By John Mesh
Nate Dreiling, Utah State University’s interim football coach, got his first win as a head coach at any level when the Aggies defeated Robert Morris University 36-14 Saturday in Logan, Utah.
The 33-year-old Dreiling is the youngest head coach in the FBS. He was originally hired by Utah State as the defensive coordinator but was elevated to interim coach after the firing of head coach Blake Anderson in July.
Dreiling, a Victoria and Hutchinson native, was a highly successful defensive coordinator at New Mexico State.
Utah State’s back-up quarterback Bryson Barnes passed for two touchdowns and ran for another Saturday night.
Kyrese White caught three passes for 131 yards, including touchdown catches of 57 and 53 yards.
Barnes replaced Aggies’ starting quarterback Spencer Petras midway through the second quarter. Petras left the game after an apparent injury and never returned.
Dreiling, a former four-time Pittsburg State All-American linebacker, played high school football at Hutchinson for his father, legendary head coach Randy Dreiling. Nate Dreiling helped lead the Gorillas to the 2011 NCAA D-II national title.
Dreiling was a FCS assistant coach three years ago at Southeast Missouri State University and was a Division II assistant at Pittsburg State.
Dreiling was also a coach 10 years ago at Humboldt High School in Southeast Kansas.