With the departure of two coaches to the PAC-12 earlier in the offseason, Weber State football added Matt Hammer and Jared Ursua just a few weeks before National Signing Day.
Hammer is returning to the Wildcats as the inside linebackers coach after spending the last six years as the head coach at Weber High School.
“This is a place that I have extreme passion for,” Hammer said. “I’m really excited and have tremendous respect for coach (Jay) Hill and the staff and to be apart of this is something special.”
Before coaching at Weber High School, Hammer spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Weber State, including four seasons as the offensive coordinator.
Hammer is looking to bring his experiences as a head coach to the Wildcat football team.
“I had to know enough about every single position,” Hammer said. “I think it made me more well-rounded and always seeing the bigger picture.”
While at Weber High School, Hammer led the Warriors to back-to-back unbeaten Region 1 Championships and appeared in the 6A Quarterfinals. In 2017, Hammer received the All-Area Coach of the Year award by the Standard Examiner.
“I felt we needed someone with Weber State ties and someone that knew the area well and that’s Matt Hammer,” head coach Jay Hill said in a press release. “He was a long-time coach here at Weber State and did a great job and then completely turned Weber High around. He’s a great football coach, and we’re lucky to have him.”
Hammer graduated from Southern Utah in 2006, where he played both receiver and defensive back in his four seasons. Hammer attended Clearfield High School.
Ursua will coach the wide receivers after spending the last four seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Utah University where he served as the receivers coach.
“Jared is a terrific coach and did an outstanding job at Southern Utah,” Hill said. “He’s also demonstrated himself to be a great recruiter and is well known in the recruiting trail. He is a big addition for us at Weber State.”
Ursua also played at Southern Utah as a wide receiver and kick returner and graduated in 2011. Ursua is a native of Kailua, Kona, Hawaii.
