Washington head football coach Kalen DeBoer has announced five more members of his UW staff today. William Inge, Lee Marks, Chuck Morrell, Eric Schmidt and Ron McKeefery all come to UW from Fresno State, where DeBoer was head coach the last two seasons.

Inge and Morrell will each serve as co-defensive coordinator, with Inge coaching linebackers and Morrell in charge of the safeties. Schmidt will serve as special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach, while Marks, the final member of the new offensive staff, will coach running backs. McKeefery will be the Huskies’ head strength & conditioning coach.

Inge, Morrell and Schmidt, along with Julius Brown (previously announced as the Huskies’ cornerbacks coach), all worked on DeBoer’s defensive staff at Fresno State for both of the last two seasons, helping their team make vast statistical improvements in nearly every team defensive category.

The Bulldogs’ defense went from 82nd in the national in scoring defense and 88th in total defense in 2019 (the year before their arrival), to No. 22 and No. 32 in the FBS in 2021 (end of regular season), respectively – improvements of 60 and 56 places. In terms of NCAA-FBS national ranking, the run defense improved from 71st to 31st while the pass defense leapt from 107th to 46th. Fresno State also improved its national ranking by 45 or more places in yards allowed per play, opponent first downs, sacks, tackles for loss, third-down percentage defense, and fourth-down percentage defense.

In 2021, Fresno State ranked among the top 25 in the nation in scoring defense, tackles for loss, takeaways, fumble recoveries and fourth-down conversion defense.

Inge, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the last two seasons at Fresno State, worked at Indiana for seven seasons prior to that, in a variety of roles. In 2019, he was on the same IU staff as DeBoer, who spent that year as the Hoosiers’ offensive coordinator.

“Coach Inge is a dynamic coach and person who has great knowledge and understanding of what it takes to build a great defense,” said DeBoer. “His ability to connect with players and reach their hearts and minds is special. He did an amazing job each and every day creating an ‘attitude’ and ‘culture’ the past two seasons, which led to turning around the defense at Fresno State. I am looking forward to the leadership and impact he and Coach Morrell together will bring to our UW Dawg defense.”

In 2020, his first year in Fresno, five defensive players earned all-conference honors and the Bulldogs were third in the nation in sacks.

A native of Kirkwood, Mo., near St. Louis, and a four-year letterman linebacker at Iowa (he was a member of the Hawkeyes team that beat UW in the 1995 Sun Bowl), Inge began his coaching career at his alma mater before going on to work at Northern Iowa, Colorado, San Diego State, Cincinnati, and Buffalo, along with a season with the Buffalo Bills. He’s coached both linebackers and defensive line throughout his career, and has served as a recruiting coordinator, special teams coordinator and defensive coordinator at various times.

At Buffalo (2010-11), he coached future NFL Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack during Mack’s freshman and sophomore seasons, during which he recorded 133 total tackles, 35 of them for loss.

In 2014, while at Indiana, he was named one of the top-10 recruiters in the Big Ten Conference by Rivals.com.

Morrell, a former head coach at Montana Tech and defensive coordinator under DeBoer at Sioux Falls, spent the last two years on DeBoer’s Fresno State staff as the safeties coach. A South Dakota native himself, Morrell was a teammate of DeBoer’s at Sioux Falls, when they both helped the Cougars to the 1996 NAIA Division II national title. Morrell led the 1996 team in tackles.

“Having coached with Coach Morrell for 12 years, I have seen first-hand the ability he has to build attacking and dominant defenses,” DeBoer commented. “He is also an experienced and highly successful former head coach who will bring expertise and perspective to our program beyond just leading the defense. I am truly excited to have him and his family joining our UW football program.”

He began his career at Sioux Falls as defensive backs coach and then spent the next 11 years as defensive coordinator, a span that included all five of DeBoer’s seasons as head coach.

Morrell’s 2008 USF defense was one of the most dominant in NAIA history as the Cougars allowed just 5.9 points, 14.7 rushing yards and 94.7 passing yards per game while going 14-0. USF opponents managed just a 17-percent third-down conversion rate and just 105 first downs all season.

The following season (DeBoer’s last), Sioux Falls allowed just 10.5 points and 210.5 yards of total offense per game, en route to a 15-0 record and another NAIA championship. When DeBoer left Sioux Falls, Morrell became defensive coordinator at Division I University of South Dakota for one season before taking over as head coach at Montana Tech prior to the 2011 season.

In nine seasons as the Orediggers’ head coach, Morrell compiled a 52-44 overall record, won three Frontier Conference championships, and three conference coach of the year awards. His teams made three trips to the NAIA Championships, twice reaching the quarterfinals. He left Montana Tech in 2020, when DeBoer offered him a position on his staff at Fresno State. In 2021, he coached first-team All-Mountain West safety Evan Williams.

