OFFENSIVE COACHING STAFF

Bill O'Boyle | Run Game Coordinator / Offensive Line

Bill O’Boyle joins the South Dakota coaching staff as the offensive line coach and the run game coordinator.

O’Boyle started as a graduate assistant and then assistant coach at Chadron State in the late 1980s. From 1990-94 he was at Western Illinois, his alma mater, as the offensive line coach and strength coach.

In 1994 he returned to Chadron State as an assistant coach, was offensive coordinator from 1999-2004 and was the head coach from 2005-11. As head coach, O’Boyle compiled a 54-22 record, including three-consecutive undefeated regular seasons and three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles from 2006-08.

Under O’Boyle, the Eagles won 28-straight RMAC games and earned three NCAA Division II playoff berths, advancing to the quarterfinals in ‘06 and ’07 and to the second round in 2008. He is a three-time RMAC Coach of the Year and was named the Liberty Mutual Division II Coach of the Year in 2007.

Twice he was named American Football Coaches Association Region 5 Coach of the Year. He was also the 2006 Sportexe Division II Coach of the Year and Football Gazette National Coach of the Year. He coached 13 All-Americans during his tenure at Chadron State. Some of his former players are San Diego Chargers running back Danny Woodhead and Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Garret Gilkey.

O’Boyle spent one season at Colorado Mesa in 2012 before joining Southern Illinois in 2013 where he served as the offensive line coach. He was promoted in 2014 to offensive coordinator and then to assistant head coach for the 2015 season.

In three seasons at SIU, O’Boyle helped the Salukis improve in scoring offense and passing offense each season. In 2014, the Salukis set a program record for touchdown passes. After O’Boyle was promoted to assistant coach in 2015, SIU averaged nearly 500 yards of total offense per game, second-best in program history. SIU also set a program record with 298 passing yards per game in 2015. 

O’Boyle is originally from Des Moines, Iowa. He played college football for one year at Western Illinois University and has a degree in physical education and studio art. He has one daughter, Cassie.

Ted Schlafke | Pass Game Coordinator / Quarterbacks

Ted Schlafke made the move to Vermillion alongside Coyote head coach Bob Nielson in December of 2015. Schlafke is the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Dakota, a position he held for Nielson at Western Illinois from 2013-15.

Schlafke was Nielson’s quarterback at Minnesota Duluth during the Bulldogs’ undefeated championship season in 2008, the first national title in program history. Schlafke was a four-time team Most Valuable Player award winner, three-year team captain and led the Bulldogs to a 33-14 record while not missing a start in his four-year career.

Schlafke set UMD records for passes attempted (1,692), completion percentage (.624), passing yards (11,587) and touchdowns (106). His 1,055 career completions set an NCAA Division II record. Schlafke passed for 3,018 yards and accounted for 42 touchdowns as a senior when he was a consensus first-team All-American and finished fourth in the voting for Division II Player of the Year.

Schlafke graduated from Minnesota Duluth in 2008 with a degree in finance and a minor in psychology. He began his coaching career as an assistant offensive line coach at Southern Illinois in 2009, a year the Salukis finished 11-2 while winning the MVFC title and earning a spot in the FCS playoffs. SIU averaged 219 yards rushing that season, the third-best average in the nation.

Former Coyote defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell hired Schlafke to be his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Montana Tech in 2011. In year two under Schlafke and Morrell, the Orediggers improved to 8-3, won a conference championship and secured an NAIA playoff berth.

Schlafke joined Western Illinois’ staff when Nielson became head coach there in 2013 and immediately the move paid dividends. The Leathernecks, which ranked last nationally in total offense and next-to-last in scoring in 2012, jumped nearly 30 spots among the national leaders in rushing, passing and total offense in Schlafke’s first season. In year three, Western Illinois returned to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2010 and advanced to the second round to culminate a seven-win season.

Schlafke is originally from Stevens Point, Wis., where he was an all-conference football, basketball and baseball player at Stevens Point High School.

Phil Ockinga | Special Teams Coordinator / Running Backs

Add special teams coordinator to the list of positions Phil Ockinga has excelled at throughout a coaching career that dates back to the early 2000s. Ockinga has been an offensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and director of player personnel. He has coached nearly every position group including wide receivers with head coach Bob Nielson at Western Illinois and now running backs under Nielson at South Dakota.

Ockinga began his collegiate career as a football player at Wyoming before transferring to Hastings College in Nebraska where he earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education. Ockinga spent two years as a graduate assistant for his alma mater before moving three hours south to Hays, Kan., where he joined the staff at Fort Hays State.

