McElwain file
A look at how Jim McElwain rose to become Florida’s top target:
Alma mater: Eastern Washington, 1984
Coaching experience: Eastern Washington 1985-94 (graduate assistant, quarterbacks, receivers); Montana State 1995-99 (offensive coordinator, quarterbacks, receivers); Louisville 2000-02 (receivers, special teams); Michigan State 2003-05 (assistant head coach, receivers, special teams); Oakland Raiders 2006 (quarterbacks); Fresno State 2007 (offensive coordinator, quarterbacks); Alabama 2008-11 (offensive coordinator, quarterbacks); Colorado State 2011-14 (head coach).
Playing days: McElwain was an all-Montana quarterback at Missoula’s Sentinel High School and played quarterback at Eastern Washington from 1980-83.
COLORADO STATE HIGHLIGHTS
2012
In his first game at Colorado State, McElwain led the Rams to a come-from-behind 22-19 victory over Colorado, becoming the first CSU head football coach since 1970 (Jerry Wampfler) to win his first game and the first to defeat CU in his first in-state matchup.
The offense averaged 163.3 rushing yards per game over the last four games of the season, an improvement of nearly 70 yards from the first six games.
A school-record 18 different Colorado State players scored touchdowns in McElwain’s first year, which produced four victories.
2013
The Rams won eight games, their most since 2002.
The season was punctuated with a wild, 48-45 comeback victory over Washington State in the New Mexico Bowl. It was Colorado State’s first bowl game since 2008. The Rams scored 18 points in the game’s final three minutes.
Colorado State made the second-biggest improvement among FBS schools in scoring offense from 2012 to 2013, going from 100th to 22nd.
2014
In his third season, McElwain and the Rams notched their fourth 10-win regular season in program history. He also led the team to the first national ranking since 2003, reaching as high as No. 21 in both The Associated Press Top 25 and the USAToday Amway Coaches Poll.
McElwain was named the Mountain West coach of the year.
Colorado State became the first Mountain West program since BYU in 2008 to produce a 3,500-yard passer (Garrett Grayson, 3,779 yards), a 1,500-yard receiver (Rashard Higgins, 1,640) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Dee Hart, 1,254). The Rams were the only FBS team with that trio this season.
