By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — Football players have used their success on the Staples High grid iron to springboard their careers to the collegiate level throughout the years.

And now Coach Adam Behrends — who guided the Wreckers to the 2023 Class LL State Championship — has, too.

Behrends, it was announced by the school Monday, is headed to coach at the University of New Mexico, where he will serve as an offensive analyst.

“Definitely mixed emotions — excited to have the opportunity to be able to go there and coach,” said Behrends, adding that he will miss the Staples football community after five-plus years with the Wreckers.

The state title victory, of course, is a highlight of Behrends’ high school coaching career, but the New Mexico-bound coach said the relationships he established are what made his time with the Wreckers special.

It is a reunion of sorts for Behrends who will join forces with Luke Schleusner, New Mexico’s offensive coordinator. 

Behrends was a safety at Minnesota State University, Mankato, when Schleusner served as special teams coordinator for the Minnesota school.

The new job starts next Monday, and the biggest challenge, Behrends anticipates, will be getting up to speed with the program so that he can coach the way the staff wants him to.

That process includes spring football and pre-season before the regular season kicks off. 

Opening day is a biggie with New Mexico visiting Ann Arbor to take on Michigan on Aug. 30.

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.