Drake University Men's Football

Stepsis is in his third season at Drake and serves as the Bulldogs defensive coordinator. Over the past two seasons, he coached 13 all-conference performers, including the Bulldogs' all-time leading tackler, John Hugunin. His defense ranked in the top of the PFL in nearly all defensive categories the last two seasons. He was named to head coach Rick Foxs staff at Drake following six seasons in the same role at Division II power Saginaw Valley State. There, he helped coach the Cardinals to a 44-23 record, three-consecutive GLIAC North Division titles and three NCAA playoff berths. The culture at Drake is what attracted me most, Ive never seen a morale like there is at Drake, Stepsis said. Im looking forward to working with our intrinsically motivated student-athletes. They want to win and compete. To me, thats exciting. At Saginaw Valley, he coached 37 defensive all-conference performers, including the conferences all-time leading tackler and three standouts that went on to NFL and CFL careers. One of those former student-athletes, Jeff Heath, is the starting safety for the Dallas Cowboys, while another, Matt Black, is a cornerback for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts. He has an incredible knowledge of the game and from what I can see he relates very well with the players, Fox said of his defensive coordinator. Prior to joining the SVSU staff, he was an assistant at Capital University for eight seasons during which the program amassed a 57-20 record and earned three straight NCAA Division III playoff berths from 2005-07. The team advanced to the quarterfinals in 2005 and 2006. He began his coaching career at Otterbein where he coached the top ranked pass defense in the conference and helped the program to its first winning season in nearly two decades. He graduated with magna cum laude honors from Ashland University in 1999 with a degree in special education and also received a masters degree from Ashland in sport education. He and his wife, Angie, have one daughter, Addison. He is also father to a son, Zander, and daughter, Zoe.  Todd Stepsis is in his third season at Drake and serves as the Bulldogs defensive coordinator. Over the past two seasons, he coached 13 all-conference performers, including the Bulldogs' all-time leading tackler, John Hugunin. His defense ranked in the top of the PFL in nearly all defensive categories the last two seasons.

Matt Walker, a national championship head coach, two-time NCAA Division III national coach of the year, and architect of one of the most explosive offenses in college football, was named head football coach at Drake University, Athletics Director Brian Hardin announced February 22.   Walker makes the jump to the FCS ranks after 15 seasons in the same role at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He capped his Falcon tenure with the ultimate result, leading UWRF to the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2025. Walker guided the Falcons to a program record 14 wins, their first national playoff berth since 1996, and the first national title in school history.   2025 also marked UW-River Falls' first outright Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship since 1985. Following the 2025 season, Walker was named D3football.com Coach of the Year and the WIAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. In 2021, Walker also earned WIAC Coach of the Year honors and was named Hansen Rating National Coach of the Year following a nine-win campaign.    Since 2021, Walker has posted an overall record of 44-13 including back-to-back Isthmus Bowl (NCAA Division III postseason bowl game) titles, and routinely had the Falcons ranked among national offensive leaders.   In each of the last five seasons, Walker's teams led the WIAC in total offense and scoring offense. Three times since 2021, the Falcons ranked in the top-four of Division III in total offense and in the last five seasons, Walker's teams averaged 42.4 points per game.   Walker coached over 140 players to All-WIAC status, 13 All-Region honorees, six All-Americans, and the 2025 Gagliardi Trophy winner Kaleb Blaha, who was recognized as the most outstanding player in all of Division III football this past season. Five Falcons also earned the WIAC's most prestigious student-athlete achievement, the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award, under Walker's tutelage.    Prior to UWRF, Walker served as an offensive assistant in 2010 at Pioneer Football League rival Butler University, where he coached the Bulldogs' tight ends.   His prior stop was back at the Division III level at DePauw University in Indiana. While with the Tigers, Matt coached running backs and wide receivers from 2000-05 before being elevated to head coach from 2006-09. In his three seasons as head coach at DePauw, Walker led the Tigers to a 22-8 record.   Walker's DePauw tenure was not limited to the gridiron, though, as he also served as the Tigers' head baseball coach from 2001-09. On the diamond, he led his squads to five divisional championships and an NCAA regional berth in 2001. He was one of the youngest coaches in college baseball history to reach 250 wins.   Walker earned his bachelor's degree in Sports Science from DePauw in 1999, then proceeded to earn his master's in physical education from Indiana State in 2001 where he collected Phi Kappa Phi academic status.    Matt and his wife, Jana, have two daughters, Kraly and Hudson, and two sons, Townsend and Sullivan.   Drake will host an introductory press conference marking Walker's official welcome on Sunday, March 1 in the Paul Morrison Room. Walker's availability will start at 12:30 pm and then will be introduced to Bulldog fans at the Drake men's basketball game that afternoon.

