LOGAN, Utah – When Kyle Cefalo was offered a position on Blake Anderson's new staff in Logan, there was never a moment of hesitation. After all, there isn't a coach in the country that he'd rather work for.
 
The young coach has spent nearly his entire career working side-by-side with Anderson. From getting his start as a graduate assistant on the first staff Anderson ever assembled at Arkansas State back in 2013, to following him west and taking over the reigns as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach of the Aggies, Cefalo has been able to learn a lot from the man he calls his mentor.
 
Cefalo (pronounced Seph-uh-low) spent seven seasons in Jonesboro, Ark., most recently serving as the Red Wolves' special teams co-coordinator and wide receivers coach. This past season, Cefalo coached the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year in Jonathan Adams Jr., who was also named an Associated Press Second-Team All-American and a ProFootballFocus Honorable Mention All-American. A first-team all-Sun Belt pick and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist, Adams ranked third in the nation in total receptions (79) and touchdown catches (12), and fifth in receiving yards (1,111) in 2020. Both his 7.9 receptions and 111.1 receiving yards per game average rank ninth in the country.
 
Cefalo did spend one season away from Anderson's staff in 2016, when he left his graduate assistant role at Arkansas State to take on the same role at Maryland. While there, the Terps doubled their win total over the previous season and made an appearance in the Quick Lane Bowl.
 
He worked on the offensive side of the ball, primarily with quarterbacks and wide receivers, at both Maryland and Arkansas State from 2013-16. His three seasons as a graduate assistant coach at A-State saw the Red Wolves compile three of the top five marks at the time in school history for total offense, including a school-record 6,194 yards in 2014 during Anderson's first season at the helm of the program.
 
Prior to his coaching days, Cefalo enjoyed a successful playing career at the University of Colorado, where he walked on in 2009 before earning a scholarship in the fall of 2011. He originally signed to play baseball at Oregon State, but suffered a season-ending arm injury and transferred to Colorado to begin his collegiate football career.
 
We recently caught up with Cefalo for a Q&A.
 
Q: Talk about the first few months on the job and what the transition has been like?
 
Cefalo: Honestly, it's been awesome, starting with the players and the coaching staff that we have. Coach Anderson did a great job putting together a group of guys that are not only great coaches, but are fun to be around every day and fun to work with. It's a lot of guys that I've known. Coach (Anthony) Tucker and I go back a long time, Fredi (Knighten) and Micah (James) and Gibby (Micahel Gibbs), all these guys, we've known each other for a while. It's fun when you can come together to a new place and get to work together. Then, getting to know the players and seeing their eagerness to learn and meet us, they've really been incredible. I've been really happy getting to know my group, especially the wideouts. Honestly, it's been a really smooth and great transition so far.
 
Q: Talk about the offensive staff and how that has fit together.
 
Cefalo: That's probably been one of my favorite parts so far. I played for coach Tuck (Anthony Tucker) back in 2010, and we had a great player-coach relationship and then we turned that into a friendship and worked together in a couple of previous places. Now he's in charge of the offense, so that's been really fun to work with him. He's got such a great temperament for it, he's really consistent, he's a great teacher, he explains things really well to us and to the players. Our offensive line coach, coach Micah James, he and I were coach Anderson's original two GA's back in 2014, so he and I have kind of grown up in the business. To see where we are now has been really fun. Coach Gibbs, same thing, he was a GA for us at Arkansas State. I've known him for a while. Then the additions of guys like Chuckie (Keeton) and DJ (Tialavea), who are more familiar with this place. They're also young coaches just at the start of their careers. Everyone's attitude seems to be on the same page always, and everyone takes coaching really well with each other. We discuss things and now we're just focusing on our groups. I couldn't be happier with the way that room got assembled, it's been probably one of my favorite parts so far.
 
Q: Why was Utah State the right fit for you?
 
Cefalo: Most importantly, working for coach Anderson. Like I said, I was a graduate assistant for him a while back, and now almost eight years straight I've been with him. He's been my true mentor in the business. All the things that he's gone through personally, I've been able to be there with him throughout everything with his family and his wife. Our relationship has really grown on a personal level and, obviously, on a professional level. There's nobody else I really want to work for. Just the consistent work atmosphere, the environment's so much fun. He allows us all to do our jobs and I just couldn't imagine working for anyone else right now. Then, being able to move to a place like Logan. I spent a lot of time in Boise, Idaho, growing up, I went to the University of Colorado, so I'm used to the mountains and I'm used to being outside. I love to ski, I love to fish, I love to do all those things, so it just all seemed to come together very quickly.
 
