say Fickle says yes... who would you want him to bring with him?
Mike Tressel
Started his second stint at the University of Cincinnati in January 2021 as the Bearcats defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
In his first season back at UC, Tressel elevated the standards set on the defensive side of the ball the past several seasons as Cincinnati secured its first-ever 13-0 start, won the American Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.
Under Tressel's leadership, six Bearcats on the defensive side of the ball were selected in the 2022 NFL Draft - cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner (No. 4, New York Jets), safety Bryan Cook (No. 62, Kansas City Chiefs), defensive end Myjai Sanders (No. 100, Arizona Cardinals), linebacker Darrian Beavers (No. 182, New York Giants), cornerback Coby Bryant (No. 198, Seattle Seahawks) and defensive lineman Curtis Brooks (No. 216, Indianapolis Colts).
The Bearcats’ defense was outstanding, ranking fifth nationally in scoring defense (16.5) and No. 10 in total defense (318.4). The Bearcats also allowed only 4.5 yards per play to opponents, which was the fourth-fewest in the nation.
Cincinnati had the nation’s best pass defense, finishing No. 1 in the country in pass efficiency defense (103.37), No. 2 in passing yards allowed (169.2), No. 3 in interceptions (9) and No. 4 in opponent completion % (54.0).
Cincinnati also had 39 sacks, which ranked No. 2 in the AAC and No. 18 in the country.
Senior cornerback Coby Bryant was named the Jim Thorpe Award winner, while junior cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner earned unanimous AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Senior linebacker Darrian Beavers was one of six finalists for the Butkus Award – given to the nation’s top linebacker.
The Blackcats defense had nine of 11 starters capture All-AAC honors – led by Gardner and senior defensive end Myjai Sanders, who were both unanimous selections.
Joining Gardner and Sanders on the All-AAC First Team were Bryant, Beavers, senior defensive tackle Curtis Brooks, senior middle linebacker Joel Dublanko and senior safety Brian Cook. Sophomore linebacker Deshawn Pace and senior defensive tackle Marcus Brown also grabbed All-AAC honorable mention accolades.
Four Bearcats ranked in the AAC’s Top 10 in tackles, including Dublanko (113, second), Beavers (100, fifth), Pace (95, sixth) and Cook (93, eighth).
Tressel, who previously coached at UC from 2004-06 as special teams coordinator/linebackers coach, returned to the Clifton Heights campus after spending 14 seasons at Michigan State.
The 25-year coaching veteran was MSU’s linebackers coach from 2007-19 and also was the special teams coordinator his first eight seasons at MSU. Tressel was the co-defensive coordinator for two seasons (2016-17) and the sole defensive coordinator for two seasons (2018-19), in addition to being the assistant head coach in 2019 and coaching the safeties in 2020.
During his time at MSU, Tressel coached 20 players who earned 35 All-Big Ten Conference honors along with eight All-Americans and two major award winners. From 2007-19, the Spartans won Big Ten Conference Championships three times (2010, 2013, 2015) and played in 12 bowl games, including qualifying for the 2015 College Football Playoff. He was a nominee for the Broyles Award IN 2018, which honors the nation’s top assistant coach.
Spartans linebacker and Cincinnati native Greg Jones was a Consensus All-America selection in 2009 and 2010 and the 2009 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Defensive End Kenny Willekes was the 2018 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year and winner of the 2019 Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation's most outstanding player that began his career as a walk-on.
Seven of his former linebackers have gone on to play in the NFL, including former Bearcats Jamar Enzor and Tyjuan Hagler.
Known for constructing some of the best defenses in the nation, Tressel helped coach the Spartans to final FBS Top 10 rankings in total and rushing defense on six occasions. MSU also ranked among college football’s top 10 in scoring defense four times and was the FBS leader in rushing defense in 2014 and 2018.
During Michigan State's Big Ten and Rose Bowl Championship season in 2013, the linebackers led the way for the only defense in the FBS to rank among the top three in rushing defense (No. 2 at 86.6 ypg.), total defense (No. 2 at 252.2 ypg.), scoring defense (No. 3 at 13.2 ppg.) and passing defense (No. 3 at 165.6 ypg.).
Tressel also oversaw a successful special teams unit from 2007-14 that was one of the best in the Big Ten under his direction. During his time as special teams coach, MSU had two first-team All-Big Ten placekickers (Dan Conroy and Brett Swenson), two first-team All-Big Ten punters (Mike Sadler and Aaron Bates), and featured conference leaders in kick returns (Devin Thomas), punt returns (Keshawn Martin), field goals (Swenson) and field-goal percentage (Swenson, Michael Geiger).
He arrived at Michigan State following the 2006 regular season, as he was one of eight assistants to follow Mark Dantonio to MSU from Cincinnati.
Tressel played a key role in Cincinnati's success over his three seasons (2003-06), as the Bearcats earned two bowl invitations. During the 2006 regular season, UC ranked among the national leaders in rushing defense (No. 27 at 107.5 yards per game), total defense (No. 31 at 304.3 ypg.) and scoring defense (No. 34 at 19.3 points per game). In addition, the Bearcats held seven of its 12 regular-season opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. In 2006, Tressel coached linebacker Kevin McCullough, who received first-team All-BIG EAST honors after leading the team in tackles (72) and tackles for losses (14.5 for 36 yards).
In 2005, he helped develop Corey Smith into a third-team Freshman All-American and second-team All-BIG EAST selection. In his first season at Cincinnati, Tressel's starting linebackers ranked first, third and fifth on the team in tackles, with both Jamar Enzor (second team) and Tyjuan Hagler (third team) garnering All-Conference USA honors. Hagler was taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
Prior to joining Dantonio's staff at Cincinnati, Tressel spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Ohio State (2002-03), along with UC Head Coach Luke Fickell. The Buckeyes were National Champions in 2002.
Tressel previously coached at Wartburg (Iowa) College for four seasons (1998-01), helping the school to a combined record of 36-4 including one conference title. At Wartburg, he served as offensive line coach for three years before assuming the role of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2001 season.
A four-year starter in the secondary at Cornell (Iowa) College, Tressel became a two-time Academic All-American in football and a five-time Academic All-America selection overall (1994 football, second team; 1994 wrestling, second team; 1995 football, first team; 1995 wrestling, second team; 1996 wrestling, first team). Following graduation in 1996, he launched his coaching career at South Dakota as a graduate assistant for two seasons (1996-97), working on the offensive side of the football.
He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Cornell (Iowa) College in 1996 and received a master's degree in sports administration from South Dakota in 1998.
Tressel comes from a bloodline of successful coaches, as his uncle Jim Tressel won four NCAA I-AA championships at Youngstown State before leading Ohio State to the 2002 National Championship. His grandfather, Lee Tressel, ranked as one of the winningest coaches in Division III history and won a National Championship at Baldwin-Wallace College. His father Richard, who spent 23 seasons as head coach at Hamline, coached 11 seasons at Ohio State.
He and his wife Megan have two children: Logan and Quincy.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: September 28, 1973
Hometown: Gibsonburg, Ohio
Wife: Megan
Children: Logan and Quincy
Education: Cornell College (1996, B.S.), South Dakota (1998, M.S.)
Year in Coaching: 25th
PLAYING CAREER
1992-95: Cornell College (Defensive Back / Wrestler)
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL - POSITION
1996: South Dakota – Graduate Assistant
1997: South Dakota – Graduate Assistant
1998: Wartburg – Offensive Line
1999: Wartburg – Offensive Line
2000: Wartburg – Offensive Line
2001: Wartburg – Offensive Coordinator
2002: Ohio State – Graduate Assistant (LB)
2003: Ohio State - Graduate Assistant (LB)
2004: Cincinnati – Special Teams Coordinator/LB)
2005: Cincinnati – Special Teams Coordinator/LB)
2006: Cincinnati – Special Teams Coordinator/LB)
2007: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2008: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2009: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2010: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2011: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2012: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2013: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2014: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2015: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2016: Michigan State – Co-DC/Linebackers
2017: Michigan State – Co-DC/Linebackers
2018: Michigan State – Defensive Coordinator/LB
2019: Michigan State – Defensive Coordinator/LB
2020: Michigan State – Safeties
2021: Cincinnati – Defensive Coordinator/LB
2022: Cincinnati – Defensive Coordinator/LB
Gino Guidguli
Former University of Cincinnati standout quarterback Gino Guidugli was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022. He will continue to coach quarterbacks after mentoring Desmond Ridder to the most prolific career in UC history.
Ridder was the second quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, going in the third round (No. 74 overall) to the Atlanta Falcons.
Guidugli joined the Bearcats football staff in February 2017 as the running backs coach. He moved over to coaching quarterbacks in 2018 and was tabbed as passing game coordinator in March 2020.
Guidugli, a member of UC’s James P. Kelly Sr. Athletics Hall of Fame and a charter member of Nippert Stadium’s Ring of Honor, returned to his alma mater after spending six seasons at Central Michigan.
He was instrumental in the development Ridder, who broke several records while helping lead an offense that was mong the nation’s best the last two years.
Led by Ridder, Cincinnati tallied its first-ever 13-0 regular season in 2021, won its second straight American Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.
