Priest River names Justin Torfin as the new head football coach
(Courtesy photo) Justin Torfin was a junior college running back, and has worked on the coaching staffs at Utah State and College of Idaho in the past.
PRIEST RIVER — Priest River named a new football coach this week, as Justin Torfin takes over his first head coaching job, replacing Brad Martin.
Torfin, a 30 year-old firefighter in Coeur d’Alene, has spent a good deal of time around the game of football and is excited about the opportunity to lead a team.
“I’ve always wanted to be a head coach. I like the small town feel and the vibe you get from the community,” said Torfin of Priest River. “It felt like it was a good spot.”
Torfin was a running back in high school in Preston, before playing junior college football for Snow College in Utah. From there he coached for a couple years at Skyview High School in Utah, then spent a year at Utah State of the Mountain West Conference doing a lot of recruiting and operational duties.
Most recently, he was the running back coach at College of Idaho, where he was also the recruiting coordinator. He lives in Post Falls with a wife and two sons, but has a unique schedule that will allow him to coach.
He’s still finalizing a coaching staff and looking at game film from last year to see what he’s working with. While he’s not sure exactly what offense or defense the Spartans will run, he does know they’ll play a physical brand of football.
“Run the ball, and everything else flows from that,” said Tolfin. “Play fast, move around, bring a physical component on both sides of the football.”
He’s also hoping to instill a family-oriented environment around the team.