Dec. 6, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State's new football coach Gary Andersen has announced his first two members of his coaching staff in adding Bill Busch to be his defensive coordinator and safeties coach while retaining John Rushing as the cornerbacks coach.

Busch's most recent coaching job was at Nebraska from 2005-07, where he was assistant coach for safeties and special teams coordinator. Busch coached with Andersen at both Northern Arizona and Utah. He and Andersen were at NAU together from 1995 to 1996, with Busch serving as secondary coach in 1995 and co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach in 1996, while Andersen was assistant head coach and defensive line as well as special teams coach.

"The excitement for me is two-fold. For one, it's a great opportunity to coach at such as great university like Utah State due to the fact of the tremendous commitment that the administration is making to football. Secondly, getting the chance to work with Gary Andersen is very exciting. He's obviously a great friend but also for the opportunity to work with him again are major reasons why I can't wait to get back into coaching," Busch said.

After Busch's four-year stint as secondary coach at New Mexico State from 1997-2000, Busch and Andersen joined up again at Utah in 2001 when Busch was safeties coach until taking over the entire secondary in 2003. He then went to Nebraska in 2004 where he coached outside linebackers and was the special teams coordinator, before moving to safeties in 2005 while remaining special teams coordinator until 2007.

"Coach Andersen and I have worked together at two different programs at Northern Arizona and Utah, so we have a great feel for each other. I know exactly what he wants from me and vice versa, and what we can do for each other with what exactly our schematic plan is," Busch said. "I'm thrilled for the chance to work in a program with the great potential that Utah State has and in a great conference like the WAC, as well as to work with Coach Andersen again."

In his year away from full-time coaching, Busch worked with some NFL and college teams in addition to spending time with his family in Nebraska, but he is excited about the chance to return to college football and the state of Utah.

"In this profession, everything is short-lived and you're back and going again, so it was nice to do some things outside of football, but I'm very excited to get back into coaching and return to Utah. I love the state of Utah and am looking forward to being a part of the Logan community as we continue to develop the Utah State football program," Busch said.

While at Nebraska, Busch's safeties were consistently among the team's top athletes. In 2006, Husker safeties recorded six of Nebraska's 12 interceptions in 2006. The 2005 Nebraska defense toted a No. 10 national pass efficiency defense ranking and the No. 2 ranking in the Big 12 Conference. The Huskers held six opponents to less than 200 yards passing and nine to one or fewer passing touchdowns in 2005. Busch had two players selected in the NFL Draft with Josh Bullock was selected by the New Orleans Saints in 2005 and his twin brother Daniel was chosen in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions in the second round. Ironically, each Bullocks brother was taken with the 40th pick.

Busch's coaching talents also paid dividends for the Huskers on special teams. During his time there, the Huskers blocked 16 kicks, including seven in 2005. NU's special teams recorded two important plays in the final minutes of a contest - a 40-yard field goal to beat Kansas State and a block of a Pitt field-goal attempt - that proved to be game winners.

Nebraska ranked in the top 25 nationally in net punting (24th in 2006) and punt returns (17th in 2005) under Busch as well. NU's kickoff coverage unit ranked 15th nationally in 2006 after finishing 22nd the previous year.

Busch is a Pender, Neb., native and earned his bachelor's degree in education from Nebraska Wesleyan in 1988 and added a master's degree from Nebraska-Kearney in 1990.

Busch began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Nebraska-Kearney in 1989, after playing wide receiver at Nebraska Wesleyan from 1985 to 1987.

Busch was a graduate assistant at Nebraska from 1990 to 1993, assisting with the defensive backs. Among the defensive backs Busch worked with at Nebraska were all-league performers Tyrone Byrd, Barron Miles, Tyrone Williams and Mike Minter.

Cornerbacks coach John Rushing has been retained by new head coach Gary Andersen. Rushing has been with USU for six seasons.

Rushing just finished his sixth year at Utah State, where he has coached the cornerbacks as well as the punt return squad.

"Coach Rushing has done a great job recruiting at Utah State, he understands the in's and out's of the University," Andersen said. "His experience and knowledge of the Utah State environment and the Logan environment is invaluable to the program. He's a talented coach and recruiter, and I'm excited for the opportunity to coach with him as we continue to build a successful program at Utah State."

"I'm excited and grateful that Coach Andersen has given me the opportunity to continue coaching here at Utah State," Rushing said. "It's a privilege that he recognizes my hard work and dedication to the players and to Aggie football."

Andersen will be the third Utah State coach Rushing has coached under, as Rushing underwent his second coaching change, after he was retained by Brent Guy in 2004 when Guy replaced Mick Dennehy.

"I'm excited to have been a part of the foundation of this program and I'm anxious to be a part of this finished product as we continue to build this program," Rushing said.

Rushing has spent the past six seasons working with the Aggie secondary. In 2003 he worked closely with Mark Estelle, who was USU's defensive MVP and played in the Rotary Gridiron Classic. In 2004, the Aggie secondary was involved in the team allowing just 202.55 passing yards per game, which ranked 42nd in the nation. That season, Rushing coached Freshman All-American Terrance Washington. In 2005, he coached Jarrett Bush, who was a first-team all-WAC cornerback and is currently with the Green Bay Packers. Bush ranked sixth in the NCAA in passes defended in 2005 with 1.36 per game. This past season he coached cornerbacks Roy Hurst, Kejon Murphy, who had two interceptions apiece and ranked ninth and 10th respectively for USU and third and fourth respectively among defensive backs with 35 and 30 tackles.

Rushing grew up in Merced, Calif., and attended Merced High School. He graduated from Washington State with a degree in sociology in 1995 and finished a master's degree through Boise State in 2005. Rushing was a four-year starter as a defensive back at Washington State and set a school record by starting 46 games. He earned honorable mention all-Pac 10 honors as a freshman and again as a sophomore. In 1991, he was named to The Sporting News Freshman All-America team.

Rushing's younger brother Kevin Robinson was an All-American wide receiver and returner at USU from 2003-07, before getting drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth-round of the NFL Draft.

Last summer, Rushing was selected to be a participant in the National Football League's Minority Internship Program with the Green Bay Packers. Established in 1987, the Minority Coaching Fellowship Programs provides NFL training-camp positions to minority coaches every year.

Utah State finished the 2008 season with a 3-9 overall and 3-5 WAC record, marking the first time since 2005 that the Aggies have three wins in a season. USU won three WAC games in a season for the first time in the Aggies' four seasons in the league. It is also the first time since 2003 that USU won three conference games and just the third time in the 2000's.

The Aggies return 47 letterwinners (24 offense, 20 defense and three special teams) after losing 12 lettermen (five offense, seven defense) among the 17 seniors from this season's roster.

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