BERKELEY ? Cal head coach Sonny Dykes announced Thursday that Jake Spavital (SPAH-vih-tall) has agreed to become the Golden Bears' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after spending the last three campaigns at Texas A&M. Spavital was in the same role with the Aggies for the past two seasons after being promoted to the position from co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach prior to Texas A&M's 2013 bowl appearance.
“It is a tremendous honor to join the Cal coaching staff as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach,” Spavital said. “The turnaround this program has enjoyed the past three seasons under the leadership of Sonny Dykes is phenomenal. I am excited to become a part of the staff and help take this program to new heights. I'm looking forward to building on the great foundation that has been established. I think this will be an excellent fit and I can't wait to get started.”
“Jake is one of the brightest young coaches in college football and he is a tremendous addition to our coaching staff,” Dykes said. “We were looking for someone to join our coaching family that shares our vision and has a similar offensive philosophy to what we have used to produce some of the nation's top offenses for nearly two decades. Jake has gained a tremendous amount of experience by working with some of the top coaches in the game, while he has tutored some of the best quarterbacks in college football history. Both will pay huge dividends for us.”
Spavital, who has been a member of bowl staffs in each of his eight seasons in college football, has worked for head coaches Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M, Dana Holgorsen at West Virginia and Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State. He was also on staffs with Kliff Kingsbury when the Texas Tech head coach was the quarterbacks coach at Houston and Gus Malzahn when the Auburn head coach was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tulsa.
Spavital has coached a series of record-setting quarterbacks now in the NFL including 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M), Case Keenum (Houston), Geno Smith (West Virginia) and Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State). Weeden and Manziel were both first-round picks of the Cleveland Browns in 2012 and 2014, respectively, while Smith was a second-round choice of the New York Jets in 2013. Keenum is the all-time passing leader in college football history in several categories including passing yards (19,217) and passing touchdowns (155). He signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and is now a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
In addition to building a strong reputation for working with top quarterbacks, Spavital is well-known for his ability to recruit top-notch talent including most recently five-star quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray as well as five-star wide receiver Christian Kirk.
“We wanted to hire someone that has worked with the best coaches in the country, tutored the top quarterbacks and recruited the elite players, and Jake fit the bill perfectly,” Dykes said. “He also has a tremendous amount of knowledge of our offensive system, and we anticipate that he will take the basic concepts of what we've been doing for the past two decades and use his knowledge to incorporate new ideas that will make it even better.”
Texas A&M was 25-14 during Spavital's three-year stint with the Aggies including an 8-5 mark in his final campaign in 2015 that matched the previous season when in his first full campaign as the offensive coordinator and play-caller he oversaw the quarterback transition from Manziel to a pair of first-time starters at quarterback in Allen and Kenny Hill. Despite the inexperienced signal-callers, the Aggies led the Southeastern Conference and ranked among the nation's leaders in passing touchdowns (39, No. 7T NCAA) and passing offense (305.5 ypg, No. 12 NCAA). Spavital served as the Aggies' co-offensive coordinator for the 2013 regular season before being promoted to offensive coordinator prior to the Chick-fil-A Bowl. In his debut game as the play-caller, the Aggies gained 541 yards of total offense and rallied from 21 points down to beat Duke, 52-48. It was the largest comeback in school history. The Aggies set single-season SEC and school records with 4,593 passing yards and had 6,999 total yards of offense to rank second in SEC and Texas A&M history, while checking in at fourth nationally in total offense (538.4 ypg) and seventh in passing offense (353.3 ypg). The Aggies also broke the school record for completion percentage by connecting on 69.3 percent of their aerial attempts (No. 3 in SEC history). Manziel threw 37 touchdown passes to rank tied for fourth in the nation while he passed for 4,114 yards with an average of 316.5 yards per game that was ninth in the country.
