Pete Lusk is in his fourth year as an assistant coach in charge of the offensive line. In January of 2019 he added the duties of run game coordinator.
In his first two seasons with the Paladins, Lusk oversaw the revival of a ground attack that produced four All-Southern Conference linemen, as well as 2017 All-American and SoCon Jacobs Blocking Award winner Matthew Schmidt. The improved line play paved the way for a duo of all-conference running backs, Antonio Wilcox and Kealand Dirks, who played a key role in Furman advancing to the FCS playoffs in 2017, and Devin Wynn, whose strong work helped power the Paladins to a 2018 SoCon championship.
The solid work continued in 2019 as the Paladin ground attack fueled another run to the FCS playoff, highlighted by Wynn, who rushed for 1,182 yards and 14 touchdowns. Two of Lusk’s pupils, tackle Bo Layton and guard Jordan Harris, netted all-conference honors, while a third, center Evan Jumper, garnered SoCon All-Freshman Team laurels.
A 2010 graduate of Air Force Academy, he was a standout offensive guard for the Falcons, starting 30 games over his four-year career, serving as a team captain, and earning All-Mountain West Conference honors as a senior while helping lead the Falcons to a 45-20 victory over 25th-ranked Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl. His sophomore year he started at right guard in the Falcons' 41-24 triumph over Notre Dame.
During his tenure at Air Force he played a key role in AFA registering some of the Football Bowl Subdivision's (FBS) most prolific rushing attacks, averaging 299.5 yards per game in 2007, 266.9 yards per game in 2008, and 283.5 yards per game his senior year.
He received his bachelor of science degree in legal studies and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in May of 2010, after which he served as a satellite vehicle operator on the $51-billion MILSTAR / AEHF System with the 4th Space Operations Squadron, Schriever (Colo.) Air Force Base.
As a 1st Lieutenant and payload engineer, from June 2012 through September of 2013 he headed up a 50-person team that conducted initial testing on a $3.3-billion new satellite system.
That service was followed by a seven-month assignment as mission commander with the MILSTAR system, supervising a crew of 15 operators. During that stint he was selected as No. 1 of 62 Company Grade Officers (CGOs), No. 1 of 40 Squadron Lieutenants, and No. 4 of 115 Group Level Lieutenants.
Promoted to the rank of Captain in March of 2014, he took on the planning, certification, and evaluation of all operators in the 4th Space Operations Squadron and was selected No. 3 of 16 CGOs in the Elite Group Evaluations Unit.
Lusk began his coaching career at Air Force Prep in June of 2015 as offensive line coach and added play calling duties later in the campaign. In 2016 he served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach before joining the Furman staff.
In addition to his undergraduate degree from Air Force Academy, Lusk graduated with academic achievement from Satellite Vehicle Operator Training and later earned instructor and evaluator certifications at Vandenberg (Calif.) Air Force Base.
Awarded an MBA from Oklahoma State University in May of 2013, he is married to Allison Ossege, a physical therapist and native of Cincinnati, Ohio.
