Jason Kaufusi
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| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Run Game Coordinator/ defensive line coach |
| Team | Washington |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | February 27, 1979 Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Alma mater | Utah |
| Playing career | |
| 2000–2003 | Utah |
| Position(s) | Defensive end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2004–2008 | Cottonwood HS (DL/strength) |
| 2009 | Utah (CB) |
| 2010–2011 | Weber State (DE) |
| 2012–2013 | BYU (GA) |
| 2014–2015 | Weber State (DE) |
| 2016 | Weber State (DC/DE) |
| 2017–2018 | Nevada (DL) |
| 2019–2021 | UCLA (OLB) |
| 2022–2023 | Arizona (OLB/DB/STC) |
| 2024-present | Washington (RGC/DL) |
Jason Linden Kaufusi (born February 27, 1979)[1] is an American college football coach and former player who is the Run game coordinator and defensive line coach for the Washington Huskies. He played as a defensive end for the Utah Utes.
Early life
Kaufusi was born on February 27, 1979, to Petelo and Eveline Kaufusi, both
Playing career
In 1997, Kaufusi signed to play college football at the University of Utah before embarking on a two-year mission to Panama for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kaufusi's freshman season with the Utes was the 2000 season, in which he started nine games. In the 2000 season, Kaufusi recorded 63 tackles and eight sacks and was voted Co-Mountain West Freshman of the Year. In the 2001 and 2002 seasons, Kaufusi earned first-team All-Mountain West honors. Kaufusi entered the 2003 season as an All-America candidate before suffering an injury that sidelined him for the season.
Coaching career
Kaufusi began his coaching career in 2004, when he embarked on a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Cottonwood High School in Murray, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Kaufusi coached Cottonwood's defensive line, and he was also in charge of academics and helped with strength and conditioning.
In 2009, Kaufusi became an administrative assistant at the University of Utah, his alma mater. He helped with the cornerbacks, which contributed to a passing defense that ranked 14th in the nation that season. Kaufusi went on to serve at Weber State as the defensive ends coach, where he spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons. In 2012 and 2013, Kaufusi served as a defensive graduate assistant at BYU, where he was also the team's academic advisor.
Kaufusi returned to Weber State in 2014, and he went on to coach the defensive ends there for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. After Weber State led the
In 2017, Kaufusi went to Nevada, where he served as the defensive line coach for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Kaufusi coached Malik Reed and Korey Rush, who earned first-team All-Mountain West honors in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, respectively.
In 2019, Kaufusi was hired as the outside linebackers coach at UCLA. One of the linebackers of Kaufusi's unit, Josh Woods, posted career highs in tackles, tackles for loss, and quarterback sacks. UCLA increased its total number of quarterback sacks from 11 in the 2018 season to 26 in 2019.[3]
In December of 2021, Kaufusi was hired by head coach Jedd Fisch to coach outside linebackers at Arizona.
In January of 2024, Kaufusi was hired by the Washington Huskies run game coordinator and defensive line coordinator.