Keaton Wilkerson will embark on his second season as the safeties coach after his unti put together a successful campaign in 2025 that saw UND rank second in total defense among MVFC teams. Senior Jy Martin's four interceptions were tied for the second most among MVFC players and Zach Lewis was tied for third with three of his own. Lewis, who earned a spot on the MVFC All-Newcomer team and was an honorable mention honoree, was second among Fighting Hawk defenders with 87 total tackles, including a team-high 57 solo stops.
Wilkerson spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Washington as a graduate assistant coach for the safeties. With the help of his coaching, the Huskies won the 2023 Pac-12 Championship and reached the College Football Playoffs as the No. 2 seed. In 2024, Washington ranked No. 5 in the FBS in passing yards allowed (166.8).
Prior to his time at Washington, Wilkerson spent five seasons (2018-23) with the coaching staff at Wyoming. From 2018-20, he was a student assistant for the wide receivers, cornerbacks and defensive ends before being elevated to the defensive quality control assistant for the defensive ends in 2021. He spent from 2021 until the summer of 2023 as a defensive graduate assistant for the safeties and nickels. During his time with the Cowboys, Wyoming held opponents under 24.0 points per game in all five seasons.
Wilkerson graduated from Wyoming in 2020.
