Zach Lujan has taken an unusual and impressive path to Northwestern.
An Anchorage, Alaska-native, Lujan led South Anchorage High School to a state title at quarterback. He played a year for Chabot College in the Bay Area, then transferred to South Dakota State as a sophomore. He would play or coach the next decade for the Jackrabbits, and quite successfully.
He was hired away by Northwestern last January after two seasons as offensive coordinator, finishing with a 29-1 record, two FCS national titles and the 2023 FCS Coordinator of the Year Award.
The 29-year-old Lujan joins a staff that has been remade under head coach David Braun. He also inherited the latest fall camp quarterback battle after the departure of presumed starter Brendan Sullivan last spring, the addition of grad transfer Mike Wright and the potential rise of redshirt sophomore Jack Lausch.
I talked to Lujan about his journey to Northwestern, the quarterback battle, why he chose Northwestern and more in this exclusive story.
The following is the transcript from the interview; edits have been made for clarity and conciseness:
Q: Do you think playing at some of those unusual places that aren't always a pipeline to college or coaching gives you a unique perspective?
Lujan: I think it enables me to coach things with an attitude of gratitude. I especially take pride in being from the state of Alaska and representing my home state in everything I do. I've been really thankful and appreciative of support back home, and been fortunate to be part of winning programs and seen it done a few different ways.
The consistency and the work ethic that goes into that has been fun to learn and fun to be a part of.
Coming from that background, when did you first aspire to be a coach at this level, and then when did you first start to think that could be a reality for you?
Coaching in general, I was a little bit late to the party. I was planning on going to law school, I wanted to be a sports agent, actually. Then in my senior year [in 2016], I was a team captain who got beat out in fall camp and kind of took on a mentorship role for the younger guy. I coached a bit from the sidelines because our offensive coordinator was up in the box at the time.
I specifically remember telling him about the backside safety rolling to the middle and to get to the backside slant. They threw it for a touchdown and that was a really cool moment for me, my career arc and trajectory. I was never the most athletically gifted so I had to rely on my IQ to play at a high level.
That was always fun to me, the Xs and Os and the scheming. That's why I got into coaching, the game planning and the competition on a day-in and day-out basis. What I've grown to love and appreciate more than anything else though is the mentorship that comes with coaching.
You've had a pretty incredible trajectory with a 29-1 record and two national titles as a play caller. You recruited and developed Mark Gronowski into the 2023 FCS Offensive Player of the Year. Your only loss was at Iowa in 2022. I'm sure there was a lot of interest in hiring you away from South Dakota State. What separated Northwestern?
