Idaho football: Northwest native Cross named tight ends coach, recruiting coordinator

MOSCOW — Sheldon Cross, who has served as an offensive coordinator at three different FCS schools and tutored All-American talent as a high school head coach at Kennedy Catholic High in Burien, Wash., has been named tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Idaho, new Vandals head coach Thomas Ford Jr. announced Monday.

"Coach Ford is one of the elite head football coaches in this country" Cross said in a news release. "I go way back with him and his family and I am excited to finally get to work with him. The staff that he is putting together is certainly elite. My family and I are so excited to get back to the Northwest and be able to recruit from high school programs that we all have deep rooted relationships with."

Cross spent last season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at FCS Stetson, a Pioneer League team in DeLand, Fla. During his time at Stetson, the Hatters led the Pioneer in passing yards and yards per game despite having six different QBs who took snaps in 11 games.

Prior to his time at Stetson, he was offensive coordinator at Cal Poly. During his time in San Luis Obispo, Cross orchestrated an offensive revolution, breaking numerous program records. 

"I've known Coach Cross for over 10 years and he's someone I've always held in high regard as a football mind," Ford said. "He has been a play caller at this level at multiple stops and brings experience and energy to the tight end room. Sheldon also has a track record as a phenomenal recruiter and will use that experience to shape the direction of our recruiting moving forward."

Cross came to Cal Poly after a seven-year stint at Kennedy Catholic where he won four straight NPSL 4A league championships and 55 wins in seven seasons. He was named the Washington High School 4A coach of the year in 2022 and was the OC for the 2022 All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.

He coached All-American and five-star quarterback Sam Huard. Huard's most notable accomplishment was setting the Washington state high school all-time career passing record of 13,214 yards. He also coached former Vandal freshman All-American Xe'Ree Alexander and several other power-five players.

He served as the offensive coordinator at Idaho State from 2013-15. In his three seasons at Idaho State, Cross played a vital role in the Bengals' record-breaking offense. Cross, who served as the outside wide receivers coach his first two seasons, guided the 2014 offense to a school-record 64 touchdowns and broke the single-season rushing record with 2,567 yards. 

He coached at Illinois State in 2012 and helped guide the Redbirds to an FCS playoff appearance and a 9-4 record. The Redbirds' offensive unit led the Missouri Valley Football Conference in passing and total offense, averaging better than 30 points a game.

Cross is a graduate of Stadium High in Tacoma, Wash., where he was a quarterback. He also called signals for two years at Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and, after earning his bachelor's degree in psychology from Peru State College in Nebraska in 2004, served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan in 2005 and as an assistant at Interlake in 2006.