Joe Tripodi named offensive line coach at Wyoming
* University of Wyoming Athletics media relations release
The Wyoming Football coaching staff added new offensive line coach Joe Tripodi on Monday. The hiring was announced by head coach Craig Bohl. Tripodi coached the offensive line at Temple University for three seasons from 2019-21 and previously coached nine seasons at Northern Illinois.
Tripodi will be the Cowboys fourth offensive line coach in the last three seasons, replacing Derek Frazier who spent just one season in Laramie. Bart Miller, who is currently at Illinois, coached the offensive front from 2019-20.
AJ Blazek accepted the job when Miller left and spent just a month at UW before taking the same position at Vanderbilt.
Frazier recently accepted a job with the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.
Tripodi is a former starting offensive lineman himself at Northwestern University of the Big Ten. He started the final 24 consecutive games he played for the Wildcats and was part of two Northwestern teams to earn bowl bids -- the 2003 Motor City Bowl, the 2005 Sun Bowl. He was the co-recipient of the inaugural Randy Walker Wildcat Award in 2006, which is awarded to the player with the best work ethic, toughness and warrior attitude.
“We’re excited about adding Joe Tripodi to our offensive staff. He brings a great deal of experience coaching the offensive line,” said Bohl. “We had a chance to coach against Joe in the 2016 triple-overtime game between us and Northern Illinois. He enjoys a great national reputation, and he is obviously a bright guy, having graduated from Northwestern.
“Our offensive lineman are really going to enjoy his mentoring and coaching, and our offensive staff will gain a great deal of experience and perspective from Joe’s previous years in our business.”
Wyoming will have to replace former All-American center Keegan Cryder, Rudy Stofer and departing seniors Alonzo Velazquez and Logan Harris, from a line that helped lead the Cowboys to the 20th-ranked rushing offense in the nation in 2021 at 211.7 yards per game.
Left guard Eric Abojei and right tackle Frank Crum will return this fall.
“My family and I are super excited to join the Wyoming Cowboy family,” said Tripodi. “I have a great deal of respect for what coach Bohl has been able to accomplish throughout his career at multiple schools -- obviously at North Dakota State and at Wyoming. When I was at Northern Illinois, we had a chance to play here back in 2016, and I gained a lot of respect for what Wyoming had going on then and what they’ve accomplished over the past several years. When this opportunity came up, I was really excited for it.
“(UW offensive coordinator) Tim Polasek and I have had a relationship throughout our coaching careers, and I had an opportunity to work with Tim at Northern Illinois. I’m really looking forward to working with him and the rest of the coaching staff and getting to know the players as soon as possible. As I said earlier, my family and I are super excited to join this program.”
During Tripodi’s three seasons at Temple from 2019-21, he coached First Team All-America center Matt Hennessy in 2019.
Hennessy was also a finalist for the 2019 Rimington Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s top collegiate center each season. The Owls’ earned a berth in the 2019 Military Bowl. Tripodi coached five All-America Athletic Conference players at Temple, and had two of his offensive lineman go on to the NFL, including Hennessy, who was a third-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons.
Prior to Temple, Tripodi spent nine seasons at Northern Illinois.
In his last three seasons at Northern Illinois from 2016-18, Tripodi was the offensive run-game coordinator and offensive line coach for the Huskies. NIU ranked 17th in the nation in rushing offense and 31st in total offense in 2016, while allowing only 8.0 total sacks to opponents to rank No. 2 in the country in that category.
Tripodi was the offensive line coach at NIU from 2013-15. He coached the tight ends and fullbacks in 2012, and was an offensive graduate assistant coach in 2010-11.
Over his nine years on the Huskies’ coaching staff, NIU captured four MAC Championships in 2011, ‘12, ‘14 and ‘18, and won seven MAC West Division titles in 2010, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15 and ‘18.
He coached 19 All-MAC offensive linemen at NIU, had one William V. Campbell Finalists (symbolic of the nation’s top football scholar-athlete), and coached six All-America players. Tripodi also had five players earn opportunities with NFL teams, including Max Scharping, who was a second-round pick of the Houston Texans.
Tripodi was a member of eight bowl teams at Northern Illinois in nine seasons, highlighted by an appearance in the Orange Bowl at the conclusion of the 2012 season.
The Huskies won the 2010 uDrove Humanitarian Bowl, the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl, and played in the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl, 2014 Boca Raton Bowl, 2015 Poinsettia Bowl, the 2017 Quick Lane Bowl and the 2018 Northern Illinois Boca Raton Bowl.
He and his wife, Rachel, have one daughter, Emma, and one son, Roman. Tripodi completed his bachelor’s degree in communications from Northwestern and his master’s degree in adult and higher education from NIU.
Joe Tripodi Year-by-Year Coaching History
Year School Position
2022-Present Wyoming Offensive Line
2019-21 Temple Offensive Line
2016-18 Northern Illinois Offensive Run-Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
2013-15 Northern Illinois Offensive Line
2012 Northern Illinois Tight Ends/Fullbacks
2010-11 Northern Illinois Offensive Graduate Assistant Coach
UW vs. NIU September 11, 2021
More From K2 Radio
