Bostad To Coach Badger Tight Ends
February 10, 2006 | Football
Bob Bostad (pronounced BO-stad), a state of Wisconsin native who has coached the offensive line at New Mexico for the past seven seasons, has been named an assistant football coach at Wisconsin, head coach Bret Bielema announced Friday.
Bostad will coach the Badgers' tight ends.
'I have followed Bob's career from afar since we met about 10 years ago,' Bielema said. 'He has had success at New Mexico, has been a graduate assistant in the Big Ten at Minnesota and is familiar with the state of Wisconsin. He's coming home to coach and I think it will be a great fit for Bob, his family and our program.'
Bostad's 2005 offensive line, which paved the way for DonTrell Moore, the Mountain West Conference offensive player of the year and the nation 's 10th-leading rusher, featured a pair of first-team all-conference selections, including center Ryan Cook and guard Robert Turner. New Mexico averaged 200 yards per game on the ground in 2005.
During Bostad's tenure at New Mexico, 14 Lobo offensive linemen earned all-conference mention, including seven first-team selections (both of those figures are tops in MWC history). Among the players Bostad coached at New Mexico were: tackle Claude Terrell, a third-team A.P. All-American and fourth-round draft choice of the St. Louis Rams (he started as a rookie for the Rams in 2005) and tackle Jason Lenzmeier, who became the first offensive lineman in conference and school history to earn MWC offensive player of the week honors in 2003.
The 2003 Lobos led the MWC in scoring (30.1 ppg) and ranked 11th nationally in rushing average (227 ypg). The 2002 New Mexico line allowed just 17 quarterback sacks in 14 games (352 passing attempts). New Mexico's 2001 club averaged 27.6 points per game, an improvement of more than eight points per contest over the previous year. The Lobos also averaged 376.8 yards per game of total offense in 2001, a jump of 110.2 yards per game over the 2000 campaign. Guard Jason Carson earned second-team all-conference laurels in 1999 (Bostad's first season at New Mexico), becoming the first Lobo offensive guard to do so since 1978.
Bostad was offensive line coach (1997-98) and offensive coordinator (1998) at San Jose State prior to his years at New Mexico. His top player with the Spartans was David Loverne, a first-team all-WAC selection and third-round choice of the New York Jets in 1999.
Bostad coached the offensive line at Cal State Northridge in 1995-96 and spent three seasons (1992-94) as an offensive line graduate assistant at Minnesota under head coach Jim Wacker.
Bostad got his coaching start at his alma mater, UW-Stevens Point, where he coached the offensive line from 1990-91.
Bostad graduated from UW-Stevens Point in 1989 with a degree in physical education. He was a four-year starter as a linebacker for the Pointers and earned all-conference mention each year. UW-Stevens Point won 33 games during his career and tied Pacific Lutheran for the NCAA Division III national title in 1987. Bostad earned a master 's degree in kinesiology from Minnesota in 1994.
Bostad, 39, is a native of Pardeeville, Wis. He and his wife, Cara, have three daughters: Rachel, Bryn and Annika, and a son, John Robert.
