Past Coaches

NIGEL BURTON
Burton is a Sacramento native and where he attended Jesuit High School. A 1999 graduate of the University of Washington, Burton was a three-year starter at safety, leading the Huskies to three bowl games. Burton was a three-time Academic All-Pac-10 and Academic All-District selection as well. He started his career at University of the Pacific and was a starter as a freshman before the program was eliminated. Burton began his coaching career as a defensive assistant at the University of South Florida in 2000. In 2001-02, Burton was a defensive backs coach at Portland State and then coached secondary at Oregon State from 2003-07. In 2008, Burton was named defensive coordinator at Nevada. In 2009, Burton became the head coach at Portland State and coached there until the 2014 season. Currently, Burton is a college football analyst for the Pac-12 Network and Comcast Sports Net.

NICK ALIOTTI
A northern California native, following a stellar career as a running back at UC Davis, Aliotti went on to coach for 35 years at Chico State, Oregon State, UCLA, and, in the NFL, for the St. Louis Rams. He is best known as being the defensive coordinator at the University of Oregon for 15 years leading some of the greatest defenses in school history and coaching in several BCS games and Rose Bowls. Aliotti is currently an analyst for the Pac 12 Network.

YVENSON BERNARD
The Boca Raton, Fla., native was a highly decorated running back for Oregon State Football (2004-07), finishing his collegiate career with the third-most rushing yards (3,862) in program history. Bernard also has the second-most rushing attempts (876) and 100-yard rushing games (19) in program history. He was named team captain during the 2006-07 seasons. Bernard played in the Canadian Football League from 2009-12. Bernard graduated from Oregon State in 2008 with a degree in merchandise management. After his football career he worked at Nike for one year before teaching and coaching football at his high school in Boca Raton, Fla. He later returned to his alma mater as a graduate assistant, working with running backs. He now works at Oregon State as a Discovery Officer for Our Beaver Nation office.

KASEY CLOSS
A two-year letterwinner for Portland State, Closs led the Vikings in receiving the past two seasons. He had 105 receptions for 1,705 yards and 12 touchdowns in 22 games. A native of Lake Oswego, the 6-3, 205-pound Closs attended Lake Oswego High School and played two seasons at Saddleback Junior College before coming to Portland State. Closs is currently a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Kieran McDonagh
McDonagh is a 2011 graduate of Skyview HS in Vancouver. He went straight to Portland State in Portland, Oregon. In 2012, McDonagh became the first true freshman quarterback to start hi first career game at Portland State since the 1950's. McDonagh threw for over 2,000 yards during his freshman season while also throwing 14 touchdowns. He also was nominated for the Jerry Rice National Freshman of the Year. McDonagh finished up his career with Portland State in 2015 and was a key part to the vikings success.

JOEY HARRINGTON
Nicknamed “Joey Heisman” after a well-known Times Square billboard campaign, Harrington was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Ducks. During his senior season, he threw for 2,414 yard and 23 touchdowns, leading Oregon to a Pac-10 Conference title and a Fiesta Bowl victory. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award that season, was named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year and received first-team All-America accolades, finishing his collegiate career with an astounding 25-3 record. Harrington was taken with the third overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2002 NFL Draft and played for the team through 2005 before spending time with the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints.

LINCOLN KENNEDY
Kennedy was a starter on the Huskies’ 1991 team that shared the national championship and he earned unanimous All-America honors as an offensive tackle in 1992. He was a member of three consecutive Pac-10 championship teams and he was a two-time winner of the Morris Trophy, presented to the conference’s best lineman. Kennedy was a first-round pick (ninth overall) in the 1993 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons and played 11 seasons in the NFL, two with the Falcons and nine with the Raiders. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection and played in Super Bowl XXXVII with the Raiders. He is currently an analyst for Oakland Raiders radio broadcasts and the Pac-12 Network.

CAM CLEELAND
Cleeland, a Husky from 1993-97, was a part of Don James' final recruiting class at the University of Washington. At 6-4 and 270 pounds, Cleeland was a multi-sport standout at Sedro-Wooley High School, captaining his football, basketball and baseball teams during his senior year. Among UW tight ends, he ranks ninth all time in career receptions (55), fifth in receiving yards (824), and fourth in touchdowns (6). His play caught the attention of Mike Ditka and the New Orleans Saints, who, in the second round, made him the first tight end chosen in the 1998 NFL Draft. In an eight-year NFL career with the Saints, Patriots and Rams, Cleeland amassed 131 receptions, 1,478 yards, and 13 touchdowns. Cleeland is currently a regular on Comcast Sports Northwest’s Talkin’ Ball, co-host of Dusty and Cam In the Morning on ESPN Radio’s 1080 The Fan, and owns his own construction company.

JAMES RODGERS
Rodgers attended Lamar Consolidated High School in Richmond, Texas, where he played wide receiver and free safety. Rodgers was the 2005 and 2006 District MVP and First Team All-State. He was also a star basketball and track athlete. Rodgers had 222 catches in his Oregon State career and currently stands in second place on the school’s all-time list. James finished his career as one of the greatest receivers and all-purpose players in Oregon State history ... established a school record with 222 career receptions, including an OSU record 91 catches in 2009 ... set the Oregon State career record with 6,377 all-purpose yards ... the first player in OSU history with 1,000 yards rushing and 2,000 yards receiving. He went on to play professionally for the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL and Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League.

Alex Brink
Brink is a 2003 graduate of Sheldon HS in Eugene. Brink attended Washington State University where he shattered records and became one of the greats. While at WSU he broke school records for passing yards, touchdowns, attempts, completions, and total offense, and still holds these records today. In his senior year, Brink threw for 3,818 yards and is the only cougar to have five 400-plus yard games. He Brink is third all time passer in PAC-10 history in terms of yards and fifth in touchdowns. Brink was drafted by the Houston Texans in the 7th round of the 2008 NFL Draft. After his time in the NFL, Brink went on to play in Canada for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, and the Montreal Alouettes.