Apr. 6—BEMIDJI — To Tommy Lujan, it seemed like just yesterday that he played his last game in a Bemidji State football uniform.
A transfer from Adams State in Colorado, Lujan joined the Beavers in 2024 and became an immediate contributor. He showcased his maturity and leadership throughout the season that saw the Beavers make the deepest playoff run in program history. Eventually, he was named captain in 2025 for his redshirt senior season.
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His leadership became important for a Beaver defense that was young and inexperienced. Despite a rough start to the season that saw BSU go 0-5 (giving up 28 or more points in four out of the first five games), it went on a 4-2 run to end the season on a positive note.
After making five tackles in a 34-21 win over U-Mary, the last game of Lujan’s career, the defensive back felt like he wasn’t done with the program just yet. He approached head coach Brent Bolte to join the coaching staff as an adjunct coach for the 2026 season.
Bolte couldn’t have thought of anyone better for the role.
“If you ever spend any time with Tommy, he’s infectious, number one,” Bolte said. “The guys like him. They gravitate to him. He’s got an ‘it’ personality. He works freaking hard and he’d fit in ever since he came here as a transfer.
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“Just felt like he was a guy that just fits our culture extremely well and is able to portray that to recruits and the kids in the program and everybody else.”
On March 18, Lujan stepped onto the field for the first time as a coach for spring practices. Since he was playing alongside most of these Beavers just four months ago, he acknowledged that it was a little weird not to put on the pads. Nevertheless, he’s prepared to make the most out of this coaching opportunity.
“I feel like I’ve always been a cerebral mind of football. I’ve always loved it,” Lujan said. “Obviously, the aggressiveness and the physicality as far as being on the field, yeah, I miss it. But I think I’m right where I belong.”
As a captain, Lujan made sure to hold his teammates to a standard of excellence that BSU has established over the years. As a coach, that won’t look any different.
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His credibility as a captain has led to a seamless transition to being a coach, he said.
“I think they knew who I was as a player, they knew who I was as a leader,” Lujan said. “The transition is flowing really well. … Just being able to teach in different ways, learn as far as how the players adapt to teach and coach, and also just being a really good energy guy for them.
“Also, since I’ve played with them, I know them a lot more well than other coaches, so it’s a lot easier to gel with them.”
His experience playing with most of the Beavers offers an important perspective for the coaching staff as they try to get back to the program’s strong defensive identity.
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Even though they lost defensive coordinator Joe Ford, Lujan and the rest of the coaching staff have seen growth from a lot of players. They feel confident the Gang Green defense can get back to its dominant ways.
