The most important spot to fill after hiring a new head coach is the offensive coordinator. With the new hire of coach Jason Killday alongside with him is new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jack Nelson from Truman state.

With the departure of coach Gary Bass, Quincy University has brought in a new coaching staff. The defensive coaching staff is here to stay, but the offense staff has no one from last year. With all the offensive staff leaving, there was little time to find a new offensive coordinator. 

“With a new OC in Coach Nelson, I’m excited about learning a new offensive system and making it work with the playmakers we have on the team. I’m excited to build a relationship with him and the other new coaches on the staff and win some games,” Nathan Smith said. 

Last year Nelson was the wide receiver coach at Truman State University. Originally a quarterback at Winona State, Nelson started all four seasons for the Warriors. He earned Offensive New Comer of the Year in 2013 and all-NSIC Honorable Mention in 2015 and 2016. He passed for 12,007 career-passing yards and threw 102 touchdowns, which were both conference records. 

After his collegiate career, Nelson was invited to rookie NFL minicamps of the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts and attended the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos spring minicamp in Las Vegas in 2017. Once he became a graduate-assistant at Winona State he coached tight ends first before moving to coaching receivers toward the end of his graduate assistant days. In his time at Winona State, the team tallied a record of 26-8 and an appearance in the Division II playoffs.

“I’m not necessarily worried about anything, but eager to see how we can adapt to what he needs in an offense. With coach Nelson bringing in a new offense, I think the best way I am going to adapt is figuring out his offensive philosophy and what his goal for each game is. coach Killday talked a little about how his offense was run at Truman State and I think it will be easy for most of us to adapt to,” Drake Davis said.

While at Truman State Nelson coached wide receivers as a full time assistant coach. He had multiple all-GLVC players, while winning a couple conference titles and a bowl game in 2022. 

Quincy’s offense has been explosive the last three seasons averaging 35 points per game, 415 yards per game, and multiple school records. The new offense may look a little bit different than Quincy’s hurry up, no huddle offense.

Nelson plans to continue with the offense that Killday originally installed at Truman State, the offense is a little slower than the normal offense Hawks fans are used to seeing on Saturdays. 

“I’m very excited about the future with not just the new OC but our new coaching staff. I think they are bringing in standards our team has not seen before and holding us to a higher level. This coaching staff knows how to win and I’m excited to do just that,” Luke Johnson said.

Although Quincy has gotten their new offensive coordinator and new head coach, players say the goal is still the same to win football games. The Hawks will start spring ball soon with the season right around the corner.