Guidugli has also been part of the 9-1 Peach Bowl campaign in 2020, back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2018 and 2019, the 2019 American Athletic Conference East Division Championship and consecutive bowl-game wins in the 2018 Military Bowl and 2019 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl.
Ridder, the back-to-back AAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021, a 2021 Unitas Golden Arm Award finalist and 2021 Maxwell Award semifinalist, won the third-most games in FBS history (44).
Ridder developed into the school’s all-time leader in yards and touchdown passes under Guidugli. He also finished his career at UC as the all-time leader in touchdowns (116) and total yards (12,419) in the AAC, breaking Guidugli’s UC records in the process.
In 2021, the Cincinnati offense broke school records for touchdowns (70) and points scored (516).
UC ranked second in the AAC and 11th nationally in scoring (36.5) and also led the conference and ranked No. 9 overall in yards per play (6.7). Ridder had one of the finest seasons ever by a Bearcat in 2021, passing for 3,334 yards and 30 touchdowns
The 2020 offense was also impressive, ranking 19th in total offense, 18th in team passing efficiency and 15th in scoring offense.
Recognized as a premier, up-and-coming coach, Guidugli was selected to participate in the 2019 American Football Coaches Association 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute.
In 2018, he helped UC to a 10-2 regular-season mark, a six-game improvement over its 2017 record and a berth in the 2018 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, benefiting the USO against Virginia Tech. Guidugli guided Ridder, who started 11 games, completed 62.5 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,359 yards, 19 TDs and adding another 574 yards rushing along with five more scores and was named AAC Rookie of the Year.
He was named CMU’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach following the 2016 campaign after previously serving as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. He originally joined the Chippewas staff in 2009 as a graduate assistant.
The Chippewas averaged nearly six yards a play and almost 400 yards per game in 2016 on the way to a berth in the Miami Beach Bowl. Guidugli mentored a pair of NFL running backs during his time in Mt. Pleasant, Thomas Rawls and Zurlon Tipton.
He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at CMU from 2009-11, assisting with the wide receivers and defensive scout team.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Guidugli played professionally in the Arena and Canadian Football Leagues. He had two stints with the Green Bay Blizzard of AFL2 in 2007 and 2009. He played for the AFL’s New York Dragons in 2008, the CFL’s British Columbia Lions in 2007 and 2008 before closing out his pro career with the AFL’s Milwaukee Mustangs, passing for 4,872 yards and 86 touchdowns in 2012.
Guidugli led Cincinnati to three bowl berths during his four-year career as a starter, earning the Claude Rost Team MVP award in 2001 and 2004, the MVP of the 2004 Fort Worth Bowl, a three-time Conference USA Scholar Athlete and a Freshman All-America selection.
Guidugli held UC’s career records for passing yards (11,453), attempts (1,556), completions (880) and TD passes (78), along with the single-season marks for passing yards (3,543), attempts (472) and completions (258). He is the only signal caller in school history to throw for 3,500 or more yards in a season and had 14 career 300-yard passing games.
He was tabbed for the Nippert Stadium Ring of Honor in 2005 and inducted into the James P. Kelly Sr. UC Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2013.
Guidugli earned his bachelor's degree in business marketing from Cincinnati in 2005 and his master's degree in sport administration from Central Michigan in 2012.
The Fort Thomas, Kentucky, native was a standout basketball and football player at powerhouse Highlands HS and was part of three state championship football teams. He still ranks in the KHSAA record books as one of the top QBs in the state’s history.
He and his wife, Michelle, have three children – sons, Ryland and Ezra and daughter Willow. His brother Ben played at Cincinnati from 2007-10 and was a key part of two conference championship teams and later played in the NFL for the St. Louis Rams.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: March 13, 1983
Hometown: Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Wife: Michelle
Children: Ryland, Ezra, Willow
Education: Cincinnati (2005, B.S.); Central Michigan (2012, M.S.)
Year in Coaching: 13th
PLAYING CAREER
2001-04: Cincinnati (Quarterback)
2005: Tennessee Titans (Quarterback)
2007: British Columbia Lions (CFL), Green Bay Blizzard (AFL2) (Quarterback)
2008: British Columbia Lions (CFL), New York Dragons (AFL) (Quarterback)
2009: Green Bay Blizzard (AFL2) (Quarterback)
2012: Milwaukee Mustangs (AFL) (Quarterback)
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL/POSITION
2010: Central Michigan - Graduate Assistant
2011: Central Michigan - Graduate Assistant
2012: Central Michigan - Graduate Assistant
2013: Central Michigan - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
2014: Central Michigan - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
2015: Central Michigan - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
2016: Central Michigan - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
2017: Central Michigan - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2017: Cincinnati - Running Backs
2018: Cincinnati – Quarterbacks
2019: Cincinnati - Quarterbacks
2020: Cincinnati - Passing Game Coordinator/QBs
2021: Cincinnati - Passing Game Coordinator/QBs
2022: Cincinnati - Offensive Coordinator/QBs
Kerry Coombs
Former UC defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs rejoined the Bearcats football staff in February 2022 as the cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator. He previously coached on the UC staff from 2007-2011.
Coombs spent 2020 and 2021 as The Ohio State University’s defensive coordinator, returning after coaching the Buckeyes for six seasons, from 2012 to 2017.
In 2020, he helped lead the team to a Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. His rushing defense (97.6) ranked sixth in the country, and the Buckeyes forced an impressive 20 turnovers in just eight games. Cornerback Shaun Wade was named a consensus All-American and the Big Ten's defensive back of the year.
Prior to 2020, Coombs was the cornerback coach for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans for two season and produced one of the leagues’ best defensive units.
The Titans ranked sixth in passing defense (216.9 yards/game), eight in opponent passer rating (88.4) and ninth in opponent competition percentage (.632). The secondary ranked eighth in the league in interceptions in 2019.
In 2017, Coombs was promoted to the assistant coordinator of the defense for the Buckeyes and was the special teams coordinator for five season (2013-2017) while serving as the cornerbacks coach.
Coombs helped develop a plethora of NFL-level talent during his tenure at OSU and had five players drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft between 2014-2018, including Bradley Roby (2014, Denver Broncos), Eli Apple (2016, New York Giants), Marshon Lattimore (2017, New Orleans Saints), Gareon Conley (2017, Oakland Raiders) and Denzel Ward (2018, Cleveland Browns).
In his six-year tenure, every starting cornerback he had coached made it to the NFL. In that same time, the Buckeyes totaled 101 interceptions with 17 returned for touchdowns, which ranked among the nation's top two in each category during that span.
In 2016, the Buckeyes ranked fourth nationally with 21 interceptions, including a nation-high seven interceptions returned for touchdowns. The team ranked third in the country in passing defense.
With Lattimore and Conley drafted in 2016 as first round picks, Coombs become the first coach to have three cornerbacks taken in the first round over consecutive drafts, with Apple being picked in the first round of the 2015 draft.
After accepting the position of defensive backs coach in 2012, from 2014-2017 the Buckeyes won two Big Ten titles, became the first-ever College Football Playoff national champion and Ohio State never finished lower than 13th nationally in pass defense, topping out at No. 3 in 2016.
Coombs and Fickell coached together as assistants at Ohio State from 2012 until Fickell took over the Cincinnati program in December 2016.
Coombs accepted an offer from Brian Kelly to join his staff in 2007 and stayed through the 2011 season.
In 2009, Coombs was promoted to associate head coach in addition to being the team’s defensive backs coach and special team’s coordinator. In 2007, the Coombs-led Bearcats finished first in the nation in interceptions (26).
Coombs was instrumental in Kelly’s three Cincinnati teams that were 33-7 overall and played in two BCS bow games: 2008 Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech and 2009 Sugar Bowl vs. Florida.
Prior to coaching at the college ranks, Coombs became head coach at Colerain High School in Cincinnati in 1991, his alma mater.
In 16 years at the helm, the Colerain Cardinals went to 10 state playoffs, five state semifinals berths and went undefeated in their route to a state title in 2004. Coombs left Colerain with a 161-34 record.
His coaching career began after winning the 1980 Division III National Championship with the University of Dayton, he accepted two assistant coaching jobs in Cincinnati (Greenhills High School and Lakota High School) before becoming head coach at Loveland High School in Loveland, Ohio in 1989.
Coombs graduated from the University of Dayton in 1983 and is a local product of Colerain, Ohio.
Coombs and his wife Holly are the parents of three grown children. They have a son Brayden, a daughter Cortney and son Dylan, who is a former cornerback for UC and was in the Lindner Honors Plus business program.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Hometown: Colerain, Ohio
Wife: Holly
Children: Brayden, Dylan and Cortney
Education: Dayton, 1983
Year in Coaching: 40th
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL/POSITION
1983-84: Greenhills High School – Assistant Coach
1985-88: Lakota High School – Assistant Coach
1989-90: Loveland High School – Head Coach
1991-2006: Colerain High School – Head Coach
2007-08: Cincinnati – Defensive Backs
2009-11: Cincinnati – Associate Head Coach/Defensive Backs/Special Teams
2012: Ohio State - Cornerbacks
2013-16: Ohio State – Cornerbacks/Special Teams Coordinator
2017: Ohio State – Assistant Defensive Coordinator/Cornerbacks/Special Teams Coordinator
2018-19: Tennessee Titans – Secondary
2020-21: Ohio State – Defensive Coordinator
2022-: Cincinnati – Cornerbacks/Special Teams Coordinator
Mike Brown
Mike Brown joined the University of Cincinnati staff in 2019 as the wide receivers coach. He was promoted to passing game coordinator in addition to his wide receivers coaching duties in 2022.
