INDIANAPOLIS – UIndy football head coach Chris Keevers announced the addition of two new faces to his staff. Veteran mentor Jay Hood will take over as the defensive line coach, while Quinn Schafer will work with the quarterbacks.
 
Hood brings a wealth of experience to the Greyhound staff, having coached nearly every level of amateur football, including high school, NAIA and all three levels of the NCAA. He comes to UIndy after serving as the defensive coordinator at nearby DePauw University.
 
Hood has filled the DC role at a number of other stops, including at Division I Ball State (2009-10) and Miami University (2005-08). Most notably, Hood helped guide the RedHawks to the MAC East Division title in 2007, with his defense leading the conference in sacks per game (3.7) and points allowed (12.8 per). His move to UIndy reunites him with current Greyhound DC Tim Cooper, who was on the Miami staff at that same time.
 
Hood has worn the Defensive Coordinator hat at Western Carolina, Fort Hays State and Millikin University as well. Prior to those stops, he spent four seasons as the head coach at DII Colorado Mesa (1994-97, then called Mesa State).
 
Earlier in his career, he was an assistant on RMAC-winning teams at Fort Hays (1993) and Colorado Mesa (1988), helping the former school to a pair of postseason appearances.
 
Meanwhile, Schafer moves to the Circle City after spending the 2019 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at DII Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D. There he helped steer the Wolves to a 6-5 record, a two-win improvement from '18 and one W shy of the program's highest win total since 1999.

A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Shafer moved to South Dakota after a two-year stint as passing game coordinator and QB coach at Division III Lake Forest College. He helped the Foresters break a number of school records in 2017, while his protégé, Jagan Cleary, garnered his second straight All-Midwest Conference First Team nod after leading the league in touchdown passes and completion percentage.
 
Schafer spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons as an assistant coach at Coe College, working with the quarterbacks and running backs. In 2016, the Kohawks set a school record with 11 wins. Schafer directed First Team All-American Trevor Heitland to DIII-leading totals in rushing yards (1,913) and all-purpose yards per game (223.9). In his first season as the quarterbacks coach, Coe tallied two school records and their starting quarterback was named all-conference honorable mention.
 
Schafer played collegiately at Valparaiso University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in sports management and business administration.