Jan. 11, 2006
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head coach Chuck Long announced the hiring Wednesday of Larry Holton and Toby Neinas as assistant football coaches. Holton, a 28-year veteran of the Division I-A coaching ranks, will be in charge of the running backs, while Neinas, who spent the last four years at Temple University, will work with the tight ends.
Holton has over 30 years of experience at the collegiate level, including 13 seasons as a running backs coach. He comes to San Diego State after serving as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Delaware State in 2004 and tight ends coach at Eastern Michigan University in 2003. The Iowa State graduate was part of the Western Illinois staff from 2000 to 2002, coaching the running backs and special teams.
Holton worked with Long at Iowa under Hayden Fry from 1995 to 1998, where he helped tutor two of the school's top all-time running backs in Tavian Banks and Sedrick Shaw. Banks earned All-America and conference offensive player-of-the-year honors in 1997, after he set a school single-season record of 1,681. Shaw was the eighth player in Big Ten history to rush for a 1,000 yards in three different seasons and left Iowa as its all-time leading rusher.
Prior to his stint at Iowa, he coached at West Virginia, Northwestern, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh and Florida State. Holton was a member of the coaching staff at Pittsburgh in 1976, when the Panthers won the national championship and finished with a 12-0 record.
Holton, a defensive back, was a three-year starter at Iowa State, before beginning his coaching career as a student assistant at his alma mater in 1970.
Neinas has 11 years of experience as a collegiate coach, working most recently at Temple University from 2002-05. The Boulder, Colo., native was in charge of the Owl inside linebackers (2004-05) and defensive line (2002-03). In 2002, he helped Temple lead the Big East Conference and rank 15th nationally in run defense, while tackle Dan Klecko garnered league defensive player of the year and All-America honors, before being selected in the NFL Draft.
Neinas moved to Philadelphia in 2002, after spending seven years at the University of Alabama Birmingham. He worked on both sides of the ball with the Blazers, coaching the tight ends, running backs, safeties, defensive ends and outside linebackers.
A 1995 graduate of the University of Missouri with a bachelor's degree in history, he spent two seasons at his alma mater as a student assistant, under head coach Bob Stull, focusing on the secondary. He then was a graduate assistant coach for one season at North Carolina under Mack Brown, before joining the staff at UAB.
In addition to the two new hires, Long also announced that Thom Kaumeyer will continue as a member of the Aztec coaching staff. Kaumeyer will work with the defensive backs and enters his fifth season at SDSU in 2006.
The trio is joined by Long's first hire, Bob Elliott, who will serve as SDSU's assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
The Larry Holton File
Alma Mater: Iowa State, 1970
Playing Experience: Iowa State, three-year starter at defensive back, 1965-70
Professional Experience:
2004 - Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, Delaware State (running backs)
2003 - Assistant coach, Eastern Michigan (tight ends)
2000-02 - Assistant coach, Western Illinois (running backs, special teams)
1995-98 - Assistant coach, Iowa (running backs, defensive backs)
1992-95 - Assistant coach, West Virginia (running backs)
1988-91 - Assistant coach, Northwestern (running backs, wide receivers)
1983-87 - Assistant coach, Illinois (outside linebackers, running backs)
1979-83 - Assistant coach, Oklahoma State (secondary)
1973-79 - Assistant coach, Pittsburgh (secondary, linebackers)
1972 - Assistant coach, Florida State (defensive backs)
1971 - Student assistant, Iowa State
The Toby Neinas File
Alma Mater: Missouri, 1995
Professional Experience:
2002-05 - Assistant coach, Temple University (inside linebackers, defensive line)
1996-2002 - Assistant coach, University of Alabama Birmingham (running backs, tight ends, safeties, defensive ends, outside linebackers)
1995 - Graduate assistant, North Carolina (secondary)
1993-94 - Student assistant, Missouri (secondary)