Paopao is our new Tight Ends Coach and one of the team's top recruiters. He played center at University of San Diego under Jim Harbaugh and was a 3 time Mid-Major All-American. After graduation in 2008 he followed Harbaugh to Stanford where he was a recruiting assistant for 2 season and then began his coaching career at Azusa Pacific where he was the Offensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator. From 2011 to 2019 Paopao coached at Washington, first as a grad assistant and then as the Tight Ends Coach starting in 2013. Last year, he was the Tight End and Special Teams Coach at UNLV.
Here are some excerpts from Michael Lev's story, Daily Star, on Paopao if for no other reason than to get everyone excited about actually seeing tight ends used in a football game.
And here's Paopao's first press conference at Arizona:Bryce Wolma - “The past three years, I didn’t have a designated tight ends coach,” Wolma said. “Now having one ... I couldn’t ask for anything better. It’s awesome to feel important and feel like the tight end is a valued position in our offense — and it really is.”
You have two distinct tight end positions, the “Y” and the “F.” Who’s playing what so far in spring?
A:“You have probably seen about 15 different combinations of tight ends, just to be able to see the skill set. Those guys are doing an awesome job. Because we’re asking them to play both of those positions ... to see and get a great feel personnel-wise of who we’ve got.”
What are the attributes each position needs to have?
A: “The Y, generally speaking, is going to be a guy that you really want to set the edge and be that big, physical presence, be able to cut off defensive ends. And then the F is, generally speaking, going to be more of your pass-catching receiver that you’re going to put on the move. But ... you have to be able to do both. And the more that you can do, the more time that you’re going to spend on the football field.”
What is your sense of your group’s comfort level with the offense at this point?
A: “Every day is just a work in progress. We’re trying to be able to push and create yards however we can. Those guys have done a phenomenal job with everything that we’re asking them to do, formationally, motions, cadence. It’s a lot like being a quarterback. You have to have a firm grasp on the offense as a whole.
“Those guys have attacked it every single day. They’ve gotten better every single day, and you’re starting to see a lot of those fruits come into play in terms of production.”