Brown was a two-time All-America selection at Liberty as a wide receiver and quarterback and played three years in the NFL before starting a coaching career. He spent the 2018 season at Liberty, his alma mater, coaching the running backs.
He was selected to participate in a Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Cincinnati Bengals in the summer of 2020.
Brown mentored the eventual No. 53 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, Alec Pierce, who was taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round.
He has been instrumental in one of the nation’s top offensive attacks that has helped pace the Bearcats to their first-ever 13-0 record and a second straight American Athletic Conference Championship as well as a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021.
Brown led the development of All-AAC Second Team selections Alec Pierce (2021) and Michael Young Jr. (2020), among others.
Pierce emerged as one of the nation’s top receivers, catching 52 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021. Pierce also accepted an invitation to the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
In 2021, Brown’s receivers helped an offense that broke the school records for touchdowns (70) and points scored (516). UC ranked second in the AAC and No. 11 nationally in scoring (36.9) and also led the conference and ranked No. 9 overall in yards per play (6.7).
In addition to Pierce, sophomore Tyler Scott (30 receptions, 520 yards, 5 TDs), junior Tre Tucker (34 receptions, 426 yards, 2 TDs) and senior Michael Young (28 receptions, 353yards, 2 TDs) proved to be among the conference’s top pass-catchers.
In 2020, the Cincinnati offense was also impressive, ranking 19th in total offense, 18th in team passing efficiency and 15th in scoring offense.
Young led the way with 29 receptions for 332 yards and three scores as UC finished 9-0 in the regular season and advanced to the Peach Bowl – the Bearcats’ first New Year’s Six Game since 2009. Tucker and Pierce added three touchdowns apiece.
In 2019, Cincinnati finished 11-3 and Pierce finished with 37 receptions for 652 yards and two touchdowns.
In 2018, Brown led the Flames’ running backs to their best on-field performance since the 2014 season. Liberty, in its first season as an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Independent, rushed for 1,937 yards, averaging four yards per carry, along with 30 touchdowns. Frankie Hickson racked up a career-high 1,032 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Prior to his return to Liberty, Brown spent the 2017 season at Delaware as the running backs coach. Working under Head Coach Danny Rocco, who Brown played for at Liberty, he helped the Blue Hens to a 7-4 overall record and a third-place showing in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 5-3 league mark.
He started his coaching career in 2016 as an offensive analyst and running backs assistant on Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Michigan. The Wolverines finished the year with a 10-3 overall record after losing to No. 2 Ohio State (30-27 in overtime) and to No. 10 Florida State in the Orange Bowl (33-32) to wrap up the season.
The 2016 Wolverines had a running back group which featured four rushers with 400-plus yards and accounted for a combined 25 TDs: De’Veon Smith (846 yds., 10 TDs), Chris Evans (614, four), Karan Higdon (425, six) and Ty Isaac (417, five). UM’s running backs finished second in the Big Ten with 212.9 rushing yards per game, while Smith was named Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week after he tallied a season-high 23 rushes for a career-high 158 yards in Michigan’s win against Indiana
Brown was a standout football player for Liberty. He helped the Flames win three Big South Conference titles (2008, 2009, and 2010), and his graduating senior class posted the second-best four-year win total in program history (33-12 overall, 20-3 in Big South play).
He led the Flames in receiving yards in 2009, earning CSN Fabulous FCS All-America honors, and finished the season with 698 yards on 60 receptions and two touchdowns.
Brown posted a pair of 100-yard games in 2009, including a breakout game onto the national scene against West Virginia on Sept. 5. Against the Mountaineers, he had 11 receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown, three kickoff returns for 107 yards, and 271 total all-purpose yards.
In his final two seasons, Brown guided the Flames’ offense as the starting quarterback. He was named to the CSN Fabulous FCS All-America team in 2010 after finishing the year with a program-record 3,810 total offensive yards. He led the Flames in both rushing yards (854 on 160 carries) and passing yards (2,956 yards on 223-of-351 passing attempts) and was responsible for 32 total touchdowns (23 passing, nine rushing).
Brown was named the Big South Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010 and finished his career as a three-time All-Big South honoree (2009, 2010, 2011).
He finished his senior season completing 196-of-299 passing attempts for 2,664 yards and 18 touchdowns, while rushing for 437 yards and nine touchdowns, giving him 3,103 all-purpose yards during his final collegiate season.
Brown completed his career with a 150.35 passing efficiency rating and a 65.0 completion rate (469-of-722 with 21 interceptions), both of which are still school records. He also ranks third in program history with 7,947 career total offensive yards.
Following his career at Liberty, Brown signed a free-agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, playing for the franchise for three seasons (2012-14). He finished his NFL career with 39 receptions for 534 yards and two touchdowns, including a 32-catch, 446-yard, two-touchdown season in 2013.
The Charlottesville, Virginia, native earned a finance degree from Liberty with a minor in coaching.
Brown and his wife, Dymond, have two sons: Mike III and Drue.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: February 9, 1989
Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia
Wife: Dymond
Son: Mike III
Education: Liberty (2011, B.S.)
Year In Coaching: Sixth
PLAYING CAREER
2008-11: Liberty (Quarterback & Wide Receiver)
2012-14: Jacksonville Jaguars (Wide Receiver)
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Years: Team - Position
2016: Michigan – Offensive Analyst
2017: Delaware – Running Backs
2018: Liberty – Running Backs
2019: Cincinnati – Wide Receivers
2020: Cincinnati – Wide Receivers
2021: Cincinnati – Wide Receivers
2022: Cincinnati – Wide Receivers/Passing Game Coordinator
Colin Hitschler
Enters his first season as the co-defensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati and his fifth season overall with the program. He will also coach safeties for the third straight season in 2022. He joined Cincinnati as a quality control coach in 2018.
He was named one of the “rising-star assistants you need to know” by On3 for 2022.
Led by the nation’s best pass defense, Cincinnati secured its first-ever 13-0 record in 2021, winning a second-straight American Athletic Conference Championship and advancing to the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl in the process.
As UC’s safeties coach, he led development of 2020 All-AAC First Team selection James Wiggins and 2021 All-AAC First Team selection Bryan Cook, who was picked to play in the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Cook was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the No. 62 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Wiggins was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 243rd pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Darrick Forrest was selected by the Washington Commanders with the 163rd pick in the same draft.
In 2021, the Bearcats’ defense was outstanding, ranking fifth nationally in scoring defense (16.5) and No. 10 in total defense (318.4). The Bearcats also allowed only 4.5 yards per play to opponents, which was the fourth-fewest in the nation.
Cincinnati had the nation’s best pass defense, finishing No. 1 in the country in pass efficiency defense (103.37), No. 2 in passing yards allowed (169.2), No. 3 in interceptions (19) and No. 4 in opponent completion % (54.0).
Cook finished eighth in the AAC with 93 tackles and ninth with 11 passes defended. The other safety starter Ja’von Hicks recorded 56 tackles and two interceptions.
In 2020, the BlackCats defense ranked in the Top 21 nationally in passing and rushing defense and Top 12 in total, scoring, and team passing efficiency defense.
Hitschler moved into his current role after serving the 2019 season as UC’s senior defensive analyst. He came to Clifton Heights in 2018 as a defensive quality control coach.
Prior to his role as safeties coach, he had been part of a UC staff which helped lead the Bearcats to back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2018 and 2019, the 2019 American Athletic Conference East Division Championship and consecutive bowl-game wins in the 2018 Military Bowl and 2019 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl.
The Bearcats finished atop the 2019 AAC ranks in scoring defense for the second-straight season and ranked among the league's top three in rushing and total defense.
The 2018 BlackCats Defense led the American in rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense and ranked among the Top-15 in the NCAA FBS in all three categories.
Hitschler came to UC after four seasons at the University of South Alabama. He coached the safeties in 2017, served as the director of football operations from 2015-16 and was a defensive graduate assistant in 2014.
USA safety Jeremy Reaves was recognized as the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-league honoree. The 2017 defense surrendered 22 points or fewer in regulation seven times in eight conference games. The Jaguars finished in the Top 5 in the Sun Belt Conference in pass defense, pass efficiency defense, tackles for loss and third-down conversion percentage against. USA was one of two programs with multiple first-team all-conference honorees.
Prior to joining the Jaguars staff, he was a graduate assistant at Arkansas State during the 2013 campaign. Working with the Red Wolves’ defensive line, Hitschler assisted with position meetings, breaking down film, recruiting and compliance as ASU finished 8-5 after a victory over Ball State at the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
In 2012, he was the defensive backs coach, special teams and recruiting coordinator at Widener (Pa.), helping the Pride go 11-1, win the Middle Atlantic Conference championship and advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs. As the defensive line coach and co-special teams coordinator the previous year at Salve Regina (R.I.), he was part of a Seahawk staff that led the program to the East Coast Athletic Conference title and a 9-2 finish after winning the New England Bowl.
