Austen Jacobs joined the University of San Diego football staff in 2022 and currently serves as the Offensive Line Coach. A proven developer of high-level rushing attacks, Jacobs made an immediate impact on the Torero offense. In just his second season, his offensive line helped propel Isaiah Williams to become the first USD running back in nearly a decade to earn First Team All-PFL honors. Under Jacobs, the Toreros have earned the #1 PFF run-blocking grade in the Pioneer Football League for two consecutive seasons, finishing top-10 nationally in both years. In a signature win over #24 Southern Utah, Jacobs’ unit delivered one of the most dominant performances in program history, powering USD to 306 rushing yards—the most ever against a ranked opponent.
Jacobs has worked under some of the most respected minds in college football, including Mike Bobo, Rocky Long, Jim McElwain, Zach Arnett, Kevin Barbay, Will Friend, and Mike Schmidt. Before arriving at USD, he contributed to one of the most successful stretches in San Diego State football history, a period that featured multiple 2,000-yard rushers such as NCAA standouts Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny. Earlier in his career, Jacobs coached Harlon Hill Trophy finalist Ja’Quan Gardner at Humboldt State, where Gardner amassed 5,426 rushing yards, 93 total touchdowns, and a school-record 2,266 yards in a single season.
Coming from one of San Diego’s most prominent football lineages, Jacobs was mentored and coached by his grandfather, David Lay, during his high school career at Valley Center. A San Diego Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Lay was an early innovator of the zone running scheme that now shapes modern offenses at every level of the sport. His protégés include prominent NFL offensive line coaches such as John Benton, Chris Foerster, Pat Meyer, James Cregg, and Dave Magazu. Benton and Foerster, in particular, have gone on to become two of the NFL’s most influential voices in zone-blocking development and run-game strategy.
Jacobs graduated from Texas A&M in 2014 with a degree in Biomedical Science. He resides in La Jolla with his fiancée, Olivia, a PhD researcher at UC San Diego specializing in organizational behavior and performance. Together, they study and apply research-based insights on positive organizations, leadership development, and player retention to enhance team culture within collegiate athletics.
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