PUEBLO, Colo. (March 2, 2022) – Colorado State University Pueblo Head Football Coach John Wristen announced the addition of three new staff members to the ThunderWolves program. Wristen is excited to welcome Brayle Brown as the offensive assistant, Kendrick Van Ackeren as defensive assistant coach and Matt Helton as an offensive graduate assistant.
 
Brown comes aboard with the Pack after most recently serving as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach at Colorado Mesa University. 
 
"We are very excited to hire Brayle as an offensive coach, serving our wide receivers and as Pass Game Coordinator. He has an outstanding track record with his offenses, being number one in three different conferences," Wristen stated. "I have a lot of respect for what he did at Mesa and when I met him, I really liked him. I think he is going to come in and help us grow immensely on offense."
 
The newcomer brings a plethora of experience and success on the offensive side of the ball. Through his two seasons as an Offensive Coordinator at Oklahoma Baptist and Colorado Mesa, Brown has owned the No. 1 offense in the Great American Conference (GAC) and RMAC, respectively. 
 
During his season as Offensive Coordinator at Colorado Mesa, Brown headed the top offense in the conference, as the Mavericks produced 453.7 yards per game, 6.6 yards per play, 194.8 rushing yards per game and threw only four interceptions in 314 attempts.
 
Before his journey to Grand Junction, Brown helped put Oklahoma Baptist on the map with the top producing offense in the GAC after his offense produced a 438.2 yards per game, 34.5 points per game and 355 passing yards per game.
 
Brown got his start as the running backs coach at Midwestern State where he led a rush corps that featured of a First Team All-Lone Star running back. 
 
Van Ackeren comes to CSU Pueblo after working his way up through the ranks through five years of coaching. 
 
The new defensive assistant most recently comes from Oregon State University where he served as a graduate assistant, a defensive analyst and assistant director of recruiting and the interim outside linebackers coach.
 
"Kendrick is a very energetic young coach with a great football IQ," said Wristen. "His enthusiasm and defensive knowledge will be a great addition to our staff and we are excited to see what he will bring to the table."
 
Van Ackeren spent three years with Oregon State on the defensive side of the ball as an assistant. Prior to his time with the Beavers, the fresh assistant spent a season as a defensive intern at Montana State where he worked with the defensive line and the linebackers.
 
Matt Helton comes to CSU Pueblo after most recently being a member of the Colorado Mesa coaching staff, along with Brown.
 
"Matt came to us highly recommended from the Offensive Coordinator at Northern Colorado," said Wristen. "He previously worked at Colorado Mesa and when he came down to interview with our staff, I was absolutely blown away by his skills. I think we are very fortunate to have him on staff to work with our offensive line."
 
Brown, Van Ackeren and Helton will be involved in spring football as the Pack gear up for the 2022 season. The ThunderWolves kick off their 2022 season on Sept. 3 at Midwestern State Texas.