, including a school-record 4,936 yards in 2012. That team averaged 30.1 points per game, also a school record.
A four-year letterman and three-year starter at Dartmouth, Cato graduated with a bachelor’s degree in government in 2005. After college, he played professionally in the Arena Football League, NFL Europe, the Canadian Football League and afl2 (arena) while working at his high school alma mater – Charlotte (N.C.) Country Day School – as a strength and conditioning coach, special teams coordinator, defensive line coach and assistant offensive line coach over a four-year period.
He began his college coaching career at this alma mater, serving as tight ends coach at Dartmouth in 2010.
Cato and his wife Lauren, are the parents of a daughter, Finley.
2020 Washington Football Coaching Staff
Jimmy Lake, head coach
Defense:
Pete Kwiatkowski, defensive coordinator, outside linebackers coach
Ikaika Malloe, co-defensive coordinator, defensive line coach
Bob Gregory, special teams coordinator, linebackers coach
Will Harris, defensive backs coach
Terrence Brown, assistant defensive backs coach
Offense:
John Donovan, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach
Scott Huff, offensive line coach
Keith Bhonapha, running backs coach
Junior Adams, wide receivers coach
Derham Cato, tight ends coach
(Article provided by the University of Washington)