Pole, a veteran coach with more than three decades of experience, is in his third season at Drake University. At Drake, he serves as the Bulldogs passing game coordinator and the teams recruiting coordinator. Prior to coming to Drake, Pole served as the offensive coordinator at Morningside College in 2012-13. There, he helped guide the Mustangs to a 13-1 record and an appearance in the NAIA national championship game. Prior to that, he served as the head coach at Dakota Wesleyan from 2005-2011 and was named the Great Plains Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2008. He brings so much experience to our staff, said Drake head coach Rick Fox of Poles background. I didnt dream that we had the potential to attract a coach with that experience when I started to look at filling this position. He has experience as a coordinator, head coach and  has coached multiple positions on both sides of the ball. Pole also gained head coaching experience at Luther College from 1996-2001 and has served as recruiting coordinator for three different programs. He earned his bachelors degree from Rocky Mountain college and a graduate degree from the University of Minnesota and began his coaching career at Bethel College. He has also served on staffs at the University of Sioux Falls, Augustana, Moorhead State and Concordia. Throughout his career, he has helped coach programs to four playoff appearances and seven conference titles. Brad Pole, a veteran coach with more than three decades of experience, is in his third season at Drake University. At Drake, he serves as the Bulldogs passing game coordinator and the teams recruiting coordinator.

Kristian Crabb was hired as the Bulldogs’ Offensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator in February 2026. Crabb moves to Des Moines after spending a year at UW-River Falls underneath new Drake head coach Matt Walker. He previously coached at the NAIA and NCAA Division II levels with stops at Briar Cliff University (2023-24), Chadron State University (2022), and Southeastern Oklahoma State University (2021). As a member of the UWRF coaching staff, Crabb helped the Falcons secure their first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship in 2025. UWRF also won the 2025 WIAC title. He also assisted in Southeast Oklahoma State earning the 2021 Live United Texarkana Bowl championship. Individually, Coach Crabb guided Peter Krohn to a Second Team All-RMAC nod at the tight end position. More recently, he coached River Falls standouts DJ Fox (First Team All-WIAC, First Team All-Region, Third Team All-American, Hunter McKinney (Second Team All-Conference, Second Team All-Region), and Kevin Spahn (Second Team All-Conference). Crabb began his collegiate career at Saddleback College in 2016. He then moved on to Dixie State University (2017-18) before winding up at Southwest Minnesota State University (2019-20) where he earned his B.A. in General Studies. Crabb later earned his M.S. in Athletic Administration as a Graduate Assistant at Southeastern Oklahoma State. Born in Huntington Beach, California, Crabb attended Huntington Beach High School. He and his wife, Jenna, have one daughter, Katin.

Jacob Brown joins the Drake coaching staff in 2025 to lead the cornerbacks position group after helping  the 2024 Valdosta State Blazers to winning their 11th GSC title en route to an appearance in the NCAA Division II National Championship. The Valdosta State passing defense allowed an average of 137.4 yards through the air, which was eighth in the country and second in the GSC. The defense as a whole allowed an average of 13.7 PPG which was ninth in the nation including three shutouts during the season. Prior to VSU, Jacob was the defensive backs coach at NAIA Kansas Wesleyan in 2023 prior to being a volunteer coach and film coordinator in 2022. Kansas Wesleyan went 8-3 in both 2022 and 2023 while holding opponents to 11.6 points per game in 2022 and 14.8 as well as winning a conference championship in 2023.    Brown played defensive back at Kansas Wesleyan from 2019-21,winning two conference championships in 2019 & 2021. Brown transferred to Kansas Wesleyan from Orange Coast College in Mesa, Calif. where he played defensive back in 2017 and 2018.

Ash arrived at Drake in May 2025 as part of the first coaching staff under Joe Woodley. Ash played Safety at Kean University from 2020-2024, receiving all-NJAC honors for the Spring of 2021. Following the end of his playing career, Ash began his transition into coaching and took a position coaching Outside Linebackers in the Spring of 2025.

Playing Experience: Vasquez played linebacker at Grand View University from 2020-23. During his time as a Viking, Vasquez worked hard to contribute to the team’s success, honing his defensive skills and learning the importance of teamwork and discipline. Vasquez experience as a player laid the foundation for my transition into coaching.   Coaching Experience: After graduating, Vasquez returned to Grand View as a graduate assistant for two seasons from 2023-24, where he worked with the linebackers and defensive backs. In 2023 and 2024, the Viking defense was ranked first in the NAIA, and in 2024, allowed just 8.4 points per game, 219 yards per game, and only 73 rushing yards per game. That year, GVU went 14-0 and won the national championship, marking Grand View’s second national title in program history an unforgettable achievement for the team and the program.  

