Spavital announced as offensive coordinator
Cal has hired former Texas A& M offensive coordinator Jake Spavital as its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the Bears announced Thursday.
Spavital, 30, replaces Tony Franklin, who left Berkeley last month to take the same position at Middle Tennessee State.
Spavital, fired Jan. 3 by the Aggies, meets Cal head coach Sonny Dykes’ top two requirements for the opening: offensive coordinator experience and extensive knowledge of the “Air Raid” offense. Spavital ran that spread system in College Station, where he was co- offensive coordinator for the 2013 season before receiving sole ownership of the position in 2014.
Spavital will call plays at Cal.
“It’s a big hire for us and our program,” Dykes said. “I did a lot of homework, as I normally do, and everything checked out like I thought it would. It was actually much better than I had anticipated.”
Dykes estimated that he called Spavital about 15 minutes after he learned Franklin was resigning. Though they have not worked together before, Dykes and Spavital come from a similar coaching tree. Spavital worked under Dana Holgorsen, a longtime Dykes colleague, at Houston and Oklahoma State as a graduate assistant as well as at West Virginia as quarterbacks coach before joining the Aggies.
Spavital coached quarterbacks Johnny Manziel, Geno Smith and Brandon Weeden before they entered the NFL.
In Spavital’s last season at Texas A& M, the Aggies averaged 37.1 points per game but fell short of expectations and totaled just 20 points in losses to Mississippi, Auburn and LSU. Spavital was dismissed not long after Texas A& M’s top two quarterbacks, Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray, left the program. Reports surfaced last month that Spavital, a former Missouri State quarterback, was considering NFL offers.
“I’ve been fortunate to be around good people, in great places with great players,” Spavital said. “That has to contribute a lot to a lot of the success of I’ve had.”
He is regarded as a skilled recruiter. While with the Aggies, Spavital was credited with helping sign five- star prospects Allen and Murray. He also played a big role in Texas A& M landing a commitment from five- star quarterback Tate Martell of Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School.
“Talking to everybody, I knew that Jake had a zest for recruiting,” Dykes said. “For us to get where we want to go, we have to continue to recruit better.”
In 2015, Spavital earned a base salary of $ 483,500. Franklin was the Bears’ second- highest- paid assistant last season at $ 507,000. He was expected to receive a raise under Dykes’ new contract, which allocated $ 500,000 more for the assistant coaches’ salary pool.
In Berkeley, Spavital will inherit an offense in transition. A passing attack that ranked third nationally in 2015 will be without record- setting quarterback Jared Goff and his six most productive receivers, as well as running back Daniel Lasco and offensive lineman Jordan Rigsbee.
“I’m excited to be here,” Spavital said. “I think it’s going to be a fun time putting our heads together and trying to put some points on the board.”