NC State football has lost another assistant coach to a head coaching job at another school. Just days after offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford left for an offensive coordinator job at Louisville, offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz has officially been hired as the new head coach at Appalachian State.
“My family and I are excited to embrace and build upon the proud tradition of Appalachian State Football,” Drinkwitz told Appalachian State athletics. “I am thankful to the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Everts, Doug Gillin and the entire App Nation for the opportunity to be the head coach at this great university. This is a special time for App Nation, and we will work tirelessly to uphold the championship tradition.”
Drinkwitz, who spent the past three seasons at NC State after a stint at Boise State, was also the Wolfpack’s quarterbacks coach. His work with graduate transfer quarterback Ryan Finley, who played under him at Boise State and now ranks second to Philip Rivers in all-time passing yards at NC State, was one of the hallmarks of his tenure. Finley has finished first or second in the ACC in both completion yards and passing each of the past two seasons.
After middling numbers in his first season, Drinkwitz ran a strong attack with Finley at the helm the past two years. The Wolfpack finished in the top 28 in total offense, top 40 in passing yards per game and top 40 in points per game in each of the past two seasons.
This year, for the first time in school history, the Wolfpack had two 1,000-yard receivers in junior Kelvin Harmon and redshirt junior Jakobi Meyers. It was also the first time in school history NC State has had all of a 3,000-yard passing QB (Finley), two 1,000-yard receivers (Harmon and Meyers) and 1,000-yard running back (senior Reggie Gallaspy).
NC State now begins its search for both an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, and head coach Dave Doeren will need to decide whether to promote internal options or seek hires from other schools. The Wolfpack will face Texas A&M in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida Dec. 31.
