Recruiting Areas: Colorado (303, 720, 970)
Nebraska: (402)
Texas: (214, 469, 972)
James Schrenk enters his seventh season as Augustana’s offensive coordinator and is in his 11th season overall with the Vikings. He has previously served as the wide receivers coach and graduate assistant while he maintains his position as the quarterback coach and recruiting coordinator.
After a canceled 2020 season, Schrenk's offense was firing on all cylinders in 2022 as part of the NSIC Championship. Augustana ranked eighth in the nation in total offense and seventh in time of possession. The scoring offense, which put up 38.2 points per game, ranked 14th in the nation. Four-year starting quarterback Kyle Saddler entered the season as the NSIC South Division Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Saddler tossed for 38 touchdowns, a mark that ranked fifth in the nation while his 3,408 passing yards ranked eighth in the country.
Saddler concluded his career with 10,380 yards passing, the second-most in program history. His 91 career passing touchdowns also rank him second in program history.
In 2019, Schrenk tutored an offense that advanced to the NCAA Playoffs and a second-place NSIC finish. The Vikings tallied a 9-3 record, the second-most wins in a season in program history. Head coach Jerry Olszewski was named the NSIC Coach of the Year as the Vikings finished the year with a 6-0 mark inside Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
Schrenk’s offense produced the Rimington Award Winner in Jake Lacina, the top center in NCAA Division II. Lacina earned First Team All-America honors from the AFCA and D2Football.com. Wide receiver Sean Engel joined Lacina as a first-team all-NSIC pick.
The 2018 season saw Schrenk’s offense gather a pair of first-team all-NSIC performers in wide receiver Nickel Meyers and Lacina. Meyers led the Northern Sun with 13 touchdown receptions, ranking fifth in the nation while Lacina anchored a dominant offensive line that led the NSIC with just nine sacks all season. The duo was also named to the Don Hansen All-Super Region Four team.
Schrenk tutored lineman Sam Lee to a pair of All-America accolades in 2017 along with first-team all-NSIC South Division honors. Along with Lee, wide receiver Trevor DeSchepper and tight end Chet Peerenboom earned league honors.
In his second season as the offensive coordinator in 2016, the Vikings continued to raise the bar setting single-season records. Augustana set the single-season record for total offense in 2015 with 5,527 yards before raising the record with 5,617 yards in 2016. The Vikings also set single-season records for passing yards with 3,603 in 2015 before the NSIC Offensive Player of the Year Trey Heid raised it to 3,786 yards in 2016.
Schrenk’s offense was explosive thanks to the arm of Heid, a 2016 Harlon Hill Trophy finalist, and wide receivers Matt Heller and Charlie Hayes. Heller, a First Team All-America selection, set a single-season record with 1,490 receiving yards while hauling in a single season record 21 touchdown catches. Heller ranked second in the country in receiving yards and touchdowns at the end of the year. Hayes, who missed two games in 2016 due to injury, finished the year with 787 receiving yards and six touchdown catches.
Augustana had the fourth-best passing offense in the country in 2016, averaging 344.2 yards per game. The Vikings finished the year ranked eighth nationally averaging 510.6 yards per game. Heid led the country in total offense (391.2 yards per game) and finished second with 41 touchdown passes.
Augustana finished the 2015 season ranked first in the country with a team passing efficiency rating of 172.3. The Vikings ranked 28th in the country averaging 460.6 yards per game and 17th in passing offense.
Schrenk had numerous numbers to call in 2015, starting with 2015 NSIC Offensive Player of the Year and Harlon Hill candidate Trey Heid. Heid completed 226 passes for a single-season record 3,493 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2015. He averaged 291.1 passing yards per game and completed 65.9 percent of his passes. He ranked second in the country with a 171.2 passer efficiency rating and led the NSIC and ranked eighth in the country in passing yards.
Heid was complemented by senior running back CJ Ham who rushed for 1,097 yards and 16 touchdowns to go along with 431 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2015. Charlie Hayes hauled in 73 passes for 1,127 yards and 12 touchdowns and Matt Heller pitched in with 1,089 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 53 catches.
Schrenk tutored All-NSIC Honorable Mention honoree Matt Heller in 2014 who led a young receiving corps for the Vikings. Heller hauled in 46 passes for a team-high 796 yards to go along with seven touchdowns. Charlie Hayes also had a breakout sophomore campaign for the Vikings in 2014 hauling in 34 passes for 483 yards and a team-high eight touchdown receptions.
Schrenk worked with a talented group of receivers in 2013, including All-NSIC Honorable Mention honoree Noah Huisman who caught 33 passes for 403 yards and two touchdowns. Grant Gebhardt hauled in a team-high 42 passes for 326 yards and two scores and Matt Gerry had a breakout year hauling in 33 passes for 352 yards.
In 2011 and 2012, Schrenk coached the linebackers, including 2012 NSIC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and two-time All-NSIC First Team selection Austin Luecke, who led the Viking defense with 108 tackles and three interceptions two seasons ago. Three of Augustana’s leading tacklers in 2012 were linebackers.
The 2010 graduate of Northern Colorado, Schrenk started for two years at linebacker for the Bears, earning an All-Big Sky honorable mention as a senior. As a special teams performer all four years and two years at quarterback, Schrenk appeared in 44-straight games and totaled 67 tackles. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in coaching.
Schrenk resides in Sioux Falls with his two sons, Maverick and Jaxon.
