This month, Lewis & Clark’s football team bade farewell to Joe Bushman, who was the football head coach for the past three years, and welcomed new head coach Brett Elliott to the program. Elliott was most recently the offensive coordinator for Linfield University, from 2019 to just last month, before taking the job opening here at LC. He heard about the opening from her former Division 1 coach, Jay Locey. Elliott grew up in Lake Oswego, and was a starter for Division I University of Utah for two seasons. He then transferred to Linfield where he played as a quarterback and broke numerous school and NCAA records, including the Division III record he still holds for most touchdown passes in a season (61), as well as the NCAA Melberger Award.
After college, Elliott played professional football until the age of 29, including a brief roster appearance in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, before beginning his coaching career. He has since coached for Jmaes Madison, Texas State, and Linfield. He now holds his first head coaching position and is ready to take on the new duties and responsibilities LC has to offer.
“It’s just different stuff. As offensive coordinator, as a non-head-coach, you’re more focused on just football recruiting. Here, you’re reaching out to alumni. I had a Zoom with alumni before the Super Bowl, wanting to connect with past teams,” Elliott said. “You gotta learn the team. I sat down for the first three days and met with each guy individually — heard their stories, where they’re from, backgrounds. It’s a lot of information but it’s exciting.”
With Linfield being a DIII team as well, Elliott has seen LC’s football program on the field numerous times before joining the staff. As an opposing coach, he was impressed with the developments he has seen in the team’s strength, especially over the last few years.
“I was pretty familiar with the program, and the improvement the program has seen. That was an exciting part as well about coming back here. There’s a good foundation,” Elliott said. “The talent level — it’s pretty obvious in the last couple of years that it’s increased.”
Elliott stressed the importance of quality of character both on the field and off of it — and that he has been positively impressed with the ways LC student-athletes fit both bills. He discussed goals for the season, in which he hopes the team will use these qualities to branch out.
“Our team is going to be involved in campus life, and not just in our little bubble down in Pamplin. Conducting themselves well in classes and the cafeteria — I want our guys to be proud representatives, and I think they are, from what I’ve seen.”
During the spring, the football team spends their time training individually and as a team in the weight room. They are also allocated 16 practices over the course of the spring semester, and Elliott plans to get the most out of this time with the athletes.
“(The players) are getting after the weight room, getting bigger, faster, stronger right now. They should be crushing their classes,” Elliott said. “(Practice) is a great opportunity for me to get with the team and get our program going in terms of how we practice, instead of waiting until the fall.”
Elliott is looking forward to chasing a conference championship next season and is spending his free time attending other sports games and making connections with student-athletes and faculty across campus. If you see a new face around Pamplin, be sure to introduce yourself!
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