UCLA football’s staff overhaul that spanned two months has seemingly come to an end.
Coach Rick Neuheisel hired Inoke Breckterfield on Friday to coach the defensive line. Breckenfield played defensive end at Oregon State from 1995-1998, and has been an assistant coach at his alma mater, Weber State and, most recently, Montana.
Breckenfield, 33, replaces Todd Howard, who was fired eight days ago and subsequently hired at Washington State.
“Inoke is an outstanding young talent who I feel will have a great impact on our defensive linemen,” Neuheisel said in a press release. “(Oregon State head coach) Mike Riley and (Montana head coach) Robin Pflugrad were both effusive in their praise of Inoke and he really impressed me, (defensive coordinator) Joe Tresey and the other defensive assistants during his interview. You can tell by listening to him that he is a real people person who will connect with our linemen and will be an outstanding recruiter as well.”
Breckenfield’s Oregon State biography lists him as “one of Oregon State’s all-time top defensive players.” As a senior he was named an All-American, and follwing his career with the Beavers played for five seasons in the Canadian Football League.
Neuheisel’s tumultuous offseason included replacing both of his coordinators – Mike Johnson took over for Norm Chow on offense, while Tresey was hired Tuesday to replace the fired Chuck Bullough on defense. Wide recievers coach Reggie Moore was also fired.