Washington State finalizes strength and conditioning staff

PULLMAN – Washington State’s football program finalized its strength and conditioning staff Tuesday, announcing Ben Iannacchione as the head of the new-look group.

Iannacchione is bringing from Akron, Ohio, assistants D’Anthony Knight, Tristan White and Jonathan Amosa for their first campaign at WSU, while Jake Beckett returns for his second season with the Cougars.

“As a developmental program, we know the importance of the strength and conditioning staff and how they can add tremendous value to our program, players and their futures,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said, quoted in a school release.

Iannacchione spent the 2022 season as the head strength and conditioning coach at University of Akron. The coaching veteran served on Pitt’s staff the previous year and also worked stints at Kansas (2020), Wyoming (2018-19), LSU (2011-15, 2016-17) and Youngstown State (2015).

“Not going to lie, one of the best in the business,” Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back/former LSU star Leonard Fournette tweeted of Iannacchione when the hire was first reported in late December. “Was there for me all my years in college. (Pushed) me to be the best player in college. … Y’all have a great one here.”

Iannacchione worked alongside Dickert at Wyoming. Dickert was a Cowboys defensive assistant in 2018, then earned a promotion to the defensive coordinator job ahead of the 2019 season.

Knight and White were coworkers with Iannacchione and Dickert at Wyoming in 2019.

“I have had an opportunity to work with Ben, D’Anthony and Tristan in my past and know they are a great fit for WSU and Pullman,” Dickert said.

Knight was a strength and conditioning assistant at Akron and Kansas over the past two years. White was the assistant director of strength and conditioning at Montana last year.

Amosa spent the past season as a part-time strength and conditioning coach at Baylor. The former University of Washington running back was an offensive quality-control assistant at Montana State from 2019-21.

Beckett, who joined WSU in spring 2022, held a similar role at Florida Atlantic in 2021 after two years as a grad assistant at South Carolina.

Iannacchione replaces Dwain Bradshaw, who left WSU in early December after three seasons as the team’s head strength and conditioning coach.

WSU has announced three other hires month. Ben Arbuckle will be WSU’s offensive coordinator next season after he guided Western Kentucky to a highly productive campaign in 2022. Jeff Schmedding, a Spokane native and former longtime Eastern Washington assistant, will coordinate WSU’s defense after one season in the same role at Auburn. Frank Maile is taking over as WSU’s edge rushers coach after two seasons in charge of Boise State’s defensive line. The Cougs have yet to make official the addition of Nick Edwards, who has reportedly been hired as wide receivers coach. Edwards is a former NFL assistant who played and coached at Eastern Washington.