Colorado State University Athletics
CSU Coach McElwain named Mountain West Coach of the Year
12/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain has been named Mountain West Coach of the Year after leading the Rams to a 10-2 record in his third year in Fort Collins.
The 10-2 record is tied for CSU’s best regular-season record all-time and the fourth 10-win regular season in program history.
“I just can't tell you how excited I am for our entire program, to receive recognition like this,” McElwain said. “It speaks volumes about the job this coaching staff and these players have done, and the type of support we have from our administration. None of this happens without all of those pieces coming together and it really speaks to the commitment that everybody in this program had made to being successful on an everyday basis. I have a lot of respect for the great coaches throughout this conference, so this honor means a great deal, and should for our whole program.”
McElwain, who is a semifinalist for the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year Award, led the Rams to their first national ranking since 2003, reaching as high as No. 21 in both the AP Top 25 and the USAToday Amway Coaches Poll.
McElwain has helped build one of the most dangerous offensive units in the country. Behind Heisman Trophy Aspirant quarterback Garrett Grayson and Biletnikoff finalist Rashard Higgins, the Rams are on pace for a school record 497.8 yards of total offense per game, which ranks second in the Mountain West and 13th nationally.
Colorado State is the first Mountain West program since BYU in 2008 to produce a 3,500-yard passer (Grayson – 3,779), 1,500-yard receiver (Higgins – 1,640) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Dee Hart – 1,254). On a national level, the Rams are the only FBS team with this trio.
In 2014, CSU has eclipsed 400 yards of total offense 10 times, and surpassed the 500-yard mark on four different occasions. CSU is also seventh-best among FBS teams converting on 51.2-percent of its third-down attempts.
McElwain is only the third CSU coach to earn coach of the year honors and the first since Sonny Lubick in 2000. Other Rams coaches to earn coach of the year honors include Bob Davis (1948 and ‘55) in the Skyline Conference and Lubick, who won the award twice in the Western Athletic Conference (1994 and ’97) and twice in the Mountain West (1999 and 2000).
