By Matthew Kenerly | December 10, 2020 1:12 pm MT

Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson to Be Next Utah State Football Head Coach, Per Reports

The Red Wolves head coach looks set to become the Aggies’ next leader.

A Sun Belt surprise in Logan?

After rumors surfaced in recent days that linked the Utah State head coach opening to more local candidates, it appears that the Aggies have gone in an unexpected and surprising direction.

First reported as more than speculation by Steven Godfrey, it appears that Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson will make the jump to Logan and become Utah State’s next head coach. While nothing has been made official yet, Godfrey’s report also coincides with the revelation that a team meeting has been called in Jonesboro for later this afternoon. According to KAIT’s Chris Hudgison, Godfrey’s report has already been corroborated by multiple sources.

Here at A-State, where I have seen numerous players and coaches walking into the building.

According to sources, a team meeting has been called for 2:30.

Head Coach Blake Anderson has been linked to the Utah State opening. pic.twitter.com/ZU4UvDkKJD

— Logan Whaley (@LoganWhaleyKAIT) December 10, 2020

Anderson has been the head coach at Arkansas State since 2014, stopping what had previously been a revolving door of head coaches, including current Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin, using the position as a springboard toward more prominent spotlights. He arrived in Jonesboro after stints as an offensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State, Southern Mississippi, and North Carolina, leading the Red Wolves to an outright Sun Belt championship in 2014 and a share of the conference title in 2015 and 2018.

Before that, he spent three years in the Mountain West at New Mexico, from 1999 to 2001, as a running backs coach and then a wide receivers coach for Rocky Long.

Across seven seasons at Arkansas State, Anderson compiled a 51-37 record, which includes a 2-4 record in bowl games. In 2019, Anderson’s Red Wolves finished 8-5 in the face of personal tragedy, as his wife Wendy passed away that August after a long bout with breast cancer.

2020, however, saddled him with the first losing season of his head coaching career, though the 4-7 finish is colored somewhat by a 2-3 record in one-score games.

Blake Anderson will replace Gary Andersen, who was fired in November after starting 0-3, and interim head coach Frank Maile, who led Utah State to its first win of 2020 two weeks ago against New Mexico.

This post will be updated as more official information is released.