Hitschler has National Football League experience as well, serving as a player personnel assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 — they would win the AFC West Division with a 10-6 mark that fall — and as a training camp assistant the year before with the Philadelphia Eagles.
A native of Philadelphia, Hitschler wrestled at Pennsylvania for four years before earning his degree in communications and commerce in 2010. He and his wife Rebecca were married in the summer of 2016, and the couple has two daughters, Catherine and Isabel.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: March 13, 1986
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wife: Rebecca
Children: Catherine
Education: Pennsylvania (2010, B.S.)
Year in Coaching: 13th
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL - POSITION
2009: Philadelphia Eagles – Training Camp Assistant
2010: Kansas City Chiefs – Player Personnel Assistant
2011: Salve Regina (R.I.) – Co-Special Teams Coordinator/DL
2012: Widener (Pa.) – Special Teams Coordinator/DBs
2013: Arkansas State – Graduate Assistant
2014: South Alabama – Graduate Assistant
2015: South Alabama – Director of FB Operations
2016: South Alabama – Director of FB Operations
2017: South Alabama – Safeties
2018: Cincinnati – Quality Control – Defense
2019: Cincinnati – Senior Defensive Analyst
2020: Cincinnati – Safeties
2021: Cincinnati – Safeties
2022: Cincinnati – Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
Mike Cummings
Cummings came to UC after three seasons as the offensive line coach at Central Michigan. In 2021, CMU had a 9-4 record and led the MAC in points scored (465) and touchdowns (59). Running back Lew Nichols III led the conference in rushing yards (1,927) and averaged 5.4 yards per carry behind Cummings' offensive line.
Bernhard Raimann and Luke Goedeke, both offensive lineman that have learned under Cummings, look to be on their way to the NFL in 2022 as draft prospects. Both earned invitations to the Senior Bowl, All-MAC First Team honors and All-America accolades from Pro Football Focus.
Cummings mentored an offensive line unit that paved the way for running backs Kobe Lewis and Lew Nichols III to rush for a combined 976 yards (third in the conference) in an abbreviated 2020 season. Lewis tied for third in the league with six rushing touchdowns, and Cummings’ offensive line helped produce three of the five longest rushing plays of the season in the MAC.
In 2019, Cummings' offensive line paved the way for two CMU running backs to rush for 1,000 yards as the Chippewas led the MAC in total yards (6,070).
Cummings’ most recent stint at CMU was his fifth separate time there. He has been at CMU as an offensive line coach, offensive coordinator and graduate assistant. His five different stints were from 1988-89, 1992-97, 1999, 2010-13 and 2019-20.
Cummings was the offensive coordinator for the Chippewas from 2010-13. He coached five All-MAC offensive line selections during that four-year stretch, including Eric Fisher who was picked No. 1 by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2013 Draft. CMU's passing attack finished in the nation's Top 25 twice during the stretch.
While he was Central Michigan's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 2010-13, Gino Guidugli, UC’s current offensive coordinator, was an assistant for the Chippewas.
In between his two latest stints at CMU, Cummings served as the offensive line coach at VMI in 2017-18. In 2018, the Keydets ranked eighth in passing offense among Football Championship Subdivision teams.
From 2005-09, Cummings served as the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Marshall. In each of his five seasons, at least one offensive lineman earned All-Conference USA honors. Prior to Marshall, Cummings was the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Western Michigan for three seasons.
Cummings’ career also includes stops at Eastern Michigan (defensive line/special teams/recruiting coordinator, 2000-01), Michigan State (tight ends/ special teams, 1998), Millersville (offensive line, 1990-91) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (offensive line, 1987).
Cummings earned three varsity letters in football at Buffalo. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education and exercise science from Buffalo in 1984 and his master’s degree in athletics administration from CMU in 1990.
Cummings and his wife Donna have two daughters, Elizabeth and Emily.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Hometown: Jamestown, N.Y.
Wife: Donna
Daughters: Elizabeth and Emily
Education: B.S. Physical Education and Exercise Science (Buffalo, 1984), M.S. Athletics Admin. (CMU, 1990)
Year In Coaching: 35th
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2019-21: Central Michigan (offensive line)
2017-18: VMI (offensive line)
2014-16: Connecticut (offensive coordinator/tight ends/offensive line)
2010-13: Central Michigan (offensive coordinator/offensive line)
2005-09: Marshall (offensive line/recruiting coordinator)
2002-04: Western Michigan (offensive line/recruiting coordinator)
2000-01: Eastern Michigan (defensive line/recruiting coordinator)
1999: Central Michigan (offensive line)
1998: Michigan State (tight ends/special teams)
1992-97: Central Michigan (offensive line)
1990-91: Millersville (Pa.) (offensive line/special teams)
1988-89: Central Michigan (graduate assistant)
1987: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (offensive line)
Nate Letton
enters his first season as Cincinnati's tight ends coach in 2022. He served as an offensive graduate assistant for the Bearcats from 2020 to 2021.
Letton's two seasons as a graduate assistant coincided with arguably the greatest two-year stretch in UC football history. The Bearcats recorded a 22-2 record with two American Athletic Conference Championships and two New Year's Six Bowl berths, including the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Letton worked closely with the offensive line, which had all five starters collect All-AAC honors in 2021.
The Cincinnati offense broke school records for touchdowns (70) and points scored (516) in 2021.
UC also ranked second in the AAC and 11th nationally in scoring (36.5) and led the conference and ranked No. 9 overall in yards per play (6.7). The 2020 offense was impressive as well, ranking 19th nationally in total offense and 15th in scoring offense.
Before joining the UC staff, Letton coached at his alma mater, Centre College, from 2015 to 2019. He coached wide receivers in 2015 and tight ends in 2016 before coaching the offensive line for three seasons.
In 2018, he helped Centre go 10-2 and capture the SAA Championship while advancing to the NCAA Division III Playoffs. He mentored Drew Yeager to All-America honors as the offensive line paced Centre to 471 yards per game and 41.9 points per game. In 2017, all five of his offensive linemen captured All-SAA honors.
Letton is a Lexington, Ky., native. He graduated from Centre in 2015 with a degree in biology and a minor in education. He snagged All-SAA Honorable Mention accolades in 2014 by registering 67 tackles from his linebacker position and leading Centre to an undefeated regular season and conference title.
Darren Paige
enters his second season as the running backs coach at the University of Cincinnati after joining the staff in 2021.
In his first year leading the running back’s room, he aided in the development of junior Jerome Ford, who had one of the finest seasons ever for a Cincinnati running back as the Bearcats tallied a 13-1 record for the first time in school history, won the American Athletic Conference Championship and secured a spot in the 2021 College Football Playoff.
Ford was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 156 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He rushed for 1,319 yards and a school-record-tying 19 touchdowns in 2021. He collected 2021 AAC Championship Game MVP honors after rushing for 187 yards with touchdowns of 79 yards and 42 yards in the 35-20 win over Houston.
As a unit, the UC rushing attack averaged 5.2 yards per carry – second in the AAC and the 18th-best mark in the country. Cincinnati led the AAC with 34 rushing touchdowns and finished fourth in the league with 172.6 rushing yards per game.
Overall, the UC offense broke the school records for touchdowns (70) and points scored (516).
Paige, entering his second decade in coaching, came to UC after spending the 2019 and 2020 seasons mentoring wide receivers at Eastern Michigan.
EMU was limited to six games in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the wide receivers group accounted for 77 percent of the team’s receptions (97-of-126) and 58 percent of the scores (7-of-12). EMU led the nation in red-zone offense and Hassan Beydoun was a Second-Team All-Mid-American Conference selection.
Eastern’s offense was electric in 2019 en route to an appearance in the Quick Lane Bowl, amassing 5,271 total yards, 49 touchdowns, and 379 total points. Overall, the EMU offense set the program record for touchdowns in a season (49), touchdown passes in a season (27), and passes completed in a season (313). Additionally, EMU’s 285 first downs, 379 points, and 5,271 total yards of offense ranked second all-time in program history.
Wide receiver Arthur Jackson III was selected Second Team All-MAC after leading the team with the 16th-most yards receiving in a single-season at EMU. He had 732 yards receiving on 46 catches and notched seven touchdowns on the year to ranked tied for fifth in a single campaign. Additionally, his 15.91 yards per reception ranked eighth in the MAC.
Paige has mentored wide receivers for the past nine seasons with a previous stop at Stony Brook University during the 2018 campaign. In his one season with the Seawolves, he helped SBU earn the program’s fourth NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoff appearance. The wide receiving corps hauled in 161 catches for 2,050 yards and 17 touchdowns, led by Julius Wingate who averaged 14 yards per catch.
Prior to his arrival at Stony Brook, Paige had a one-year stint as the wide receivers coach at the College of the Holy Cross. In 2017, Paige helped Blaise Bell earn Second Team All-Patriot League honors after the junior wide receiver led the Crusaders with 46 receptions for 601 yards and eight touchdowns. As a team, Holy Cross finished second in the Patriot League in passing offense as it averaged 254 passing yards per game. Two of his charges, Julius Wingate (Kansas City) and Marshall Ellick (Philadelphia), spent time in NFL Training Camps.
