The 2019 season will be for the third for Malcolm Agnew as the running backs coach at the University of North Dakota.
Last season, UND boasted a three-headed monster at running back with seniors John Santiago and Brady Oliveira as well as junior James Johnannesson accounting for over 2,700 yards on the ground and 20 touchdowns. With Santiago suiting up in only eight games due to injury, Oliveira shined for the Hawks with 1,044 all-purpose yards, accumulating an average of 94.9 total yards per game, a team-high 940 yards, 161 carries, and eight touchdowns. He registered four 100-yard rushing games, including a pair of 150+ performances. Johannesson also boasted a trio of 100-yard contests, including a 213-yard day at Sacramento State.
Agnew inherited a position unit that had a pair of All-Big Sky performers in 2016 and helped UND’s ground attack register back-to-back seasons with 2,500-plus rushing yards.
Under his watch in 2017, John Santiago and Brady Oliveira were repeat All-Big Sky performers. Santiago became just the fifth player in Big Sky history to secure first team accolades at the same position as a freshman, sophomore and junior after rushing for 717 yards and five touchdowns, while leading the FCS in the regular season with 1,780 all-purpose yards. Oliveira added 637 rushing yards en route to honorable mention accolades.
Agnew spent just over the past year working on Mike Riley’s staff at Nebraska as a personal assistant where he focused on the Cornhuskers’ recruiting efforts.
Agnew spent his first two seasons as a collegian playing for Riley at Oregon State in 2011 and 2012. After rushing for more than 600 yards in two seasons with the Beavers, Agnew transferred to Southern Illinois where he played his final two collegiate seasons. He amassed 1,708 rushing yards for the Salukis and was on the 2013 roster during Schweigert’s final season as the program’s defensive coordinator.
He arrived in Lincoln during the spring of 2016 after coaching running backs and special teams at his alma mater, De Smet Jesuit High School, in St. Louis, Mo., in the fall of 2015. He also spent time with the Los Angeles Rams as a volunteer scouting assistant for seven months before taking on his role at Nebraska.
His father, Ray Agnew, played 11 seasons in the National Football League and won a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams in 1999 and has been working for the organization since his retirement in 2000 (scouting since 2005). Agnew’s brother, Ray III, also played at SIU during Schweigert’s tenure (2010-13) and had a brief stint in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns (2014), Dallas Cowboys (2015) and Washington Redskins (2015).
Agnew signed an NFL free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers in 2015, but was forced to end his playing career due to injury. He earned his bachelor’s degree from SIU in radio, television and digital media with a minor in marketing following the 2015 spring semester.
Agnew and his wife, Amanda, were married in May of 2017.
