Zach Santolla
Assistant Coach
Defensive Line Coach/Video Coordinator
Zach Santolla enters his first season on the Dakota State University Trojan football coaching staff. He coaches the defensive line.
Santolla brings more than a decade of collegiate coaching experience and a proven track record of developing elite defensive linemen and championship-caliber defenses.
Santolla arrives in Madison after spending the past two seasons at the University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB), where he served as Defensive Run Game Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach. During his tenure, the Falcons enjoyed unprecedented success, including an 11-3 record, a Lone Star Conference runner-up finish, and the program's first NCAA Division II Super Region Final appearance in 2025. Under his guidance, UTPB ranked among the nation's leaders in total defense, passing defense, scoring defense, and pass efficiency defense while producing multiple all-conference defensive linemen.
Prior to UTPB, Santolla spent the 2023 season at the University at Buffalo, assisting with special teams for a Bulls squad that ranked among the NCAA leaders in blocked kicks and blocked punts.
Santolla's longest coaching stint came at the University of Charleston (W.V.), where he spent seven seasons developing one of the top defensive lines in NCAA Division II. During his tenure, he coached 13 All-Mountain East Conference selections, two All-Americans, a conference Defensive Player of the Year, and multiple professional football players. His most notable pupil, John Cominsky, became the first Mountain East Conference player selected in the NFL Draft and currently plays in the NFL.
Before Charleston, Santolla helped Shepherd University reach the NCAA Division II National Championship game during a historic 13-1 season in 2015. He also gained experience at East Tennessee State University in football operations and strength and conditioning.
A native of Roanoke, Va., Santolla earned his bachelor's degree in sport management from Emory & Henry College, where he was a three-year starting fullback.