Paige spent the summer of 2017 with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans as part of the Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship Program.
From 2013-16, he served as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Mustangs went 31-12 during Paige’s four years on the staff, while advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, Midwestern State earned the No. 1 seed in Region 4 after winning the Lone Star Conference Playoff. During Paige’s tenure, the Mustangs averaged at least 30 points and 400 yards of total offense per game each season. His players earned all-conference honors six times, including DeAndre Black, who was named a Second Team All-American in 2016.
Prior to his time at Midwestern State, Paige served as an offensive graduate assistant coach at Kent State University during the 2012 season, working with the wide receivers. He helped the Golden Flashes to an overall record of 11-3 and the 2012 MAC East Division Championship. The team’s 11 wins and 10-game win streak were both program records. On an individual level, Dri Archer was named a First Team All-American as a kick returner and a Third Team All-American as an all-purpose player. Archer was selected in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Paige also coached the wide receivers at Gannon University in Erie, Pa. in 2011 and was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Haines City (Fla.) High School in 2009.
The former collegiate standout also enjoyed a two-year professional career (2008-09) with the Peoria Pirates of the Arena Football League 2 (AF2), seeing action in 20 games. In his second season, he hauled in 63 passes for 663 yards and nine touchdowns while returning 34 kickoffs for 678 yards and another score. In all, Paige accounted for 1,344 all-purpose yards while making 15 tackles on defense to garnered mention as Peoria’s Iron Man of the Year.
He earned an invitation to the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders mini-camp in 2009 and participated in training camp for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League in 2010.
Paige began his collegiate career at Miami University, playing in seven games as a “true” freshman in 2003. The RedHawks were 13-1 and winners of the Mid-American Conference and GMAC Bowl Championships. He then transferred to the University of Findlay for three seasons (2005-07). He led the Oilers in receptions and receiving yards all three seasons, totaling 117 catches for 1,461 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Rossford, Ohio native earned Ohio High School Division IV Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior. He also played in the Ohio-Pennsylvania Big 33 All-Star Game and the Ohio North-South All-Star Game.
Paige graduated from Findlay in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in social work and completed his master’s degree at Kent State in 2013.
Paige and his wife, Amanda, have a son, Brandon (Zek), and a daughter, Aniyah.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: August 7, 1984
Hometown: Rossford, Ohio
Wife: Amanda
Children: Brandon (Zek), Aniyah
Education: Findlay (B.S. 2008); Kent State (M.S. 2013)
Year in Coaching: 11th
PLAYING CAREER
2003: Miami (OH) (Wide Receiver)
2005-07: Findlay (Wide Receiver)
2008-09: Peoria Pirates (AFL2) (Wide Receiver)
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL – POSITION
2009: Haines City (Fla.) HS – Co-Offensive Coordinator/QBs
2011: Gannon – Wide Receivers
2012: Kent State – Graduate Assistant
2013: Midwestern State – Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
2014: Midwestern State – Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
2015: Midwestern State – Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
2016: Midwestern State – Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
2017: Holy Cross – Wide Receivers
2018: Stony Brook – Wide Receivers
2019: Eastern Michigan – Wide Receivers
2020: Eastern Michigan – Wide Receivers
2021: Cincinnati – Running Backs
2022: Cincinnati – Running Backs
James Ross III
enters his first season as Cincinnati's outside linebackers coach.
He joins the Bearcats from Hope College where he served as the Flying Dutchmen's linebackers coach in 2021 and had recently been promoted to defensive coordinator.
Ross was a three-year starter at linebacker at Michigan from 2012 to 2015. He also spent three seasons as a graduate assistant with the Wolverines from 2018 to 2020.
Ross appeared in 50 games for the Wolverines, making 21 starts and collecting four letters. He finished his career with 188 tackles and 16.5 TFLs. The Orchard Park, Mich., native was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team by ESPN in 2012.
Ross started coaching following a brief stint with the San Diego Chargers in 2016, who signed the linebacker out of college.
As a graduate assistant, Ross helped Michigan coach linebackers and mentored five current NFL players, including Pittsburgh Steelers first round pick Devin Bush, New England Patriots second-rounder Josh Uche, Cameron McGrone, Khaleke Hudson and Jordan Glasgow.
As the linebackers coach at Hope, the Flying Dutchmen led the MIAA in scoring defense (14.5 points per game) and ranked No. 2 in total defense (291.7 yards per game) in 2021. Senior linebacker Jeremiah Purnell collected second-team all-conference accolades under Ross' tutelage.
Ross and his wife, Omni, have one son, Jayce, and are expecting a second child this spring.
Walter Stewart
begins his first season at Cincinnati in 2022 as the outside linebackers coach.
Stewart comes back to UC as a coach after playing here from 2008-12 as a defensive lineman. He was a team captain and second-team All-BIG EAST selection as a senior in 2012. He played in 43 games, went to four bowls, won four BIG EAST championships and totaled 185 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, 17.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles. He ranks ninth in school history in career sacks and tied for second in forced fumbles.
In his nine years of coaching, he has mentored two All-Americans, two conference defensive players of the year, one conference player of the year and 10 all-conference selections.
His most recent stop in his coaching career was with Temple from 2019-21 as the defensive line coach.
While at Temple, he helped lead the Owls to an 8-5 record and Military Bowl appearance in 2019. The Owls recorded 67 sacks in his 32-game span from 2019-21, including a 39-sack season in 2019 that ranked 16th nationally.
He mentored defensive end Quincy Roche, who was named the 2019 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year after tying the school record with 13.0 sacks. Roche now plays for the New York Giants after being a 6th round draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He’s also coached defensive lineman Ifeanyi Maijeh, who earned First Team All-AAC honors in 2019 with 6.5 sacks, and defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, who earned 2020 Second Team All-AAC honors.
Prior to his stop at Temple, Stewart served as the defensive line coach at Northern Illinois in 2018. NIU played in the Boca Raton Bowl and ended the year with the second-most sacks in the entire country (50), trailing only Clemson. Stewart also coached defensive end Sutton Smith, who was a back-to-back All-American.
Before NIU, Stewart was at Eastern Kentucky for the 2016 and 2017 seasons as the defensive line coach. During his time at EKU in 2016-17, his defensive line totaled 53 sacks between the two seasons. In 2016, 21 Eastern Kentucky brought down the QB 21 times, averaging 2.45 sacks per game (27th in the FCS).
In 2015, he coached the defensive ends at Florida A&M after being on the Tennessee staff from 2013-14 where he mentored All-SEC linemen Derek Barnett and Curt Maggitt.
Stewart earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Cincinnati in 2012.
He and his wife, Rebecca, have a daughter, Niya, and son, Nolan.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: June 21, 1990
Hometown: Youngstown, OH
Wife: Rebecca
Daughter: Niya
Son: Nolan
Education: B.S. Sociology (Cincinnati, 2012)
Year In Coaching: 10th
PLAYING CAREER
2008-12: Cincinnati
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2019-21: Temple (defensive line)
2018: Northern Illinois (defensive line)
2016-17: Eastern Kentucky (defensive line)
2015: Florida A&M (defensive ends)
2013-14: Tennessee (defensive line graduate assistant)
Mike Tressel
Started his second stint at the University of Cincinnati in January 2021 as the Bearcats defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
In his first season back at UC, Tressel elevated the standards set on the defensive side of the ball the past several seasons as Cincinnati secured its first-ever 13-0 start, won the American Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.
Under Tressel's leadership, six Bearcats on the defensive side of the ball were selected in the 2022 NFL Draft - cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner (No. 4, New York Jets), safety Bryan Cook (No. 62, Kansas City Chiefs), defensive end Myjai Sanders (No. 100, Arizona Cardinals), linebacker Darrian Beavers (No. 182, New York Giants), cornerback Coby Bryant (No. 198, Seattle Seahawks) and defensive lineman Curtis Brooks (No. 216, Indianapolis Colts).
The Bearcats’ defense was outstanding, ranking fifth nationally in scoring defense (16.5) and No. 10 in total defense (318.4). The Bearcats also allowed only 4.5 yards per play to opponents, which was the fourth-fewest in the nation.
Cincinnati had the nation’s best pass defense, finishing No. 1 in the country in pass efficiency defense (103.37), No. 2 in passing yards allowed (169.2), No. 3 in interceptions (9) and No. 4 in opponent completion % (54.0).
Cincinnati also had 39 sacks, which ranked No. 2 in the AAC and No. 18 in the country.
Senior cornerback Coby Bryant was named the Jim Thorpe Award winner, while junior cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner earned unanimous AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Senior linebacker Darrian Beavers was one of six finalists for the Butkus Award – given to the nation’s top linebacker.
The Blackcats defense had nine of 11 starters capture All-AAC honors – led by Gardner and senior defensive end Myjai Sanders, who were both unanimous selections.
Joining Gardner and Sanders on the All-AAC First Team were Bryant, Beavers, senior defensive tackle Curtis Brooks, senior middle linebacker Joel Dublanko and senior safety Brian Cook. Sophomore linebacker Deshawn Pace and senior defensive tackle Marcus Brown also grabbed All-AAC honorable mention accolades.
