Southern Utah University Men's Football

Warren was introduced on January 11, 2016 as the new Head Coach of the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds football team. Director of Athletics Jason Butikofer was excited to announce the results of his national search for a new coach to replace Ed Lamb resulted in the selection of the T-Birds' defensive coordinator. Warren has been serving as the interim head coach during the search process. Warren, has spent the past eight seasons with Southern Utah University, the last two serving as the defensive coordinator for one of the top defensive units in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). During his tenure, Coach Warren developed four draft rated prospects in first-team All-American, James Cowser, Miles Killebrew, LeShaun Sims and Dion Turner. Warren has had 18 All-Conference performers in eight years, including nine out of eleven defensive players earning All Big-Sky honors during the 2015 Big Sky Championship season. In 2015, the Thunderbirds defense led the nation in turnover margin. My family and I are extremely excited for the opportunity to lead this special program. We are so grateful to Jason Butikofer, President Scott Wyatt and Eric Leavitt for choosing me to succeed my mentor and friend, Ed Lamb. I would like to thank everyone for their support throughout this process. I look forward to growing and expanding the relationships with the Cedar City, alumni and the campus community. In 2012 Coach Warren's young unit, which included a handful of true and redshirt freshmen, averaged 1.1 interceptions per game, the third-best average in the Big Sky Conference. Redshirt freshman LeShaun Sims averaged 0.33 picks per game, which ranked 37th in the country, and Tommy Collet, Jr., also had three interceptions last year. SUU finished with a dozen interceptions in 2012, the team's higest total since 2001. One of Warren's players, redshirt freshman safety Miles Killebrew also earned honorable mention all-BSC honors and he was on the Jerry Rice Award watch list as well. In 2011 SUU's secondary was particularly effective against the pass, as the Thunderbirds allowed just 178.18 yards per game through the air - the 19th best mark in the country -and SUU ranked 28th in pass efficiency defense with a 115.67 rating. Warren saw two members of his secondary, cornerback Dion Turner and safety Erron Vonner, earn first-team all-Great West Conference honors and Turner went on to sign a free agent deal with the Green Bay Packers. SUU's defense was among the nation's best overall in 2010, ranking 21st against the run and 22nd overall at the end of the regular season. It was one of the most improved defenses in the nation last year. Coach Warren headed up a secondary in 2010 which featured three first-team all-Great West Conference performers, cornerbacks Colin Pretlow and Dion turner and safety Erron Vonner. It was Pretlow's fourth straight first-team honor, Vonner's first, following an honorable mention appearance in 2009, and Turner's first. In 2009, under coach Warren's tuteledge, Pretlow and safety Akeem Anifowoshe were both named first-team all-GWCfor the second straight season, but Anifowoshe moved to linebacker in 2010, where he earned his third consecutive all-conference honor. After joining the Thunderbirds initially as a running backs coach, Warren made the shift to the defensive side during 2008 spring ball.  During that season, along with Pretlow and Aniofowoshe earning all-GWChonors, another SUUdefensive back, DeWayne Lewis, signed a free agent NFL contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars and he is currently playing with Team USA. Coach Warren came to SUU from UC Davis, where he was a three-year letterman at running back before injuries cut short his career during his senior season. Coach Warren earned a starting spot with the Aggies in 2005 as a redshirt freshman when he finished second on the team in rushing. A native of Fairfield, Calif., Warren prepped at Fairfield High School, where he was a four-sport letterman. Coach Warren earned his bachelor's degree in African-American studies from UC Davis and has gone on to earn his Master's of Business Administration degree. Coach Warren and his wife, Amanda, are the parents of three children; Demario, Jr. (11), Jazelle (6) and Daylee (2).  

Hunt is in his 10th year on the Thunderbird staff and his ninth as a full-time member after serving the 2004 season as a student-assistant. Coach Hunt has worked with the offensive and defensive lines, with the last five spent on the defensive side of the ball. Last season Coach Hunt's defensive line ranked among the nation's leaders in sacks, averaging 2.64 per game, the fifth-best mark in the Big Sky and the 27th-best in the country. The D-line was also a big reason the Thunderbirds led the Big Sky and were among the nation's elite in red zone defense. Two of Hunt's defensive linemen earned all-Big Sky and all-American honors, tackle Cody Larsen, who was a first-team all-BSC honoree and end James Cowser, who earned honorable mention all-BSC honors and freshman all-American recognition. In 2011 Coach Hunt directed a unit which finished 13th in the FCS in sacks with 2.82 per game. The pressure applied by the SUUline were definite factors in the Thunderbirds ranking 19th against the pass, allowing just 178.2 yards per game through the air. Hunt was also the position coach for Tyler Osborne, the Great West Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, as well as Larsen, a 2011 all-GWCperformer. In 2010 SUU's run defense was one of the best in the school's history, as the Thunderbirds held opponents to just 1,279 yards on the ground, the program's fifth-best effort in an 11-game season. The 2010 defense also ranked third in SUU's 11-gamehistory in total yards allowed, giving up just 3,407 yards. In addition to its success against the run, the 2010 unit ranked 21st nationally in total defense and 17th in scoring defense after allowing just 19.18 points per game. SUU also ranked 24th in the FCS with 2.45 sacks per game and 25th in tackles for loss with 7.09 per game. Osborne and Larsen earned all-GWChonors in 2010 as well. In 2008 Coach Hunt's unit ranked 18th in the country in tackles-for-losses and he saw two of his players, defensive tackles Austin Curtis and Aaron Fernandez, earn first-team all-GWCrecognition. Curtis was also an honorable mention all-American in '08 after ranking among the nation's leaders in both sacks and tackles-for-loss. In 2009 defensive tackle Chad Westwood earned all-conference honors. Coach Hunt spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons as offensive line coach before moving back to the defensive side, where he began his coaching career. As offensive line coach, Hunt helped mold a unit which improved the Thunderbird offense in almost every statistical category. SUU's rushing offense improved by nearly 71 yards per game, moving it up 51 spots in the national rankings from 2005 to 2006, and in 2007, despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the country, the SUUoffense continued to improve. In 2004, Hunt helped coach a Thunderbird defense that ranked sixth in 1-AA total defense, including a No. 7 ranking against the run. In 2005 as a full-time member of the coaching staff Coach Hunt coached three all-Great-West honorable mention defensive linemen. A 2003 graduate of SUU, Coach Hunt was a three-year starter at offensive tackle for the Thunderbirds before joining the staff. While playing for the Thunderbirds Coach Hunt started 33 straight games from his sophomore to senior seasons, never missing a game during his career. A native of Erda, Utah, he is a graduate of Tooele High School, where he was an all-state and all-region performer. Coach Hunt and his wife Sami are the parents of a daughter, Hadli.