Gus Malzahn

Gus Malzahn, Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will be the new football coach at Arkansas State.

Sports information director Jerry Scott told The Associated Press that Malzahn will be introduced as the new coach during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s pretty incredible, it should be a great ride,” Scott said.

Malzahn will return to the state where he was a successful high school coach before leaving for college football. Before that, though, he will coach Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31.

Auburn head coach Gene Chizik released the following statement Wednesday morning:

“I’m very happy for Gus and the opportunity that awaits him at Arkansas State. Gus has always had the strong desire to become a head coach and the chance for him to return to his home state that he is so familiar with, will be very beneficial. He’s meant a tremendous amount to our program the past three years, helping our offense and our program achieve unprecedented heights, winning a BCS National Championship and setting countless offensive records. Gus has experienced success in each stop of his coaching career and I have no doubt that he will have similar results at Arkansas State. We look forward to having Gus stay with us through the bowl game and hope to send him out with a victory.”

Former Red Wolves coach Hugh Freeze left the school last week to become the new coach at Mississippi.

Arkansas State (10-2) will play Northern Illinois in the Godaddy.com Bowl on Jan. 8.

The 46-year-old Malzahn has served as Auburn’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for three seasons, helping the Tigers win the national championship last season.

He won the Broyles Award last season, recognizing college football’s top assistant coach, and helped Auburn and quarterback Cam Newton set nine school records in 2010 – including points per game (41.2) and total offense (499.2).

Malzahn began his coaching career in northeast Arkansas at Hughes High School, eventually moving on and winning two state championships at the private school Shiloh Christian in Springdale, Ark.