[BAYLOR FOOTBALL] Chris Kapilovic Tabbed Baylor Offensive Line Coach

Tue Dec 12 18:13:42 CST 2023

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Dec. 12, 2023

Chris Kapilovic Tabbed Baylor Offensive Line Coach
Former OC at North Carolina, Kapilovic Joins Bears after Four Seasons at Michigan State

For more information contact: Brent Ingram; 210-845-8651, brent_ingram at baylor.edu<mailto:brent_ingram at baylor.edu> or Max Calderone; 254-265-1639, max_calderone at baylor.edu<mailto:max_calderone at baylor.edu> or Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu<mailto:colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas -- Regarded as one of the top offensive line coaches in the nation, Chris Kapilovic has been named Baylor’s offensive line coach, it was announced by Coach Dave Aranda on Tuesday.

Kapilovic (pronounced kuh-pill-oh-vick) joins the Bears after spending the last four seasons at Michigan State as the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator, adding an assistant head coach title for the last three years. He played a major role in leading MSU to an elite season in 2021, when the Spartans went 11-2, including a 7-2 mark in the B1G, finishing No. 8 in the final USA Today Coaches Poll of the year. His offensive line unit paved the way for Doak Walker Award winner and Walter Camp Player of the Year, Kenneth Walker III, during the record-setting 2021 season that saw him rush for 1,636 yards and 18 TDs.

“Chris is one of the best offensive line coaches in the nation and will be a tremendous asset to our program,” Aranda said. “He is regarded as one of the best in our industry at developing and recruiting offensive linemen, and the opportunity to bring him to Waco is exciting. We had one of the youngest offensive lines in the nation last year, and I know Chris is excited to get in the room with those young men and help them achieve their goals. He will also be a great resource on the recruiting trail, and he has a wonderful ability to identify prospects who can excel at the power-five level. His experience as an offensive coordinator will be a great asset to Jake (Spavital) and myself as we move into the spring and the 2024 fall.”

Kapilovic has over 30 years of coaching experience that began as a high school offensive line coach in Arizona in 1992, an assistant coach role he held for six seasons at Deer Valley High School. He most recently served as the assistant coach, working with the offensive line and as the run-game coordinator, for the Spartans from 2020-23. He joined Michigan State’s staff in 2019 after serving as the assistant coach working with the offensive line and as the run-game coordinator at Colorado.

Before joining the Buffs, Kapilovic was at North Carolina from 2012-18 in a variety of roles, including serving as the Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach in 2015 and as Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach from 2016-18. He was the assistant coach for the offensive line from 2008-09 before adding run-game coordinator duties at Southern Miss for the 2010-11 seasons. Kapilovic also worked at Missouri State (2006-07), Alabama State (2001-05) – where he was the offensive coordinator from 2003-05 – and as the graduate assistant coach at Kansas (2001-02). He opened his collegiate coaching career at Phoenix College from 1999-00.

His run as the offensive coordinator at North Carolina was ripe with success, including a 2015 team that finished 11-3 and 8-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with a No. 15 final national ranking. His offense twice set UNC school records in points per game and total offense, while shattering the school mark for passing yards in a season in five consecutive years. His 2018 offense allowed only 10 sacks on the year, the fourth-fewest in the nation.

“The opportunity to work with Dave is one that I couldn’t pass up,” Kapilovic said. “He has such a great reputation in the industry, and I always knew he would be the type of coach I would want to work for if the situation ever presented itself. I’m excited to get to Waco and get to work with a talented offensive line group and help Dave, Jake and the entire staff as we gear up for a great 2024 season.”

While at Michigan State, Kapilovic recruited several highly regarded offensive linemen to East Lansing. In his first recruiting class at MSU, Kapilovic helped sign four-star prospect Geno VanDeMark. In MSU’s 2023 group, Kapilovic signed three four-star prospects, including top-100 player and Under Armour All-American Stanton Ramil, Cole Dellinger and junior college All-American Keyshawn Blackstock.

Two Spartans, left guard J.D. Duplain and center Nick Samac, earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades in 2022 as the Spartans ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 34th in the FBS in allowing just 1.5 sacks per game.

Kapilovic’s offensive line played a key role to Michigan State’s school-record turnaround season in 2021 in which the Spartans finished 11-2 overall, won the Peach Bowl over No. 12 Pittsburgh, and finished ranked No. 8 (coaches) and No. 9 (AP) in the national polls. The offensive line unit paved the way for Doak Walker Award winner, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Big Ten Running Back of the Year and unanimous All-American Kenneth Walker III, who led the Big Ten and ranked No. 2 in the FBS with 1,636 rushing yards (136.3 ypg) to go along with his 18 rushing touchdowns. In addition to blocking for Walker, the Spartans allowed just 1.62 sacks per game, fourth-fewest in the Big Ten and 27th in the nation. The Spartan offensive line was named one of 13 semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top offensive line.

Following the 2021 season, offensive tackle AJ Arcuri was selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams, guard/tackle Kevin Jarvis signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions, and center Matt Allen was invited to the New York Giants rookie minicamp.

In 2020 with the Spartans, Kapilovic’s offensive line helped spur an offense that ranked 10th nationally in red-zone offense.