Schmidt was also a member of DeBoer’s staff at Fresno State each of the last two years, serving as defensive line coach and special teams coordinator. He and DeBoer first worked together at Southern Illinois, when DeBoer was offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach (2010-13).

“Coach Schmidt brings over 10 years of experience and success as a special teams and defensive coordinator,” DeBoer said. “I’ve always been impressed with his attention to detail and passion for developing specialists.”

Schmidt, captain of 2001 NCAA Division II Champion North Dakota, began his college coaching career at his alma mater as linebackers coach in 2006 and 2007. From there, he went to Southern Illinois, where he spent six seasons in total, working with linebackers and defensive line, as well as spending two years as special teams coordinator. He mentored 13 all-conference selections while at SIU.

In 2014, he returned to North Dakota, where he worked as defensive coordinator for six seasons before rejoining DeBoer at Fresno State before the 2020 season. In 2020, his Bulldogs d-line played a key role in the Bulldogs averaging 4.17 sacks per game, third-best in FBS. In 2021, Fresno State defensive ends Arron Mosby and David Perales combined for 27.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.

Additionally, twice during his tenure at UND, the Fighting Hawks ranked in the top 10 in FCS in rush defense. Schmidt coached 17 all-conference players and four All-Americans, along with two conference players of the year, while at North Dakota.

Marks, a former second-team All-WAC running back at Boise State (2001-05), began his coaching career as a strength & conditioning coach at Colorado before moving to Sioux Falls the year after DeBoer’s departure, in 2010, when he worked as a graduate assistant.

“I am extremely excited about the addition of Coach Marks to our UW football program,” said DeBoer. “I have known Coach Marks for over 10 years, and I’ve always been impressed with his success in recruiting and developing elite running backs throughout his career. Coach Marks is also more than a great football coach. He is a great leader and mentor who has a tremendous passion to build strong relationships with our team, staff, university and community.”

After a year as running backs coach at South Dakota State (where he coached 2,000-yard rusher and future NFL player Zach Zenner) and another as a strength & conditioning coach at Arkansas State, Marks returned to his alma mater as a strength coach in 2014.

In 2015, he took over as the Broncos’ running backs coach and held that position through 2019, adding the title of director of special teams in 2019. In 2015, he coached Boise State’s Jeremy McNichols, who rushed for 1,337 yards and 20 touchdowns. The following year, McNichols rushed for 1,709 yards and 27 scores before being drafted by Tampa Bay.

He coached 1,000-yard rushers each of the following three seasons as well, as Alexander Mattison ran for 1,086 in 2017 and 1,415 in 2018. Mountain West Freshman of the Year George Holani kept that streak alive with 1,014 rushing yards in 2019.

After DeBoer was named head coach at Fresno State before the 2020 season, Marks was named the Bulldogs’ assistant head coach, run game coordinator and running backs coach. Marks coached Ronnie Rivers, a first-team All-MWC running back in 2020, who finished his career as Fresno State’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns.

Internationally recognized as a leader in the area of sports development, McKeefery has twice been named Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year – by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Society in 2008; and by the National Strength and Conditioning Association in 2016. In 2020, he was named International Coach of the Year by U.K.-based S&C Education.

McKeefery joined the Fresno State staff as assistant athletic director for sports performance prior to the 2020-21 school year.

“Coach Mac is among the best in business when it comes to strength and conditioning, and player development,” DeBoer said. “He is an outside-the-box thinker who excels in balancing foundational principles with new, cutting-edge ideas. Ron’s ability and relentless pursuit in building an elite ‘team’ culture is second to none, and I’m looking forward to seeing the immediate impact he’ll have at UW, building our team physically and mentally.”

A former all-conference defensive back at Ottawa (Kan.) University, McKeefery has found success at each stop during his career, which has included positions with the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals at the professional level; and at the collegiate level with South Florida, Tennessee and Eastern Michigan, where he first worked with DeBoer.

McKeefery has also worked with United States Special Forces, Team USA Football and the Chinese Olympic Committee, among others. Additionally, he has trained more than 100 players who have gone on to the NFL, and has mentored well over 100 individuals who have gone on to careers as collegiate or pro strength & conditioning coaches, including three who have won Major League Baseball or NBA championships, and two who have won national strength coach of the year for college football.

He is a prolific public speaker and podcaster, and is the author of two best-selling books.

With today’s announcements, all 11 members of Washington’s 2022 full-time coaching staff have been named, along with the head strength & conditioning coach and director of player personnel. Here is the complete list: