Washington State hires Jake Dickert as defensive coordinator

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Washington State hired Jake Dickert as its defensive coordinator on Tuesday.

Dickert is the first major hire for new Washington State coach Nick Rolovich. Dickert spent the past three seasons as a defensive coach at Wyoming, including last season as the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys.

“I am so pumped about this hire. I’ve been following Jake and his coaching career for a long time. We have competed against him the past couple years and his defenses play tough, they play physical and they play as one,” Rolovich said. “Jake came highly recommended from a number of coaches around the country and he has been very successful in recruiting and developing players from this area of the country.”

Under Dickert last season, the Cowboys ranked 11th in the country in scoring defense, giving up 17.8 points per game.

Before joining the staff at Wyoming, Dickert made several coaching stops at the FCS and Division II levels including North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Minnesota State-Mankato, Augustana, South Dakota and Southeast Missouri State.