Todd Golden
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Troy Walters resignation from Indiana State’s football staff won’t leave the Sycamores a coach down once football season starts.
Though ISU players report for practice in a week, ISU coach Trent Miles said he does plan to fill the open offensive coordinator position left vacant when Walters took the job as wide receivers coach at Texas A&M on Monday.
With the season so close at hand, there was the thought that Miles might assume offensive coordinator responsibilities and not make a hire for the 2010 season, but that will not be the case. Miles said Wednesday that the position will be posted officially at ISU. Miles has been looking at candidates, but said that no hire has been made yet.
Walters, a former Indianapolis Colts receiver and All-American at Stanford, was ISU’s offensive coordinator for one season. He was planning on spending a second season at ISU, but circumstances at Texas A&M set his departure in motion.
Steve Kragthorpe, former head coach at Tulsa and Louisville, was hired by Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman during the offseason to be the Aggies’ receivers coach.
However, Kragthorpe resigned this week, citing medical issues he needed to tend to involving his wife. Sherman, who had Miles on his staff with the Green Bay Packers in 2000, asked permission to talk to Walters.
“[Walters] hadn’t been looking at any other stuff. He went to the [coaches] convention and didn’t want another job,” Miles said. “Kragthorpe’s wife got sick, he felt he had to resign. Mike called and asked to talk to him and I said yeah.”
Walters played high school football in College Station, Texas — home of Texas A&M.
Though the season starts in a week, Miles expressed good wishes to Walters, who will be making approximately $200,000 per year with the Aggies, a sum that dwarfs his ISU assistant coach salary and is more than Miles’ salary as head coach with the Sycamores.
“I want coaches to put themselves in the best position possible when it comes time for them to leave here. Troy has done that,” Miles said.
Meanwhile, ISU officially welcomed five new coaches into the fold last week. Linebackers coach Rick Minter, offensive line coach Mike Simmonds, offensive line coach Harold Ethridge, outside linebackers coach P.J. Volker and offensive assistant Clayton Dever.
Minter, Ethridge and Simmonds bring the most experience to the staff. Simmonds is an ex-ISU player who most recently spent a year as offensive line coach at South Florida. Simmonds was a Division I-AA All-American with the Sycamores in 1986. Ethridge has coached for 21 years and was most recently offensive line coach at Washington State. Minter was head coach at Cincinnati for 10 years and shepherded the Bearcats from perennial losers to consistent winners through his time there in the 1990s. He was mostly recently interim coach at Marshall where he led the Thundering Herd to a bowl victory over Ohio University.
Minter joins his son, Jesse, on the Sycamores’ staff. Jesse Minter is ISU’s defensive backs coach.
“They’re good people and role-models that have excelled at the highest levels. When you add those types of guys, the experience and knowledge they’re putting out to the kids is invaluable. And it doesn’t hurt that they’re good men too,” Miles said.
ISU players will report on Aug. 5 and practice begins on Aug. 6. ISU opens its season with a home game against St. Joseph’s on Sept. 4.
