Jon Shalala is in his second season as linebackers coach for Arkansas State in 2022.
Shalala’s linebackers were part of a defensive unit that helped the Red Wolves post 18 turnovers gained, seven more than the previous year. The Red Wolves increased their interceptions total from six in 2021 to seven in 2022, while also recording one more fumble recovery.
Senior linebacker Caleb Bonner finished the season ranked third on the team in tackles with 64 to his credit, but Melique Straker also emerged late in the season by posting 32 of his 50 stops over the final four games of the season.
Straker and the linebackers helped the Red Wolves show a marked improvement on the defensive side of the ball in the second of the season, allowing 157 fewer yards per game and 16.0 less points per contest over the last six outings in comparison to the first six.
The Red Wolves also allowed 2.4 yards less per play during that stretch, which included a win over ULM that was clinched on A-State interception.
Shalala came to A-State after spending the 2020 season primarily working with the linebackers unit at Mississippi State as a defensive quality control coach.
He joined the Bulldogs’ staff following a three-year stint at Tennessee as a defensive graduate assistant, including the 2016 season when he worked under head coach Butch Jones and the Volunteers won the Music City Bowl.
Shalala joined Tennessee in the summer of 2016 after coaching the offensive line and tight ends at Arizona Western College in 2015. His lone season at the school saw the Matadors post a 7-4 overall record, including a 14-5 victory over the College of DuPage in the El Toro Bowl.
Prior to joining Arizona Western’s staff, Shalala worked one season as the wide receivers coach for the Iowa Barnstormers in Des Moines, Iowa, while finishing his degree as a senior at Grand View University.
The Sugar Land, Texas, native earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and psychology from Grand View University, which he attended from 2011-14 while playing quarterback for the 2013 NAIA National Champions.