Q: What are your priorities for the Aggie wide receivers during spring practice?
 
Cefalo: We're learning a ton right now. I think that's the most important thing, is by the end of the spring, we're going to have an incredible grasp of what we're doing on offense and their jobs and their roles. We're really excited about the group that was in there when we got here. There's a lot of talent in the room, and now we're building the knowledge of the offense and the confidence that goes along with it, and the ability to go out there every day whether you feel great or not. As a group, we're building that consistent environment and culture that we're going to show up and go to work every day. We're going to be incredibly coachable, and we're going to have a lot of fun doing it. Through five practices, we're taking steps in the right direction.
 
Q: You have previous experience coaching in this up-tempo offense. Can you give Aggie fans an idea on what they will see on the field this fall?
 
Cefalo: I'm hoping they see a lot of explosive plays with the wideouts running down the field. We spread the field really wide and we play really fast. It's up-tempo, it's make a play, and then get lined up again as quickly as you can. I think you're going to see a really good balance of run and pass, and our offensive line is doing a great job. We've got a bunch of running backs, we've got a ton of different wideouts that can catch the ball, we've got tight ends that are continuously developing. I'm hoping our fans see a very fast-paced, very exciting brand of football to watch on the offensive side.
 
Q: Can you talk about your coaching philosophy and how you relate to and teach players?
 
Cefalo: I think the most important thing, especially for myself, is just to be authentic to who I am. That emotion, that energy, that's just who I am. I don't try to go out of my way to do anything like that. The biggest thing for me coaching is I want to celebrate the good. I want to make sure when the guys make a great play or they fix something that we've been working on, I want them to know how happy I am and how proud I am of them for working on that. I want that to be rewarded right away. Rather than publicly pointing out the negatives, celebrate the good and let's teach off of the things that we didn't do right. Maybe you just grab them really quick and tell them to their face, 'Hey, great job, but work on this a little bit more.' Especially in the meeting room, that's where we need to do a great job of fixing and correcting and trying to be a great teacher to make sure they're doing a great job of learning. We definitely celebrate the good, because when they do things right that's a big deal and they have to be rewarded for it.
 
Q: What excites you the most about coaching this team and preparing for games this fall?
 
Cefalo: As far as a group, we have a lot of guys that can really run. There is a lot of speed in the room. There is also a lot of experience in the room, and there are guys that have been playing college football for a while. Getting them to understand the work that goes into it every day in order to be where we need to be, that's what we're doing right now. We're getting our confidence right now, and I think that's really important. I'm excited about the fact that there's not just two or three guys that can go in there. We're building that depth and building the room up to where there's more than one guy that we can throw the ball to. The defense is going to have to cover the entire field if we're out there. That's the goal. Then, if somebody goes down or somebody needs a breather, we can bring someone in that we trust can go out there and do a great job. Early on in the process, I think we have a really good foundation, now we just need to keep taking the little steps every day to build confidence and make sure we know what's going on.
 
Q: What got you into coaching and why do you enjoy it so much?
 
Cefalo: When I was done playing – I had a nice little college career – but I knew playing at the next level wasn't going to be an option, so I had to figure out what was the next best thing if I couldn't play. I think that's being a coach, where you can still compete and you're still part of a team. I think that's one of the hardest things whenever you're done playing. You've been playing this game or playing sports your whole life, then that brief little period when you graduate and there's no more ball, you're not part of something and it's a weird feeling. I know for me, just the importance of being involved with a team and being back with a collective group where you're working for goals, that was one of the biggest things. Then, having the opportunity to teach and still compete. I get to be around the guys, and when you coach a group of wideouts they keep you young and active. It's fun to be in that meeting room every day around some college kids that are doing something that I was doing not that long ago. Just the fact that you are part of something, you are part of a group and team, that for me is something I want to do as a career.
 
Q: What do you enjoy doing when you're not coaching football?
 
Cefalo: All of my family lives up in New England and I love getting home as much as I can, they're all up in Maine. My brother-in-law plays professional baseball, he plays for the Cincinnati Reds now, so once their season starts, I always try to find a couple weekends in the summer to go watch him. I've got five nieces and nephews, so I love going home with my sisters and hanging out with the kids. When I'm not fishing and skiing, Logan has been incredible, but I try to spend as much time with my family as I can. It's not easy, even though I'm 32 years old, you still get homesick and you still miss your family and things like that.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.