Four Bearcats ranked in the AAC’s Top 10 in tackles, including Dublanko (113, second), Beavers (100, fifth), Pace (95, sixth) and Cook (93, eighth).
Tressel, who previously coached at UC from 2004-06 as special teams coordinator/linebackers coach, returned to the Clifton Heights campus after spending 14 seasons at Michigan State.
The 25-year coaching veteran was MSU’s linebackers coach from 2007-19 and also was the special teams coordinator his first eight seasons at MSU. Tressel was the co-defensive coordinator for two seasons (2016-17) and the sole defensive coordinator for two seasons (2018-19), in addition to being the assistant head coach in 2019 and coaching the safeties in 2020.
During his time at MSU, Tressel coached 20 players who earned 35 All-Big Ten Conference honors along with eight All-Americans and two major award winners. From 2007-19, the Spartans won Big Ten Conference Championships three times (2010, 2013, 2015) and played in 12 bowl games, including qualifying for the 2015 College Football Playoff. He was a nominee for the Broyles Award IN 2018, which honors the nation’s top assistant coach.
Spartans linebacker and Cincinnati native Greg Jones was a Consensus All-America selection in 2009 and 2010 and the 2009 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Defensive End Kenny Willekes was the 2018 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year and winner of the 2019 Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation's most outstanding player that began his career as a walk-on.
Seven of his former linebackers have gone on to play in the NFL, including former Bearcats Jamar Enzor and Tyjuan Hagler.
Known for constructing some of the best defenses in the nation, Tressel helped coach the Spartans to final FBS Top 10 rankings in total and rushing defense on six occasions. MSU also ranked among college football’s top 10 in scoring defense four times and was the FBS leader in rushing defense in 2014 and 2018.
During Michigan State's Big Ten and Rose Bowl Championship season in 2013, the linebackers led the way for the only defense in the FBS to rank among the top three in rushing defense (No. 2 at 86.6 ypg.), total defense (No. 2 at 252.2 ypg.), scoring defense (No. 3 at 13.2 ppg.) and passing defense (No. 3 at 165.6 ypg.).
Tressel also oversaw a successful special teams unit from 2007-14 that was one of the best in the Big Ten under his direction. During his time as special teams coach, MSU had two first-team All-Big Ten placekickers (Dan Conroy and Brett Swenson), two first-team All-Big Ten punters (Mike Sadler and Aaron Bates), and featured conference leaders in kick returns (Devin Thomas), punt returns (Keshawn Martin), field goals (Swenson) and field-goal percentage (Swenson, Michael Geiger).
He arrived at Michigan State following the 2006 regular season, as he was one of eight assistants to follow Mark Dantonio to MSU from Cincinnati.
Tressel played a key role in Cincinnati's success over his three seasons (2003-06), as the Bearcats earned two bowl invitations. During the 2006 regular season, UC ranked among the national leaders in rushing defense (No. 27 at 107.5 yards per game), total defense (No. 31 at 304.3 ypg.) and scoring defense (No. 34 at 19.3 points per game). In addition, the Bearcats held seven of its 12 regular-season opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. In 2006, Tressel coached linebacker Kevin McCullough, who received first-team All-BIG EAST honors after leading the team in tackles (72) and tackles for losses (14.5 for 36 yards).
In 2005, he helped develop Corey Smith into a third-team Freshman All-American and second-team All-BIG EAST selection. In his first season at Cincinnati, Tressel's starting linebackers ranked first, third and fifth on the team in tackles, with both Jamar Enzor (second team) and Tyjuan Hagler (third team) garnering All-Conference USA honors. Hagler was taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
Prior to joining Dantonio's staff at Cincinnati, Tressel spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Ohio State (2002-03), along with UC Head Coach Luke Fickell. The Buckeyes were National Champions in 2002.
Tressel previously coached at Wartburg (Iowa) College for four seasons (1998-01), helping the school to a combined record of 36-4 including one conference title. At Wartburg, he served as offensive line coach for three years before assuming the role of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2001 season.
A four-year starter in the secondary at Cornell (Iowa) College, Tressel became a two-time Academic All-American in football and a five-time Academic All-America selection overall (1994 football, second team; 1994 wrestling, second team; 1995 football, first team; 1995 wrestling, second team; 1996 wrestling, first team). Following graduation in 1996, he launched his coaching career at South Dakota as a graduate assistant for two seasons (1996-97), working on the offensive side of the football.
He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Cornell (Iowa) College in 1996 and received a master's degree in sports administration from South Dakota in 1998.
Tressel comes from a bloodline of successful coaches, as his uncle Jim Tressel won four NCAA I-AA championships at Youngstown State before leading Ohio State to the 2002 National Championship. His grandfather, Lee Tressel, ranked as one of the winningest coaches in Division III history and won a National Championship at Baldwin-Wallace College. His father Richard, who spent 23 seasons as head coach at Hamline, coached 11 seasons at Ohio State.
He and his wife Megan have two children: Logan and Quincy.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: September 28, 1973
Hometown: Gibsonburg, Ohio
Wife: Megan
Children: Logan and Quincy
Education: Cornell College (1996, B.S.), South Dakota (1998, M.S.)
Year in Coaching: 25th
PLAYING CAREER
1992-95: Cornell College (Defensive Back / Wrestler)
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL - POSITION
1996: South Dakota – Graduate Assistant
1997: South Dakota – Graduate Assistant
1998: Wartburg – Offensive Line
1999: Wartburg – Offensive Line
2000: Wartburg – Offensive Line
2001: Wartburg – Offensive Coordinator
2002: Ohio State – Graduate Assistant (LB)
2003: Ohio State - Graduate Assistant (LB)
2004: Cincinnati – Special Teams Coordinator/LB)
2005: Cincinnati – Special Teams Coordinator/LB)
2006: Cincinnati – Special Teams Coordinator/LB)
2007: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2008: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2009: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2010: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2011: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2012: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2013: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2014: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2015: Michigan State – Special Teams Coordinator/LB
2016: Michigan State – Co-DC/Linebackers
2017: Michigan State – Co-DC/Linebackers
2018: Michigan State – Defensive Coordinator/LB
2019: Michigan State – Defensive Coordinator/LB
2020: Michigan State – Safeties
2021: Cincinnati – Defensive Coordinator/LB
2022: Cincinnati – Defensive Coordinator/LB
Gino Guidguli
Former University of Cincinnati standout quarterback Gino Guidugli was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022. He will continue to coach quarterbacks after mentoring Desmond Ridder to the most prolific career in UC history.
Ridder was the second quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, going in the third round (No. 74 overall) to the Atlanta Falcons.
Guidugli joined the Bearcats football staff in February 2017 as the running backs coach. He moved over to coaching quarterbacks in 2018 and was tabbed as passing game coordinator in March 2020.
Guidugli, a member of UC’s James P. Kelly Sr. Athletics Hall of Fame and a charter member of Nippert Stadium’s Ring of Honor, returned to his alma mater after spending six seasons at Central Michigan.
He was instrumental in the development Ridder, who broke several records while helping lead an offense that was mong the nation’s best the last two years.
Led by Ridder, Cincinnati tallied its first-ever 13-0 regular season in 2021, won its second straight American Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.
Guidugli has also been part of the 9-1 Peach Bowl campaign in 2020, back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2018 and 2019, the 2019 American Athletic Conference East Division Championship and consecutive bowl-game wins in the 2018 Military Bowl and 2019 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl.
Ridder, the back-to-back AAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021, a 2021 Unitas Golden Arm Award finalist and 2021 Maxwell Award semifinalist, won the third-most games in FBS history (44).
Ridder developed into the school’s all-time leader in yards and touchdown passes under Guidugli. He also finished his career at UC as the all-time leader in touchdowns (116) and total yards (12,419) in the AAC, breaking Guidugli’s UC records in the process.
In 2021, the Cincinnati offense broke school records for touchdowns (70) and points scored (516).
UC ranked second in the AAC and 11th nationally in scoring (36.5) and also led the conference and ranked No. 9 overall in yards per play (6.7). Ridder had one of the finest seasons ever by a Bearcat in 2021, passing for 3,334 yards and 30 touchdowns
The 2020 offense was also impressive, ranking 19th in total offense, 18th in team passing efficiency and 15th in scoring offense.
Recognized as a premier, up-and-coming coach, Guidugli was selected to participate in the 2019 American Football Coaches Association 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute.
In 2018, he helped UC to a 10-2 regular-season mark, a six-game improvement over its 2017 record and a berth in the 2018 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, benefiting the USO against Virginia Tech. Guidugli guided Ridder, who started 11 games, completed 62.5 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,359 yards, 19 TDs and adding another 574 yards rushing along with five more scores and was named AAC Rookie of the Year.
He was named CMU’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach following the 2016 campaign after previously serving as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. He originally joined the Chippewas staff in 2009 as a graduate assistant.
The Chippewas averaged nearly six yards a play and almost 400 yards per game in 2016 on the way to a berth in the Miami Beach Bowl. Guidugli mentored a pair of NFL running backs during his time in Mt. Pleasant, Thomas Rawls and Zurlon Tipton.
