Boomer Roepke is entering his 5th season with UNW and 4th season as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach with the University of Northwestern in 2024.
A Native of Southern California, Roepke moved to Reno, Nevada and attended Reno High School. In his time at Reno High, Coach Boomer was a four-year All-American in swimming, two-year All-State football player, and led the way in a leadership role as the Student Body President his senior year. He has over 10 years of coaching experience.
Roepke started his coaching path at the University of Southern California, where he earned varsity letters in both Swimming and Football at USC. A walk-on punter turned cornerback, he had the distinguished honor to play for both Pete Carroll and Lane Kiffin. After graduating undergrad, Coach Boomer earned an opportunity to pursue his MBA at USC, while excelling as a Graduate Student Coach with the football team. Through the transitions with Lane Kiffin, Ed Orgeron, Steve Sarkisian, and Clay Helton, Coach Boomer was able to learn from multiple schematic innovators and leaders. During Roepke’s time with USC, he worked with the quarterback group and the wide receiver group, working closely with quarterback Sam Darnold (Minnesota Vikings) and wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster (New England Patriots). Coach Boomer earned a Bachelors in Communication and a Masters in Business Administration during his time at USC.
Following his time as the Quarterback/Wide Receiver Graduate Student Coach at USC, Roepke went on to be the Wide Receiver Coach/Special Coordinator for Pasadena Community College in 2016, and then on to Iowa State University for three years where he served in multiple positions with the special teams and quarterbacks.
Coach Boomer was named Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach at the University of Northwestern in March of 2021. He has made an instant impact on the offense at Northwestern in his four seasons in St. Paul. He has helped developed quarterback Caden Cantrell to earn First Team All-Conference recognition in both of his seasons on campus. Cantrell became the most efficient passer in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in 2022, throwing at a 63.5% completion rate. In the 2023 season, Cantrell broke the UNW single-game passing yards record with 459 in a win at Martin Luther. In 2022, Northwestern also had the most efficient offense in the UMAC with a production score of 139.9 rating. Roepke, with his offense, led the UMAC in red zone execution, scoring points 82.8% of their appearances.
As Offensive Coordinator, Coach Boomer's impact has stretched beyond just the quarterback room. Although he initially started as a quarterback, Damon Clapper eventually moved to middle linebacker. During the middle of his fourth year, he found a permanent home as a tight end. Clapper, in his first full year as a tight end, took off. He led the country in receptions for TE’s with 84, breaking Northwestern’s record for receptions in a single season set back in 1999. Clapper finished the year with 10 touchdowns and 855 yards receiving, ranking him second in the nation in both categories for a tight end
. Clapper, as a fifth year senior, earned First Team All-Conference, Second Team All-Region, and NCCAA First Team All-American honors in 2022. Beau Burke, a sophomore wide receiver, broke Northwestern’s single game receiving yard record with 222 yards in the home opener against Augsburg University, then broke it in 2023 with a 289-yard showing at Martin Luther.
Multiple offensive players earned All-Conference awards under Roepke’s tutelage. His offense has produced 11 First Team All-UMAC performers in his tenure and 7 Second Team recipients. He also coached wide receiver Beau Burke to a UMAC Co-Most Valuable Offensive Player honor in 2023. On the national level, Coach Boomer's offense has produced four NCCAA First Team All-Americans and two Second Teamers.
Prior to the University of Northwestern, Boomer learned and excelled as a Graduate Assistant under Head Coach Matt Campbell, at Iowa State University (2017-2019). In his first year, Boomer worked with Joe Houston, now Special Teams Co-Coordinator with the New England Patriots. During the 2017 season, the special teams unit excelled as a top 25 ranked special team’s unit in the country, producing NFL players Kene Nwangwu (Minnesota Vikings Kick Returner) and Steve Wirtel (Green Bay Packers Long Snapper).
In the 2018 season, Boomer transitioned into the Quarterback Graduate Assistant position with the Cyclones, helping develop
Heisman candidate and current San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback, Brock Purdy. Breaking or setting 32 school records and becoming the winningest QB in program history, Purdy’s development at Iowa State carved a path for him to earn the distinguished “Mr. Irrelevant” award. Picked as the last player in the 2022 NFL Draft, Brock became the first quarterback in 49ers history to win his first three starts, going on to win his first seven starts to lead the 49ers to the NFC Championship game. In his second season in San Francisco, Purdy led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance. As a graduate student at Iowa State, Coach Boomer took classes Masters classes in Education, focusing on youth development.
Roepke has bowl experience as a coach in 2015 with USC for the Holiday Bowl, 2017 with Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl, 2018 with Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl, and 2019 with Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl. Coach Boomer has many notable players he coached and played for including Matt Campbell, Pete Carroll, Lane Kiffin, Ed Orgeron, Steve Sarkisian, and Clay Helton. There are also notable players in the NFL that Coach Boomer has coached including Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers), Sam Darnold (Minnesota Vikings), Juju Smith-Schuster (New England Patriots), Kene Nwangwu (Minnesota Vikings), David Montgomery (Detroit Lions), Allen Lazard (New York Jets), and Steve Wirtel (Green Bay Packers).
