Getting to Know Coach Cassity
Skyler Cassity joined the Missouri State coaching staff in 2020 as the outside linebackers coach for the Bears.
In his first season in Springfield, Cassity and the MSU defense held opponents to just 26.8 points per game, shaving nearly 10 points per game from the previous year and helping guide the Bears to a share of the MVFC championship and first NCAA FCS Playoff appearance since 1990.
He spent most of 2017-19 at Texas Tech University where he worked directly with the Red Raider defensive backs under coaches Kliff Kingsbury and Matt Wells. The Red Raiders were among the most opportunistic defenses in the country during Cassity’s first season on staff in 2017, leading the Big 12 Conference and ranking sixth nationally with 29 forced turnovers.
Prior to his arrival in Lubbock, Cassity spent the 2016 season at Texas State where he was promoted from defensive intern to graduate assistant in only a year’s time. Cassity worked primarily with the Bobcats’ defensive line and also assisted in recruiting as Texas State signed the top class in the Sun Belt Conference in 2017.
He worked as a student assistant coach and recruiting assistant from 2014-16 at his alma mater, Auburn. Cassity assisted primarily with Auburn’s running backs as the Tigers made appearances in the Outback Bowl and Birmingham Bowl.
Cassity worked with three 1,000-yard rushers as part of head coach Gus Malzahn’s dynamic offense at Auburn, including a pair of SEC rushing champions in NFL fifth-round draft pick Cameron Artis-Payne (2014) and Kamryn Pettway (2016). In addition, Peyton Barber also rushed for 1,017 yards in 2015 before signing an NFL free agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A high school quarterback at Riverwood International Charter School in Atlanta, Cassity quickly gained a passion for coaching after he was permanently sidelined prior to his junior year. His father, Mike, spent 40 years coaching at the collegiate level, serving as the defensive coordinator at the likes of Kentucky, Louisville, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Baylor and Cincinnati. A former football and wrestling student-athlete at Kentucky, Mike Cassity coached in every major conference except the Pac-12 during his career as he was recognized by several publications as one of the nation’s top recruiters.
Likewise, two of Cassity’s siblings went on to play football collegiately as well as his older brother Hunter starred at safety for Samford University, while his younger brother Braden is playing tight end/fullback at Oklahoma State. He also has an older sister, Brooke.
He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration, Management from Auburn in 2016 and was a dean's honor roll standout. He also played four years of lacrosse at Auburn. He later earned his master's degree in Sports Management from Texas Tech in 2019.
