Matt Rahl
Matt Rahl

Position:
Defensive Line

Experience:
Third Season at UW

Alma Mater:
Missouri Southern `03


12/28/2011

Chris Tormey Joins Wyoming Football Coaching Staff

Tormey will serve as defensive coordinator and secondary coach

Email: mrahl@uwyo.edu

Matt Rahl moves into a coaching role this season after serving as Wyoming's Director of Recruiting the past two years. He will coach the defensive line, along with new Wyoming assistant coach Danilo Robinson. Rahl is entering his 10th year in college football in 2011.

He assumed his coaching duties during 2011 spring practice, giving him a chance to work with an experienced returning defensive line unit that welcomes back all four starters and several other veteran players.

In 2010, 11 of Wyoming's regular starters were members of Wyoming's first two recruiting classes under Rahl's direction. Also in 2010, 14 members of those two recruiting classes started at least one game during the season.

Wyoming's 2009 recruiting class featured 12 true freshman who played for the Cowboys. That ranked Wyoming ninth in the nation for most true freshmen played by an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision team. A total of eight true freshmen started at least one game for the Pokes in 2009, which ranked UW third in the country.

With Wyoming's win in the 2009 New Mexico Bowl, Rahl has been a part of bowl championship teams in three of the past four seasons, and he has helped lead teams to postseason play six of the last eight seasons.

He came to Wyoming from the University of Missouri where he was the offensive graduate assistant for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Rahl was hired as the offensive graduate assistant coach at the University of Missouri in January of 2007. He assisted in coaching the offensive line, prepared scouting reports and practice plans for the Tiger offense and assisted with on-campus recruiting during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

The 2008 season concluded with Mizzou ranked No. 16 in the final USA Today Coaches' Poll, No. 19 in the final Associated Press Media Poll and were No. 21 in the final BCS Rankings. Missouri defeated Northwestern, 30-23, in the 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl. Statistically, the Tigers ranked No. 4 in the NCAA in passing offense (330.4 yards per game), No. 6 in scoring offense (42.2 points per game) and No. 8 in total offense (484.1 yards per game).

In 2007, the Tigers had their most successful season in Missouri school history. They ended the season with a school record 12 wins and were ranked No. 4 in the final Associated Press rankings, which was the highest season-ending ranking in school history. Mizzou played in the 2008 AT&T Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 2008, and defeated Arkansas, 38-7, to capture the Cotton Bowl Championship. Rahl worked with a Missouri offense that ranked No. 5 in the nation in total offense, averaging 490.3 yards per game. The 2007 Tiger offense also ranked No. 8 in the NCAA in scoring offense (39.9 points per game) and No. 9 in passing offense (314.1 yards per game).

A graduate of Missouri Southern in 2003, Rahl played tight end there from 1999-2001. He moved into a student assistant coaching position in 2002, and coached the tight ends and assisted with the offensive line for the 2002 season.

Upon graduation in 2003, he accepted a graduate assistant coaching position at Winona State University in Winona, Minn., in June of 2003. Rahl coached the tight ends, assisted in recruiting and handled a number of administrative duties for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. He was elevated to a full-time coaching position in January of 2005, serving as the offensive line coach and special teams' coordinator for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. During his four seasons at Winona State, his teams won three conference championships and advanced to the NCAA Division II Playoffs three times (2003, 2004 and 2006). The Warriors reached the quarterfinal round in 2003.

Rahl completed his bachelor's degree in physical education at Missouri Southern in 2003, and earned a master's degree in educational leadership in 2005 from Winona State.

A native of Union, Mo., Rahl and his wife Carrie have one daughter, Hattie.

Rahl will recruit the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. He will also recruit Southeast Wyoming and Central and East Texas, including the cities of Austin and San Antonio.

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