Vikings football names D-line coach

The Portland State Athletics Department announced today that Legi Suiaunoa will join the PSU football team. Including the addition of Suiaunoa, first-year head coach Nigel Burton has now added 10 assistants to his staff.

A complete breakdown of the coaching roster and the press release in its entirety is included after the jump.



Straight from the press release:

VIKING FOOTBALL NAMES LEGI SUIAUNOA AS NEW DEFENSIVE LINE COACH

Legi Suiaunoa (LENG-ee SOW-uh-NO-uh) has been named the new defensive line coach at Portland State, replacing Inoke Breckterfield, who has left for a similar position at Montana. The addition of Suiaunoa completes new Head Coach Nigel Burton's staff.

Suiaunoa comes to the Vikings after spending the 2009 season as the defensive coordinator at Eastern Oregon. He ran the same 4-3 defense that Portland State will employ this coming season, and has also worked with it in past stops at Western Washington and Nevada.

"Legi brings experience as a defensive line coach in this system previously, but also as a coordinator in this system. He'll be able to offer a unique perspective since he has already coached it and coordinated it," said Burton.

"He has coached defensive line, linebackers and secondary. He has recruited up and down the west coast from San Diego to Los Angeles to Hawai'i to the state of Washington. Legi is a very valuable addition to this staff."

Suiaunoa has eight years of coaching experience following a playing career as a linebacker at the University of Nevada. Prior to working at EOU, he was a defensive line coach at Western Washington for four seasons. Suiaunoa was a graduate assistant at Nevada in 2004 after spending his first two years coaching linebackers at Palomar Junior College.

A native of Oceanside, CA, Suiaunoa won a junior college national championship in 1997 while playing at Palomar. He went on to compete at Nevada from 1998-2001. Suiaunoa earned a degree in General Studies Administration in 2002.


THE LEGI SUIAUNOA FILE
(LENG-ee SOW-uh-NO-uh)

Hometown: Oceanside, CA
Alma Mater: Nevada, 2002, General Studies Administration
Playing Career: Palomar JC, 1997, Nevada, 1998-2001, linebacker
Date of Birth: November 21, 1978
Family: Wife, Rose; first child due any day

COACHING EXPERIENCE
2009 Eastern Oregon, Defensive Coordinator
2005-08 Western Washington, Defensive Line
2004 Nevada, Graduate Assistant
2002-03 Palomar JC, Linebackers


2010 VIKING COACHING STAFF

HEAD COACH: Nigel Burton, Washington, ‘99, 1st year
SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR/ASSISTANT HEAD COACH: Bob Simmons, Bowling Green, ‘71, 1st year
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Eric Jackson, Eastern Michigan, ‘87, 1st year
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Bruce Barnum, Eastern Washington, ‘87, 1st year
RUN GAME COORDINATOR: Dave Brown, Central Missouri State, ‘03, 1st year
DEFENSIVE LINE: Legi Suiaunoa, Nevada, ‘02, 1st year
LINEBACKERS: Ahmed Zarrugh, Oregon State, ‘07, 1st year
RUNNING BACKS/RECRUITING COORDINATOR: Kevin Emberton, Illinois State, ‘01, 4th year
OFFENSIVE LINE: Brad Davis, Oklahoma, ‘03, 2nd year
OFFENSIVE ASSISTANT/TIGHT ENDS: Steve Cooper, Portland State, ‘09, 2nd year
ASSISTANT DEFENSIVE LINE: Alvin Smith, Oregon State
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Mike Lund
Assistant Athletics Director - Media Relations
Portland State University