Joe Begnal - Special Teams Analyst - Football Support Staff

Joe Begnal

Title:
Special Teams Analyst
Email:
football@msu.edu
Phone:
355-1647

Joe Begnal is in his second year at Michigan State in 2025, his first as the assistant special teams coordinator. He came to MSU in 2024 and served as a special teams analyst in his first season in East Lansing. The Spartans had two All-Big Ten performers on special teams in 2024, as punter Ryan Eckley and placekicker Jonathan Kim both earned second-team honors.

Begnal previously was a special teams quality control coach at Memphis and contributed to the Tigers’ successful 2023 season in which the program posted a 10-3 record and a win over Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl.

Begnal has also been a special teams quality control coach at Colorado State and Idaho. During his time with the Rams, Begnal worked with punter Ryan Stonehouse, who earned All-Mountain West honors and has been the starting punter for the Tennessee Titans the past two seasons.

In addition, Begnal has experience coaching on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. He coached wide receivers for three seasons (2017-19) at New Haven, which followed a season at Lincoln University (Mo.) where he served as the defensive coordinator and worked with the linebackers for the 2016 season. In addition to his on-field responsibilities at New Haven, Begnal also oversaw the student-athlete academic studies and handled all compliance related duties.

Begnal began his coaching career at his high school alma mater Sacred Heart High School in Waterbury where he assisted the head coach in calling the offense. He began his collegiate coaching career in 2011 when he took over as an assistant coach and JV defensive coordinator at his alma mater Western New England in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was a four-year starter.

After two seasons with the Golden Bears, Begnal took a position as the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at Post University where he spent three seasons with the Eagles. Following that stint, Begnal traveled cross country to Huntington Beach, California, where he took over as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Brethren Christian High School (2014-16).