SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State football team continued its offseason movement with the addition of four coaches, it was announced by Hornet head coach Marshall Sperbeck.
"We are excited to welcome these coaches to our staff," Sperbeck said. "They each will bring new ideas which should help us continue to improve on both sides of the ball."
Hamdan will oversee the team's tight ends during his first season with the team. The Gaithersburg, Md., native most recently served as an offensive assistant for Maryland in 2010. With the Terrapins, Hamdan helped lead the team's quarterbacks and wide receivers. In 2009, he was a student assistant at Colorado where he was a member of Dan Hawkins' staff. Hamdan played collegiately at Boise State as a quarterback and was a three-year letterwinner. While with the Broncos, he was a member of the 2006 team which upset Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Kelley returns to Sacramento State for his second coaching stint. A 2006 graduate, Kelley will, once again, work with the offensive line. The Northern California native previously coached the Hornets in 2007-08 and played for the team in 2005. During his first coaching tenure at Sacramento State, Kelley mentored Matt Lemley, Kyle Leitzke and Ray Navar to all-Big Sky accolades.
Avalos comes to Sacramento State from Nebraska Kearney where he was the team's defensive line coach for the past two seasons. In his first year (2009), the Loper defensive line ranked among the best in NCAA Div. II, racking up 29.5 sacks. The defense also led the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in points allowed (18.1 per game) and had two players earn all-region honors. Last season, he coached Mason Brodine to the UNK career sacks mark.
Prior to Nebraska Kearney, Avalos was a defensive assistant at Colorado for three seasons under Dan Hawkins. A native of California, Avalos graduated from Corona High School before playing at Boise State. He was a four-year letterwinner for the Broncos (2001-04) and earned all-Western Athletic Conference honors as an outside linebacker following his final two seasons. He ended his career ranked fourth in BSU history with 365 total tackles.
Howe will take over as the team's defensive line coach in 2011. With stints at North Carolina State, Memphis, Gardner-Webb and Tennessee, Howe is a veteran coach who brings experience to the staff. His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at North Carolina State where he assisted with the defensive line. Howe then had a three-year stint at Memphis where he worked with the Tigers' defensive staff for two seasons and coached tight ends in the third year. In 2009, Howe was the defensive line coach at Gardner-Webb before joining the staff at Tennessee in 2010. He played collegiately at Rocky Mountain College after transferring from College of the Redwoods.