Ockinga spent five years at Fort Hays State before taking a job at Florida International. He worked four years there starting as a graduate assistant coach and worked into the role of linebackers coach and director of player personnel.

Hutchinson Community College named Ockinga its defensive line coach ahead of the 2013 season and promoted him to offensive coordinator and in charge of running backs and tight ends to set up a magical 2014 campaign. With Ockinga controlling the offense, the Blue Dragons averaged 43 points, finished with an 11-1 record and a final NJCAA national ranking of No. 4 – highest in program history. HCC ranked sixth nationally in total offense (502.2 ypg) and ran for 274 yards per game while winning a conference title.

Ockinga joined Nielson in Macomb, Ill., in March of 2015. In one year at Western Illinois, Ockinga helped the Leathernecks reach the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2010. Western Illinois advanced to the second round to culminate a seven-win season. Within his set of wide receivers, Okinga coached two of the top-five receivers in the Missouri Valley including all-MVFC performer Lance Lenoir, who led the conference with 83 catches and had 1,184 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

In addition to his bachelor’s degree, Ockinga earned a master’s degree in health and human performance at Fort Hays State. He and his wife, Kelsie, have two children, Miles and Claire.

Andrew Prevost | Tight Ends

South Dakota assistant defensive line coach Andrew Prevost joined Nielson on the Coyotes’ coaching staff in December of 2015 and has worked with Nielson since 2011.

Prevost began his coaching career in 2010 working as a student assistant coach at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, his alma mater, where he lettered two years on the offensive line for the Blugolds. Prevost graduated with a degree in organizational communication/information systems in 2011.

Prevost continued his career at the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2011 and worked there for two years under Nielson as the linebackers coach. While at UMD, Prevost received a master’s degree in education. He helped tutor NSIC North Division All-Conference First Team athletes Rob Huberty and Derrick Zappa in 2011 and did the same for All-NSIC honoree Nate Zurk in 2012.

In 2013, Prevost took the defensive lineman job at Western Illinois. That year the Leathernecks finished seventh in the nation in total defense, 14th in first downs defense and 31st in third down conversion defense.

For 2014, Prevost switched to the offensive side of the ball and was the tight ends coach. In 2015, he helped WIU return to the Division I FCS playoffs where the team went to the second round and finished the season with seven wins.

Prevost is a native of Galesville, Wis., and was a 2005 graduate of Gale-Ettrick-Tremplealeau High School. He is married to the former Cortney Bishop.

Matthew Middleton | Wide Receivers / Recruiting Coordinator

Matthew Middleton has served as wide receivers coach at South Dakota since 2013 and was named recruiting coordinator following the 2014 campaign. Middleton made his way to Vermillion via University of Kansas where he coached Jayhawk receivers in 2012.

Middleton grew up in Kansas City, Kan., and was a talented three-sport star at Bonner Springs High School where he wrestled, played football and competed in track and field. He was named BSHS Male Athlete of the Year as a senior in 2004.

Middleton was a four-year starter at Ottawa University from 2004-07 where he was a three-time all-conference wide receiver and graduated as the program’s all-time leader in receptions. Middleton stayed on to coach at Ottawa after earning his bachelor’s degree in sports and recreational management.

Middleton coached receivers and kick returners at University of Nebraska-Omaha during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. In 2011, he coached wideouts and return men at Chadron State. He earned his master’s degree in recreation management in 2012.

Colby Felts | Offensive Quality Control

A student filmer for the Coyotes a year ago, Colby Felts is now in his first year as a graduate assistant coach at USD. Felts works primarily with running backs and fullbacks. He organizes practice drills and provides play instruction. He also helps prepare scouting reports for players and coaches on future opponents.

Originally from LeMars, Iowa, Felts attended Remsen-Union High School as class valedictorian with a 4.0 grade point average. In high school, Felts was part of the winningest football class in school history with a combined record of 32-11. He was a three-time all-district performer and a three-time district champion. Felts was a Wendy’s Heisman state finalist and National Merit Scholar semifinalist.

Felts coached running backs and linebackers at Remsen-Union in 2012 and 2013 while taking classes at USD. He was responsible for organizing scout team defense during practice and participated in offensive and defensive game planning each week.

Felts received his bachelor’s degree in medical biology and minored in interdisciplinary studies at USD. He has begun graduate work in the kinesiology and sport science department and is on track to graduate in May of 2016.