O-line coach Tujague heading to Raleigh to join NC State’s staff

By Scott Ratcliffe

One of the final holdovers from Bronco Mendenhall’s Virginia staff is moving on, as UVA offensive line coach Garett Tujague is reportedly heading to Raleigh to take the same position at NC State.

Tujague also served as the Cavaliers’ recruiting coordinator last season. In all, he spent seven seasons in Charlottesville, revamping his unit into one of the best in the country during 2021’s record-breaking offensive season.

His entire offensive line moved on following the season, as Joe Bissinger (SMU), Bobby Haskins (Southern Cal), Olu Oluwatimi (Michigan) and Ryan Swoboda (Central Florida) all transferred after Mendenhall’s departure, while another starter, Ryan Nelson, declared for the NFL Draft. Oluwatimi was just named the winner of both the Outland and Rimington Trophies after allowing no sacks for the playoff-bound Wolverines.

Tujague did his best to assemble a viable group to help protect Brennan Armstrong in 2022, but the offense struggled under new coach Tony Elliott.

The Cavaliers posted three seasons of amassing 5,000-plus total yards (2018, ‘19 and ‘21), finishing the 2021 season with an average of 515.8 yards per contest.

Tujague served as Brigham Young’s O-line coach under Mendenhall from 2013-15 before following him across the country. Prior to joining BYU, Tujague was head coach at College of the Canyons, a junior college in Santa Clarita, Calif.

In Raleigh, he’ll be reuniting with former BYU and UVA offensive coordinator Robert Anae, who joined the Wolfpack’s coaching staff earlier in the week after spending the past season at Syracuse. Former Virginia quarterbacks coach Jason Beck, who served in the same role with the Orange this year, will replace Anae as the new OC.