Thomsen named head coach
1/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Thomsen named to take over football program
Former all-America tight end named to first head coaching post
Former Abilene Christian University all-America tight end and assistant coach Chris Thomsen has been tabbed by director of athletics Jared Mosley to become the 18th head football coach in school history.
Mosley made the announcement Friday, and Thomsen will remain in Abilene this weekend to greet a large number of high school recruits who are in town on visits.
“I'm very excited to be able to hire a guy of Chris Thomsen's calibre,” said Mosley, who hired Thomsen to replace Gary Gaines, who resigned after five seasons on Jan. 7 to become the executive director of athletics for the Ector County Independent School District in Odessa.? “He comes in here with a good understanding of what we're looking for in the football program at ACU.? He has the ability to develop relationships with players, and he's considered one of the top recruiters in NCAA Division II football.”
Thomsen, 35, has been an assistant at the University of Central Arkansas the last two seasons where he served as the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for the Bears.? UCA finished 8-3 last season in the tough Gulf South Conference, which produced NCAA Division II national champion Valdosta State (Ga.).
Thomsen was a second team all-America selection at tight end for ACU in 1993 and was named to the school's all-Decade team for the 1990s.? He earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Texas Christian in December 1993 and received his master's in secondary education from ACU in 2000.? He was on the Wildcat football staff in some capacity from 1994-2000.
“I'm extremely excited about this opportunity,” Thomsen said.? “If I were going anywhere else besides ACU, I would probably feel a little uncomfortable about everything.? But I'm coming to a place where I'm comfortable and where we've had some success.? We've won at ACU in the past, and there's no reason to believe we can't win at ACU.? I'm anxious to get with our coaches and see where we are in recruiting and see what we need to do there before national signing day (Feb. 2).? ACU played Central Arkansas in 2003, and I was very impressed with the talent level that ACU had on the field that night, so it's not like we're in a rebuilding mode.? Coach Gaines and his staff have done a great job, and I just want to build on that.”
Thomsen played for former ACU head coach Dr. Bob Strader in 1993 and coached under both Strader and Jack Kiser.? During his seven seasons at ACU, the Wildcats were 35-37 with three winning seasons.
“I learned a lot from Coach Strader and Coach Kiser, and I'm coming from a program where I learned a lot from (UCA head coach) Clint Conque,” Thomsen said.? “I think I bring a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about ACU and what it represents.? I also bring a knowledge of Division II football and Division II football at ACU.? It's different at ACU because of some of the factors that go with being a private school.
“But I have a passion for ACU, and I'm anxious to sell that passion to our players, our recruits, parents, alumni, and our students, faculty and staff,” he said.? “I've talked to a lot of people about this over the last few weeks, and I'm excited about bringing them into the fold and getting them involved in this program.”
Conque, who hired Thomsen in 2003, was effusive in his praise for his former offensive line coach. “The first thing about Chris is that he's a tremendous human being,” said Conque, whose Bears beat ACU in three straight season-opening games from 2001-03.? “He's a man with great Christian integrity, and he's a man who has the priorities of his life in the right order.? He also has a great passion for the game of football, and for his players,” he said.? “His passion and caring for the well-being of his players will be a tremendous asset to ACU.? He truly cares, and he's a tireless worker in recruiting.? On the field he's a tremendous competitor.? We're all awfully excited for Chris and (wife) LeAnn, and I expect Abilene Christian will be in good hands over the next several years.”
Thomsen, who played high school football in Vernon, was a second team all-America as a senior at ACU in 1993 after leading Lone Star Conference tight ends in receiving with 34 catches for 426 yards and eight touchdowns.? He helped the Wildcats finish 7-3 in 1993 on his way to earning first team all-LSC honors.? Prior to transferring to ACU, Thomsen played football three seasons (1988 -90) and baseball one season (all-America and all-Southwest Conference with 21 home runs and a .373 batting average) at TCU before playing minor league baseball for two seasons for the Oakland Athletics.
After his playing career was finished at ACU, Thomsen joined the coaching staff, first as a graduate assistant and then working his way up to offensive line coach, recruiting coordinator, offensive coordinator, and, finally, assistant head coach.?? In 1996, he was the offensive line coach for a team that finished 6-4 and beat Angelo State for the first time in 10 seasons.? In 1997, the Wildcats finished 7-4 and had two first team all-America players in defensive lineman Junior Filikitonga and defensive back Victor Burke.? And in 1998, the Wildcats finished 18th in the nation in passing under the direction of Thomsen, who was the offensive coordinator.
He left ACU after the 1999 season to go into private business, but got back into coaching in 2001 in Wichita Falls where he served as the offensive coordinator at Wichita Falls High School for two seasons.? The Coyotes won back-to-back district titles and led the district in scoring both seasons (34 points per game in 2001 and 42 ppg in 2002).? The Coyotes, in fact, set the school's single- season record for most points in a season in 2002 and the quarterback set the school's single-season record for touchdown passes.
Thomsen moved on to Central Arkansas in 2003 where he served as the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.? In 2003 he coached an offensive line that opened the holes for the leading rusher in the Gulf? South Conference.? Last season the Bears were an offensive juggernaut, ranking in the top in NCAA Division II football in points per game (38.1) and yards per game (477.7).? Thomsen's offensive line allowed both Bernard Scott (1,051 yards and 11 touchdowns) and Kentrel Rogers (1,012 yards and 14 touchdowns) to rush for more than 1,000 yards in the same season, the first time that's happened in UCA football history.
Quarterback Zak Clark threw for 2,762 yards as UCA ranked No. 3 in the GSC and No. 19 in Division II football in passing offense.? The Bears beat five nationally ranked teams in 2004, and set school single-game and season attendance records at Estes Stadium.
Thomsen will bring that same aggressive style of offense to ACU, which last year struggled offensively.? The Wildcats were 10th in the LSC in scoring offense (22.2 ppg) and 12th in passing offense (151.6 ypg).
“I'm going to bring the same style of offense with me that we played at Central Arkansas,” Thomsen said.? “A lot of kids will have a chance to contribute to what we want to do.? I'm probably a little bit more of a 'balance' guy, and the numbers we had at UCA this year (2,294 yards rushing and 2,961 yards passing) reflect what I'd like for us to be.? But the style of offense is up-tempo and very aggressive.”
The Wildcats are 17-13 in the last three seasons, including last year's 5-5 finish.? ACU won the LSC South Division title in 2002 and finished in the division race in 2003.? ACU will return all- America defensive back/return specialist Danieal Manning (whose presence Thomsen said made the ACU job even more attractive), as well all-America defensive end Clayton Farrell.? ACU also returns all-LSC South Division selections in running back Rashon Myles, wide receiver Jerale Badon, defensive tackle Joe Edwards and offensive lineman Charles Mock.
