Bulldog great Chad Bumphis hired as assistant coach at Utah

Wide receiver played for MSU from 2009 through 2012

The coaching career of former Mississippi State wide receiver Chad Bumphis has taken another step forward.

The Bulldog great has taken the job as wide receivers coach at Utah, it was announced on Monday. It's a return to the Utes for Bumphis as he previously served as a graduate assistant at the school in 2018.

"Nataly and I are very excited and extremely blessed to be back here at the University of Utah," Bumphis said in a release from the Utes. "After spending 2018 here as a graduate assistant, it didn't take me long to know I eventually wanted to be back here as the wide receivers coach. It just feels like home. I can't begin to explain the excitement we've been feeling over the last couple of days. This program and the way these guys attack every day is exactly what you're looking for when you're joining a new program. We want to thank (Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham) for such a great opportunity, and also for believing in me enough to allow me to coach and mentor the young men in that receiver room. I'm beyond grateful and excited to get rolling."

Bumphis' previously spent the last two years as wide receivers coach at Austin Peay, then took the same job with Central Michigan last month. However the opportunity to go back to Utah was too good for Bumphis to pass up.

"Chad Bumphis is an excellent addition to our coaching staff," Whittingham said. "We're very familiar with Chad from his year with us in 2018, and we're elated to be able to bring him back to Utah. A very successful wide receiver in his own right, he has an impressive ability to teach and to motivate his players and we look forward to having him join our staff."

Bumphis also coached at Buffalo as a graduate assistant in 2017 after a year as the wide receivers coach at Iowa Wesleyan in 2016. 

Of course all of this follows a standout Mississippi State career that provided Bumphis with NFL opportunities. 

Bumphis was MSU's leading receiver three of his four seasons from 2009 through 2012. He still holds the school record for receiving touchdowns with 24. Addionlly, Bumphis ranks second in career receiving yards at MSU with 2,270, and he's third in career receptions with 159. Bumphis was named to the Freshman All-Southeastern Conference team by the league's coaches in 2009 and was a second-team All-SEC receiver by the AP as a senior in 2012.

After his days as a Bulldog, Bumphis got a taste of the NFL on practice squads with the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. He also played with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League in 2015.

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