He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at CMU from 2009-11, assisting with the wide receivers and defensive scout team.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Guidugli played professionally in the Arena and Canadian Football Leagues. He had two stints with the Green Bay Blizzard of AFL2 in 2007 and 2009. He played for the AFL’s New York Dragons in 2008, the CFL’s British Columbia Lions in 2007 and 2008 before closing out his pro career with the AFL’s Milwaukee Mustangs, passing for 4,872 yards and 86 touchdowns in 2012.
Guidugli led Cincinnati to three bowl berths during his four-year career as a starter, earning the Claude Rost Team MVP award in 2001 and 2004, the MVP of the 2004 Fort Worth Bowl, a three-time Conference USA Scholar Athlete and a Freshman All-America selection.
Guidugli held UC’s career records for passing yards (11,453), attempts (1,556), completions (880) and TD passes (78), along with the single-season marks for passing yards (3,543), attempts (472) and completions (258). He is the only signal caller in school history to throw for 3,500 or more yards in a season and had 14 career 300-yard passing games.
He was tabbed for the Nippert Stadium Ring of Honor in 2005 and inducted into the James P. Kelly Sr. UC Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2013.
Guidugli earned his bachelor's degree in business marketing from Cincinnati in 2005 and his master's degree in sport administration from Central Michigan in 2012.
The Fort Thomas, Kentucky, native was a standout basketball and football player at powerhouse Highlands HS and was part of three state championship football teams. He still ranks in the KHSAA record books as one of the top QBs in the state’s history.
He and his wife, Michelle, have three children – sons, Ryland and Ezra and daughter Willow. His brother Ben played at Cincinnati from 2007-10 and was a key part of two conference championship teams and later played in the NFL for the St. Louis Rams.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: March 13, 1983
Hometown: Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Wife: Michelle
Children: Ryland, Ezra, Willow
Education: Cincinnati (2005, B.S.); Central Michigan (2012, M.S.)
Year in Coaching: 13th
PLAYING CAREER
2001-04: Cincinnati (Quarterback)
2005: Tennessee Titans (Quarterback)
2007: British Columbia Lions (CFL), Green Bay Blizzard (AFL2) (Quarterback)
2008: British Columbia Lions (CFL), New York Dragons (AFL) (Quarterback)
2009: Green Bay Blizzard (AFL2) (Quarterback)
2012: Milwaukee Mustangs (AFL) (Quarterback)
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL/POSITION
2010: Central Michigan - Graduate Assistant
2011: Central Michigan - Graduate Assistant
2012: Central Michigan - Graduate Assistant
2013: Central Michigan - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
2014: Central Michigan - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
2015: Central Michigan - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
2016: Central Michigan - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
2017: Central Michigan - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2017: Cincinnati - Running Backs
2018: Cincinnati – Quarterbacks
2019: Cincinnati - Quarterbacks
2020: Cincinnati - Passing Game Coordinator/QBs
2021: Cincinnati - Passing Game Coordinator/QBs
2022: Cincinnati - Offensive Coordinator/QBs
Kerry Coombs
Former UC defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs rejoined the Bearcats football staff in February 2022 as the cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator. He previously coached on the UC staff from 2007-2011.
Coombs spent 2020 and 2021 as The Ohio State University’s defensive coordinator, returning after coaching the Buckeyes for six seasons, from 2012 to 2017.
In 2020, he helped lead the team to a Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. His rushing defense (97.6) ranked sixth in the country, and the Buckeyes forced an impressive 20 turnovers in just eight games. Cornerback Shaun Wade was named a consensus All-American and the Big Ten's defensive back of the year.
Prior to 2020, Coombs was the cornerback coach for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans for two season and produced one of the leagues’ best defensive units.
The Titans ranked sixth in passing defense (216.9 yards/game), eight in opponent passer rating (88.4) and ninth in opponent competition percentage (.632). The secondary ranked eighth in the league in interceptions in 2019.
In 2017, Coombs was promoted to the assistant coordinator of the defense for the Buckeyes and was the special teams coordinator for five season (2013-2017) while serving as the cornerbacks coach.
Coombs helped develop a plethora of NFL-level talent during his tenure at OSU and had five players drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft between 2014-2018, including Bradley Roby (2014, Denver Broncos), Eli Apple (2016, New York Giants), Marshon Lattimore (2017, New Orleans Saints), Gareon Conley (2017, Oakland Raiders) and Denzel Ward (2018, Cleveland Browns).
In his six-year tenure, every starting cornerback he had coached made it to the NFL. In that same time, the Buckeyes totaled 101 interceptions with 17 returned for touchdowns, which ranked among the nation's top two in each category during that span.
In 2016, the Buckeyes ranked fourth nationally with 21 interceptions, including a nation-high seven interceptions returned for touchdowns. The team ranked third in the country in passing defense.
With Lattimore and Conley drafted in 2016 as first round picks, Coombs become the first coach to have three cornerbacks taken in the first round over consecutive drafts, with Apple being picked in the first round of the 2015 draft.
After accepting the position of defensive backs coach in 2012, from 2014-2017 the Buckeyes won two Big Ten titles, became the first-ever College Football Playoff national champion and Ohio State never finished lower than 13th nationally in pass defense, topping out at No. 3 in 2016.
Coombs and Fickell coached together as assistants at Ohio State from 2012 until Fickell took over the Cincinnati program in December 2016.
Coombs accepted an offer from Brian Kelly to join his staff in 2007 and stayed through the 2011 season.
In 2009, Coombs was promoted to associate head coach in addition to being the team’s defensive backs coach and special team’s coordinator. In 2007, the Coombs-led Bearcats finished first in the nation in interceptions (26).
Coombs was instrumental in Kelly’s three Cincinnati teams that were 33-7 overall and played in two BCS bow games: 2008 Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech and 2009 Sugar Bowl vs. Florida.
Prior to coaching at the college ranks, Coombs became head coach at Colerain High School in Cincinnati in 1991, his alma mater.
In 16 years at the helm, the Colerain Cardinals went to 10 state playoffs, five state semifinals berths and went undefeated in their route to a state title in 2004. Coombs left Colerain with a 161-34 record.
His coaching career began after winning the 1980 Division III National Championship with the University of Dayton, he accepted two assistant coaching jobs in Cincinnati (Greenhills High School and Lakota High School) before becoming head coach at Loveland High School in Loveland, Ohio in 1989.
Coombs graduated from the University of Dayton in 1983 and is a local product of Colerain, Ohio.
Coombs and his wife Holly are the parents of three grown children. They have a son Brayden, a daughter Cortney and son Dylan, who is a former cornerback for UC and was in the Lindner Honors Plus business program.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Hometown: Colerain, Ohio
Wife: Holly
Children: Brayden, Dylan and Cortney
Education: Dayton, 1983
Year in Coaching: 40th
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL/POSITION
1983-84: Greenhills High School – Assistant Coach
1985-88: Lakota High School – Assistant Coach
1989-90: Loveland High School – Head Coach
1991-2006: Colerain High School – Head Coach
2007-08: Cincinnati – Defensive Backs
2009-11: Cincinnati – Associate Head Coach/Defensive Backs/Special Teams
2012: Ohio State - Cornerbacks
2013-16: Ohio State – Cornerbacks/Special Teams Coordinator
2017: Ohio State – Assistant Defensive Coordinator/Cornerbacks/Special Teams Coordinator
2018-19: Tennessee Titans – Secondary
2020-21: Ohio State – Defensive Coordinator
2022-: Cincinnati – Cornerbacks/Special Teams Coordinator
Mike Brown
Mike Brown joined the University of Cincinnati staff in 2019 as the wide receivers coach. He was promoted to passing game coordinator in addition to his wide receivers coaching duties in 2022.
Brown was a two-time All-America selection at Liberty as a wide receiver and quarterback and played three years in the NFL before starting a coaching career. He spent the 2018 season at Liberty, his alma mater, coaching the running backs.
He was selected to participate in a Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Cincinnati Bengals in the summer of 2020.
Brown mentored the eventual No. 53 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, Alec Pierce, who was taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round.
He has been instrumental in one of the nation’s top offensive attacks that has helped pace the Bearcats to their first-ever 13-0 record and a second straight American Athletic Conference Championship as well as a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021.
Brown led the development of All-AAC Second Team selections Alec Pierce (2021) and Michael Young Jr. (2020), among others.
Pierce emerged as one of the nation’s top receivers, catching 52 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021. Pierce also accepted an invitation to the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
In 2021, Brown’s receivers helped an offense that broke the school records for touchdowns (70) and points scored (516). UC ranked second in the AAC and No. 11 nationally in scoring (36.9) and also led the conference and ranked No. 9 overall in yards per play (6.7).
In addition to Pierce, sophomore Tyler Scott (30 receptions, 520 yards, 5 TDs), junior Tre Tucker (34 receptions, 426 yards, 2 TDs) and senior Michael Young (28 receptions, 353yards, 2 TDs) proved to be among the conference’s top pass-catchers.
In 2020, the Cincinnati offense was also impressive, ranking 19th in total offense, 18th in team passing efficiency and 15th in scoring offense.
