Dana Holgorsen: A Man Made for Football

Recently, I got a chance to meet newly hired Husker offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. He was the featured speaker at an event I attended. It didn't take long to figure out that the game of football and Dana were made for each other.

So what do we know about Holgorsen?

He grew up in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, which is located in the southeast corner of the state. He played football and ran track for Mount Pleasant High School. He also played football at Wesleyan University also in Mount Pleasant. He went on to get his master's degree in health and physical education from Valdosta State in Georgia in 1995.

After college, he had assistant coaching stops that included such schools as Texas Tech, Houston and Oklahoma State. His coaching mentors included such head coaches as Mike Leach, Mike Gundy and Kevin Sumlin.

Dana must have learned a lot from them.

In his one year (2010) as the OC/QB assistant at Oklahoma State, his offense broke school records for total offense, scoring, passing yardage, pass attempts and pass completions.

He also spent eight seasons as the head coach at West Virginia (2011-2018). His overall record was 61-41 (.589), and he went 2-5 in bowl games.

After an 8-4 record in 2018, Holgorsen took the head coaching position at the University of Houston. His five-year record there was 31-28 (2-1 in bowl games). After a 4-8 season in 2023, Holgorsen was fired.

So what's an out-of-work head football coach to do?

Find another place to coach. In 2024, Dana served as an analyst at TCU working with head coach Sonny Dykes.

Then late in the fall of '24, Husker head coach Matt Rhule came calling. At first, Matt wanted Dana to be an adviser to the Husker football program. Soon, Holgorsen was named the Nebraska OC with three regular-season games to go.

The Huskers won two of their last three games and earned Dana the role as permanent OC.

Holgorsen Stories

Dana shared a couple of stories about his experiences through the years with Husker football.

"I got to play in the 1989 Iowa Shrine Bowl game that was held in Sioux City, Iowa," Holgorsen said.

"My job as a receiver was to block the opposing linebacker. The kid was 6-4, 225 pounds. But whenever I tried to run by him on his right side, he threw me to the ground. And when I tried to run by him on his left side, he threw me to the ground. That player's name was Trev Alberts."

The next story is about 2026 Husker QB commit Dayton Raiola who is from Buford, Georgia.

"Dayton is the younger brother of current Husker QB Dylan. On one of his visits to Lincoln, Dayton was playing catch with his older brother, Dylan. After a few minutes, Dayton says to his brother, 'When I get to Lincoln next year, how're gonna feel being the backup quarterback?'"

I also got to meet Daikiel Shorts who was hired by Holgorsen to be the new Husker wide receivers coach. More on Shorts in my next column.

The Error of My Ways

Several of you (and you know who you are) took me to task for incorrectly listing the coaching titles of two new Husker assistants.

For the record: Phil Snow is the Assistant Head Coach and Phil Simpson is the OLB coach. Sorry for the confusion!

How 'Bout Them Huskers

Grandson Will and I take time to wish former Husker head football coach, Tom Osborne a happy 88th birthday. We also opine on Nebraska's terminating the '26 and '27 games with Tennessee. Husker baseball, softball and basketball teams get discussed. We also preview the '25 Husker linebacker and secondary rooms.

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