PULLMAN, Wash. — Following Brian Ward's departure for Arizona State in December, Washington State was in need of a new defensive coordinator.
Their search landed them a Spokane native with numerous local ties who has the opportunity to build upon the defensive scheme put in place by Jake Dickert four years ago.
"I got the opportunity at an early age to start coaching and probably a week or two into it, I switched my major and realized that is what I wanted to do. I felt it was more of a calling rather than something I wanted to do career wise," new WSU defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said.
That first opportunity for Schmedding came at his alma mater, University High School. After two years at U High, he became a grad assistant at Eastern Washington, a stop he would stay at for 15 years.
"It was an amazing run. The people, players and coaches at EWU shaped my career, there is no doubt about it. You really learn how to be a coach and a mentor when you spend that much time at one place," Schmedding said.
In his time at Eastern, Schmedding coached safeties, linebackers and special teams before taking over the entire defense, experiences he says were invaluable.
"Drawing back on it, it gave me the opportunity to see where the stress was in all of these different positions. I understand there is something hard about everybody's job. I think when you are only in one spot or coaching just one position your whole career, you focus on that most. Moving around gave me a broader perspective on the defense," Schmedding said.
Schmedding went on to make stops at Boise State, where he also coached cornerbacks and edges, and Auburn under Brian Harsin, before taking the WSU job. He is impressed by the talent on the Cougars defense.
"I truly believe your fundamentals and techniques make the scheme. When you add the pieces who have been here, guys who bleed for the Cougars, they allow you to move further, faster, that's the bottom line," Schmedding said.
In his early days at WSU, Schmedding has earned the praise of his players, including the newest Cougs.
"Everybody accepted him with open arms when he came in and the relationship clicked from the jump. It's been dope because I feel like he has been my coach for forever and we just started working together so he is one heck of a coach," Texas transfer linebacker Devin Richardson said.
Along with coming home, Schmedding knew WSU was the right fit because of one important aspect.
"I truly believe we can win. There is no doubt in my mind we can win," Schmedding said.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.