During Kapilovic’s one season at Colorado in 2019, the Buffaloes allowed the third-fewest sacks in the Pac-12 (1.75 pg), and graduate transfer Arlington Hambright earned honorable mention all-conference honors in his lone season in Boulder under the tutelage of Kapilovic and was selected in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.

Prior to Colorado, Kapilovic coached the offensive line for seven seasons at North Carolina (2012-18). Kapilovic served as the run-game coordinator for the Tar Heels his first two seasons (2012-13), was promoted to co-offensive coordinator for the next two years (2014-15), and was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator his final three seasons (2016-18).

In his seven seasons at UNC, Kapilovic was part of an offensive unit that established numerous school records, including points per game (40.6 points per game in 2012, 40.7 in 2015) and total offense (485.6 yards per game in 2012, 486.9 ypg in 2015). The Tar Heels ranked No. 8 in the nation in scoring offense in 2012 and No. 9 in 2015. UNC also set school records for most passing yards for five straight years (2012-16), peaking at 293.2 yards per game in 2016. The 2018 offense allowed just 10 sacks all season, the fourth-fewest in the nation, and the 0.91 sacks allowed per game ranked seventh-best.

In 2016, Kapilovic's offense, led by quarterback Mitch Trubisky, set the school passing yards mark for the fifth season in a row, as UNC won eight games and earned a berth in the Sun Bowl against Stanford. Trubisky was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and started 50 games for the Bears from 2017-20; he was one of 10 Tar Heels to either be drafted or signed by an NFL team under Kapilovic.

During the 2015 season, North Carolina posted an 11-3 record and won the ACC Coastal Division with a perfect 8-0 league record to finish at No. 15 in the national polls. The Tar Heels led the nation in yards per play (7.28) and were ninth in scoring offense, averaging 40.7 points per game. Kapilovic's offensive line was named a semifinalist for the 2015 Joe Moore Award. Elijah Hood rushed for 1,453 yards, North Carolina averaged a school record 6.0 yards per carry, and ranked first in the ACC in the least number of sacks allowed with just 16 in 14 games.

In 2012, his first season at UNC, three Tar Heel offensive linemen were drafted, led by guard Jonathan Cooper (No. 7 overall by Arizona), along with tackle Brennan Williams (third round by Houston) and guard Travis Bond (seventh round by Minnesota).

Kapilovic was at USM for four seasons (2008-11), all four as the offensive line coach with additional duties as the run-game coordinator his last two years there before moving on to North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

At Southern Miss, his offensive lines paved the way for school records for total offense three times, with a high of 6,459 in his final season. The Golden Eagles gained over 5,000 in all four seasons, including over 2,000 rushing yards each year. After run-game coordinator was added to his offensive line duties in 2010, the next year, USM won the Conference USA Championship by defeating Houston, 49-28, in the league title game. A 24-17 win over Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl gave USM a 12-2 final record and a No. 20 national ranking for the 2011 season.

After working as a student-assistant coach at his alma mater, Missouri State, in 1991, Kapilovic started his professional coaching career at Deer Valley High School in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb northwest of Phoenix. He spent six seasons there as the school's offensive line coach, and then moved over to Phoenix College, where he worked with the offensive line and also served as the school's strength coach.

Kapilovic worked as a graduate assistant at Kansas under coach Terry Allen for the 1999 and 2000 seasons. His first full-time job in the collegiate ranks soon followed, as he was the offensive line coach for Alabama State the next two years (2001-02), with offensive coordinator duties added to his role for the Hornets for his final three seasons there (2003-05). He returned to Missouri State for a second stint, this time as its run-game coordinator and the offensive line coach for the 2006-07 seasons.

Kapilovic lettered two years (1989-90) as an offensive tackle at Missouri State University, earning first-team All-Gateway Conference honors as a senior. The Bears were 19-6 his two seasons on the squad, winning the Gateway Conference title both seasons and qualifying for the Division I-AA playoffs. Missouri State finished ninth in the final I-AA poll in 1989 and sixth in the 1990 final balloting. He graduated from Missouri State with a degree in education in 1990. He played two seasons at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College prior to transferring to Missouri State.

Kapilovic graduated from Gerard Catholic High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where he lettered in football, basketball and baseball. He is married to the former Fiona Yount, and the couple has two sons, Carsen and Colin.

Kapilovic File

1991: Student Assistant Coach – Missouri State

1992-97: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line – Deer Valley (Ariz.) High School

1998: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line – Phoenix College

1999-00: Graduate Assistant – Kansas

2001-02: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line – Alabama State

2003-05: Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Alabama State

2006-07: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line/Run-Game Coordinator – Missouri State

2008-09: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line – Southern Miss

2010-11: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line/Run-Game Coordinator – Southern Miss

2012-13: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line/Run-Game Coordinator – North Carolina

2014-15: Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – North Carolina

2016-18: Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – North Carolina

2019: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line/Run-Game Coordinator – Colorado

2020: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line – Michigan State

2021-23: Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line/Run-Game Coordinator – Michigan State

2024: Assistant Coach/Offensive Line – Baylor

- BaylorBears.com -

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Brent Ingram | Assistant AD for Communications
Men’s Tennis Sport Program Administrator
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 210-845-8651

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