Former NDSU coach Willie Mack Garza going to Tennessee instead of New Mexico

By Jeff Kolpack

January 19, 2009 at 10:30 AM

FARGO - The moving truck carrying the belongings of Willie Mack Garza was on its way to Albuquerque, N.M., a few days ago when the driver got a strange call: wherever you are, head east.

The new destination is Knoxville, Tenn., where the former North Dakota State defensive coordinator is the new defensive backs coach at the University of Tennessee. There was also a stop at the University of New Mexico, but just for a short time.

"I've never done anything like this before, bouncing around," Garza said.

The first bounce was taken by Mike Locksley, recently named the head coach at New Mexico. The two crossed paths several years ago while recruiting the Dallas area when Locksley was at Maryland and Garza was at Texas Christian.

They connected again; this time in the Chicago area when Locksley was an assistant at Illinois and Garza at NDSU.

"When he got the job at New Mexico, I bumped into him recruiting and he asked if I was interested," Garza said.

For more, see tomorrow's Forum.

By Jeff Kolpack

Jeff would like to dispel the notion he was around when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he is on his third decade of reporting with Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he's covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU's Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: "Horns Up," "North Dakota Tough" and "Covid Kids." He is the radio host of "The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack" April through August.