Bio

Andy Helms enters his 10th year as offensive coordinator for Carnegie Mellon in 2023. Prior to the 2019 season, Helms was promoted to Associate Head Coach.

During the Tartans Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) 2021 championship season, running back Tre Vasiliadis led the PAC with 1,120 rushing yards, which ranked 19th in Division III at season end. Vasiliadis became the fifth player in Carnegie Mellon to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and was named to the D3football.com All-America team.
 
Helms’ offensive scheme allowed quarterback Alex Cline to become the school’s all-time passing leader in yards and touchdowns in 2018. Cline ended his career with 6,636 yards and 56 touchdowns. The signal caller also broke the single-game record with 415 yards passing against Washington & Jefferson his senior season. Following the season, Karl Kumm was named D3football.com All-South Region and garnered All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) accolades. For the season, nine Tartans garnered Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) honors and 10 were named to the All-University Athletic Association (UAA) team.
 
The 2017 season saw the offensive records book rewritten. Running back Sam Benger ended his career with 5,386 rushing yards and 392 points, both ranking tops in program history. Benger became the first back in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in three straight seasons. Wide receiver John Prather became the school’s all-time leading receiver for yards, receptions and touchdown receptions. He ended his career with 3,077 yards, 194 receptions and 25 touchdowns.
 
In 2016, Benger set the school’s single-season rushing touchdown and scoring record with 28 touchdowns and 170 points. He was named to two All-American squads – American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D3football.com. That same season, he was awarded ECAC Division III South Offensive Player of the Year honors and repeated as the PAC Offensive Player of the Year. Prather broke the school record for receptions and receiving yards with 66 catches for 1,125 yards.
 
In Helms’ second season as offensive coordinator, the offense ranked 13th nationally in rushing offense (264.9), 19th in scoring offense (41.4) and 20th in total offense (487.7) while five team and nine individual single-season offensive school records were set.
 
Following the 2015 season, Benger was named to three All-American squads - AFCA, Associated Press (AP) and D3football.com. Benger led the nation in rushing with 2,092 yards, averaging 190.2 yards per game, and became the school’s single-season rushing leader. Benger was the 21st player in Division III history to reach the 2,000-yard plateau.
 
Helms returned to Carnegie Mellon in 2014 after playing four years for the Tartans as a safety from 1989-92. He was named team captain his senior season and currently is tied for the single-season interception record with seven. Helms also ranks third on the career interception chart with 13. While playing for the Tartans, he was a two-time All-UAA selection and an All-American following the 1991 and 1992 seasons.
 
Helms began his coaching career in 1993 as an assistant varsity coach for the Newark City Schools before having a five-year stint at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. While at Denison, he coached the wide receivers, defensive backs and running backs before being named offensive coordinator. Besides coaching football at Denison, he was an assistant baseball and track and field coach for the Big Red.
 
Following the 1998 season, Helms left the collegiate ranks and became the head coach at William V. Fisher Catholic (1999-02), East Clinton (2003-05) and Chaminade Julienne Catholic (2006-10) High Schools. While the head coach at each of the schools, Helms also worked as a teacher. Throughout his tenure at William V. Fisher he also served as the athletics director. In 2011, he was the offensive coordinator at Springfield High School followed by a year as the quarterbacks coach at Trotwood-Madison High School, which finished as the Ohio Division II State Runners-up.
 
Helms holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management and graphic communications management from the Tepper School of Business. He earned his master’s degree from Mount Vernon Nazarene University in September 2010 in curriculum and instruction.
 
A member of the Carnegie Mellon All-UAA 25th Anniversary Football Team, Helms was also a two-year varsity track and field athlete for the Tartans. He earned All-UAA honors on four occasions and was part of the 1993 UAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship squad.
 
Helms, a native of Newark, Ohio, and his wife Andi are blessed to have five children.