Parker Kizer joined the Bulldog coaching staff in February 2026, assigned to coach Drake’s tight ends. Kizer came to Des Moines along with several other former UW-River Falls coaches, including head coach Matt Walker. While with the Falcons, Parker led the tight end group. Prior to UWRF, Kizer was an assistant on staff at his alma mater, Luther College. Coach Kizer helped guide UWRF to the 2025 WIAC title and the 2025 NCAA Division III National Championship, the school’s first in its history. He was named to the 2024 CoachTools 25 Under 25 list. Kizer was a 2-year starter and 4-year letter winner at Luther from 2018-22. While with the Norse, he spent time playing both quarterback and running back. He earned his B.A. in Accounting from Luther College.

Playing Experience: Adams played quarterback at Grand View University from 2018-22. During his Viking playing career, Adams was a member of three conference championship teams and the 2021 national runner-up squad.   Coaching Experience: Adams was an Offensive Graduate Assistant for the Vikings in 2022 and worked with the Vikings’ wide receivers and quarterbacks. More recently, he was on staff at the Colorado School of Mines where he coached the Orediggers’ tight ends. In 2023, Adams earned another national runner-up as a coach while at Colorado Mines while winning a conference title and logging a 14-win season.  

Joe Matheson joined the Drake football coaching staff as Offensive Coordinator in Feburary 2026. At his last stop, Matheson was instrumental UW-River Falls earning its first NCAA Division III National Championship in program history. He served as the Falcons’ Offensive Coordinator from 2020-26, leading the “Top Gun Offense” unit. While with the Falcons, Matheson’s group led all levels of college football in total offense, first downs, and total plays during the 2025 season and ranked second among all NCAA schools in total offense from 2021-25. Matheson built the fastest tempo system in NCAA football from 2021-25 with 19.7 seconds per play and over 87 plays per game over that span. The Falcons set over 30 school records including scoring, total offense, first downs, passing yards, completions, total passing touchdowns, completions in a game, first downs in a game, and points in a game. Joe coached four NCAA Division III All-Americans including Gagliardi Trophy recipient Kaleb Blaha, who won the DIII equivalent of the Heisman Trophy and broke LSU star Joe Burrow’s season total offense record. Blaha was the first Manning Award finalist, given to the best quarterback in the country, to come from the Division III ranks. Matheson also led recruiting efforts that resulted in not only the Falcons’ national title but the school’s first ever bowl victories and a 44-13 record from 2021-25. Prior to that stretch, UWRF had not been .500 or better in over 20 years. Matheson earned individual accolades as a coach including the 2025 WIAC Assistant Coach of the Year, was member of the 2025 D3Football.com National Coaching Staff of the Year, and was a finalist for the 2025 FootballScoop Coordinator of the Year. Previously, Coach Matheson also included on the 2022 Our Coaching Network 30 Under 30 Coaches List, was a member of the 2021 National Coaching Staff of the Year, and part of the 2021 NCAA/NFL Leadership Academy. Before being elevated to a coordinator, Matheson served as Wide Receivers Coach and Pass Game Coordinator for the Falcons. He was also the Tight Ends Coach at Southwest Minnesota State University from 2016-18 and was an Offensive Student Assistant at the University of Minnesota from 2012-16. He earned his B.A. in Marketing from the University of Minnesota and MBA from Southwest Minnesota State. Matheson originally hails from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Angela, now live in Des Moines.

Mark Sipple was named Drake football’s Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach in February 2026. Sipple previously coached at NCAA Division II schools Augustana University in South Dakota (2020-25) and St. Cloud State University (2014-19) as the Vikings’ and Huskies’ D.C. He was also defensive coordinator at UW-Eau Claire (2003-13) and Wisconsin Lutheran College (1998-2002) after starting his leadership career as a Graduate Assistant at the University of North Dakota (1996-97), coaching outside linebackers. Sipple helped guide teams to three NSIC Championships (2021, 2023, 2024), three NCAA Division II Playoff berths (2021, 2023, 2024), was named 2023 NSIC Assistant Coach of the Year, and earned the 2007 WIAC Assistant Coach of the Year honor. Individually, he coached Peyton Buckley, the 2024 NSIC Player of the Year. While at Augustana, the Viking defense led the nation in rushing yards per game (41.8) in 2021. His SCSU defense led the country in average yards per rush allowed (2.11) in 2019. Sipple earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary math education from UW-Eau Claire before receiving a master’s degree in educational administration at North Dakota. Mark and his wife, Sara, have a daughter, Lydia, and son, Isaak.