Spavital was the quarterbacks coach for two seasons at West Virginia for Smith, who finished his collegiate career in 2012 with 11,662 passing yards and 98 touchdowns while completing 988-of-1,465 passes (67.4%). The Mountaineers ranked in the top 10 nationally in 2012 in passing efficiency (161.97, No. 9), scoring offense (39.5 ppg, No. 9), passing offense (330.2 ypg, No. 10) and total offense (502.0 ypg, No. 10). Smith was fifth nationally in passing yards (4,205) and passing yards per game (323.5 ypg) as well as sixth in passing efficiency (163.86). In his first season at West Virginia in 2011, Spavital helped lead the Mountaineers to a 10-3 record and a win over Clemson in the 2012 Orange Bowl. West Virginia ranked sixth nationally in passing offense (346.9 ypg) in his first season with the Mountaineers and was also in the top 20 in scoring offense (37.6 ppg, No. 13), total offense (469.5 ypg, No. 15) and passing efficiency (151.14, No. 19). Smith earned Orange Bowl MVP honors after accounting for seven touchdowns in a 70-33 victory. He led the Big East in nearly every passing category including passing yards (4,385), passing yards per game (337.3 ypg) and touchdown passes (31).
Prior to his two seasons at West Virginia, Spavital was a graduate assistant for the offense at Oklahoma State under Gundy and then-Cowboys offensive coordinator Holgorsen. During his one season in Stillwater, the Cowboys ranked second nationally in passing offense (387.2 ypg) and scoring offense (48.7 ppg) as well as third in total offense (545.9 ypg). Oklahoma State also led the country in red zone efficiency by scoring on 95 percent of its red zone trips. The Cowboys posted an 11-2 overall record and capped the season with a 36-10 win over Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
Spavital also served as an offensive graduate assistant on Sumlin's coaching staff along with Kingsbury at Houston in 2009 when the Cougars went 10-4 and led the nation in total offense (563.4 ypg), passing offense (433.7 ypg) and scoring offense (42.2 ppg).
Spavital began his coaching career at Tulsa in 2008 as an offensive quality control assistant under Malzahn. The Golden Hurricane led the nation in total offense (569.9 ypg) while ranking second in scoring offense (47.2 ppg) and ninth in passing offense (301.9 ypg). Tulsa posted an 11-3 record including a 45-13 win over Ball State in the GMAC Bowl.
All told, Spavital has served on the coaching staffs of eight teams that have combined to post a 74-32 overall record.
Spavital was a two-year letterwinner as a quarterback and punter for Missouri State from 2004-07. He earned his bachelor's degree from the school in business administration in 2008.
A native of Tulsa, Okla., Spavital was a consensus first-team all-state quarterback at Union High School for a program that won the Class 6A state title game in his junior season, finished his junior and senior campaigns ranked second and third in the nation, and posted a 26-1 record during those two seasons with Spavital under center.
Spavital's wife, Mehgan Morris, was one of the top women's gymnasts in West Virginia history and has also served as a volunteer coach for her alma mater. His father, Steve, is a former high school football coach while his brother, Zac, is the linebackers coach at Texas Tech.
JAKE SPAVITAL FILE
Birthdate: May 1, 1985
Hometown: Tulsa, Okla.
High School: Union HS
College: Missouri State, 2008, Bachelor's in business administration
Family: Wife, Mehgan
Pronunciation: SPAH-vih-tall
COACHING HISTORY
Season: Team ? Position
2008: Tulsa ? Quality Control, Offense
2009: Houston ? Graduate Assistant, Offense
2010: Oklahoma State ? Graduate Assistant, Offense
2011: West Virginia ? Quarterbacks
2012: West Virginia ? Quarterbacks
*2013: Texas A&M ? Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2014: Texas A&M ? Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2015: Texas A&M ? Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2016: Cal ? Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
*Promoted to Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks for Chick-fil-A Bowl??
?
BOWL HISTORY (8 GAMES)
*Season: Team ? Bowl
2008: Tulsa ? GMAC Bowl
2009: Houston ? Armed Forces Bowl
2010: Oklahoma State ? Alamo Bowl
2011: West Virginia ? Orange Bowl
2012: West Virginia ? Pinstripe Bowl
2013: Texas A&M ? Chick-fil-A Bowl
2014: Texas A&M ? Liberty Bowl
2015: Texas A&M ? Music City Bowl
*Season in which bowl was played