Young led the way with 29 receptions for 332 yards and three scores as UC finished 9-0 in the regular season and advanced to the Peach Bowl – the Bearcats’ first New Year’s Six Game since 2009. Tucker and Pierce added three touchdowns apiece.
In 2019, Cincinnati finished 11-3 and Pierce finished with 37 receptions for 652 yards and two touchdowns.
In 2018, Brown led the Flames’ running backs to their best on-field performance since the 2014 season. Liberty, in its first season as an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Independent, rushed for 1,937 yards, averaging four yards per carry, along with 30 touchdowns. Frankie Hickson racked up a career-high 1,032 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Prior to his return to Liberty, Brown spent the 2017 season at Delaware as the running backs coach. Working under Head Coach Danny Rocco, who Brown played for at Liberty, he helped the Blue Hens to a 7-4 overall record and a third-place showing in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 5-3 league mark.
He started his coaching career in 2016 as an offensive analyst and running backs assistant on Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Michigan. The Wolverines finished the year with a 10-3 overall record after losing to No. 2 Ohio State (30-27 in overtime) and to No. 10 Florida State in the Orange Bowl (33-32) to wrap up the season.
The 2016 Wolverines had a running back group which featured four rushers with 400-plus yards and accounted for a combined 25 TDs: De’Veon Smith (846 yds., 10 TDs), Chris Evans (614, four), Karan Higdon (425, six) and Ty Isaac (417, five). UM’s running backs finished second in the Big Ten with 212.9 rushing yards per game, while Smith was named Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week after he tallied a season-high 23 rushes for a career-high 158 yards in Michigan’s win against Indiana
Brown was a standout football player for Liberty. He helped the Flames win three Big South Conference titles (2008, 2009, and 2010), and his graduating senior class posted the second-best four-year win total in program history (33-12 overall, 20-3 in Big South play).
He led the Flames in receiving yards in 2009, earning CSN Fabulous FCS All-America honors, and finished the season with 698 yards on 60 receptions and two touchdowns.
Brown posted a pair of 100-yard games in 2009, including a breakout game onto the national scene against West Virginia on Sept. 5. Against the Mountaineers, he had 11 receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown, three kickoff returns for 107 yards, and 271 total all-purpose yards.
In his final two seasons, Brown guided the Flames’ offense as the starting quarterback. He was named to the CSN Fabulous FCS All-America team in 2010 after finishing the year with a program-record 3,810 total offensive yards. He led the Flames in both rushing yards (854 on 160 carries) and passing yards (2,956 yards on 223-of-351 passing attempts) and was responsible for 32 total touchdowns (23 passing, nine rushing).
Brown was named the Big South Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010 and finished his career as a three-time All-Big South honoree (2009, 2010, 2011).
He finished his senior season completing 196-of-299 passing attempts for 2,664 yards and 18 touchdowns, while rushing for 437 yards and nine touchdowns, giving him 3,103 all-purpose yards during his final collegiate season.
Brown completed his career with a 150.35 passing efficiency rating and a 65.0 completion rate (469-of-722 with 21 interceptions), both of which are still school records. He also ranks third in program history with 7,947 career total offensive yards.
Following his career at Liberty, Brown signed a free-agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, playing for the franchise for three seasons (2012-14). He finished his NFL career with 39 receptions for 534 yards and two touchdowns, including a 32-catch, 446-yard, two-touchdown season in 2013.
The Charlottesville, Virginia, native earned a finance degree from Liberty with a minor in coaching.
Brown and his wife, Dymond, have two sons: Mike III and Drue.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: February 9, 1989
Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia
Wife: Dymond
Son: Mike III
Education: Liberty (2011, B.S.)
Year In Coaching: Sixth
PLAYING CAREER
2008-11: Liberty (Quarterback & Wide Receiver)
2012-14: Jacksonville Jaguars (Wide Receiver)
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Years: Team - Position
2016: Michigan – Offensive Analyst
2017: Delaware – Running Backs
2018: Liberty – Running Backs
2019: Cincinnati – Wide Receivers
2020: Cincinnati – Wide Receivers
2021: Cincinnati – Wide Receivers
2022: Cincinnati – Wide Receivers/Passing Game Coordinator
Colin Hitschler
Enters his first season as the co-defensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati and his fifth season overall with the program. He will also coach safeties for the third straight season in 2022. He joined Cincinnati as a quality control coach in 2018.
He was named one of the “rising-star assistants you need to know” by On3 for 2022.
Led by the nation’s best pass defense, Cincinnati secured its first-ever 13-0 record in 2021, winning a second-straight American Athletic Conference Championship and advancing to the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl in the process.
As UC’s safeties coach, he led development of 2020 All-AAC First Team selection James Wiggins and 2021 All-AAC First Team selection Bryan Cook, who was picked to play in the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Cook was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the No. 62 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Wiggins was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 243rd pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Darrick Forrest was selected by the Washington Commanders with the 163rd pick in the same draft.
In 2021, the Bearcats’ defense was outstanding, ranking fifth nationally in scoring defense (16.5) and No. 10 in total defense (318.4). The Bearcats also allowed only 4.5 yards per play to opponents, which was the fourth-fewest in the nation.
Cincinnati had the nation’s best pass defense, finishing No. 1 in the country in pass efficiency defense (103.37), No. 2 in passing yards allowed (169.2), No. 3 in interceptions (19) and No. 4 in opponent completion % (54.0).
Cook finished eighth in the AAC with 93 tackles and ninth with 11 passes defended. The other safety starter Ja’von Hicks recorded 56 tackles and two interceptions.
In 2020, the BlackCats defense ranked in the Top 21 nationally in passing and rushing defense and Top 12 in total, scoring, and team passing efficiency defense.
Hitschler moved into his current role after serving the 2019 season as UC’s senior defensive analyst. He came to Clifton Heights in 2018 as a defensive quality control coach.
Prior to his role as safeties coach, he had been part of a UC staff which helped lead the Bearcats to back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2018 and 2019, the 2019 American Athletic Conference East Division Championship and consecutive bowl-game wins in the 2018 Military Bowl and 2019 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl.
The Bearcats finished atop the 2019 AAC ranks in scoring defense for the second-straight season and ranked among the league's top three in rushing and total defense.
The 2018 BlackCats Defense led the American in rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense and ranked among the Top-15 in the NCAA FBS in all three categories.
Hitschler came to UC after four seasons at the University of South Alabama. He coached the safeties in 2017, served as the director of football operations from 2015-16 and was a defensive graduate assistant in 2014.
USA safety Jeremy Reaves was recognized as the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-league honoree. The 2017 defense surrendered 22 points or fewer in regulation seven times in eight conference games. The Jaguars finished in the Top 5 in the Sun Belt Conference in pass defense, pass efficiency defense, tackles for loss and third-down conversion percentage against. USA was one of two programs with multiple first-team all-conference honorees.
Prior to joining the Jaguars staff, he was a graduate assistant at Arkansas State during the 2013 campaign. Working with the Red Wolves’ defensive line, Hitschler assisted with position meetings, breaking down film, recruiting and compliance as ASU finished 8-5 after a victory over Ball State at the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
In 2012, he was the defensive backs coach, special teams and recruiting coordinator at Widener (Pa.), helping the Pride go 11-1, win the Middle Atlantic Conference championship and advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs. As the defensive line coach and co-special teams coordinator the previous year at Salve Regina (R.I.), he was part of a Seahawk staff that led the program to the East Coast Athletic Conference title and a 9-2 finish after winning the New England Bowl.
Hitschler has National Football League experience as well, serving as a player personnel assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 — they would win the AFC West Division with a 10-6 mark that fall — and as a training camp assistant the year before with the Philadelphia Eagles.
A native of Philadelphia, Hitschler wrestled at Pennsylvania for four years before earning his degree in communications and commerce in 2010. He and his wife Rebecca were married in the summer of 2016, and the couple has two daughters, Catherine and Isabel.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: March 13, 1986
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wife: Rebecca
Children: Catherine
Education: Pennsylvania (2010, B.S.)
Year in Coaching: 13th
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL - POSITION
2009: Philadelphia Eagles – Training Camp Assistant
2010: Kansas City Chiefs – Player Personnel Assistant
2011: Salve Regina (R.I.) – Co-Special Teams Coordinator/DL
2012: Widener (Pa.) – Special Teams Coordinator/DBs
2013: Arkansas State – Graduate Assistant
2014: South Alabama – Graduate Assistant
2015: South Alabama – Director of FB Operations
2016: South Alabama – Director of FB Operations
2017: South Alabama – Safeties
2018: Cincinnati – Quality Control – Defense
2019: Cincinnati – Senior Defensive Analyst
2020: Cincinnati – Safeties
2021: Cincinnati – Safeties
2022: Cincinnati – Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
Mike Cummings
Cummings came to UC after three seasons as the offensive line coach at Central Michigan. In 2021, CMU had a 9-4 record and led the MAC in points scored (465) and touchdowns (59). Running back Lew Nichols III led the conference in rushing yards (1,927) and averaged 5.4 yards per carry behind Cummings' offensive line.
Bernhard Raimann and Luke Goedeke, both offensive lineman that have learned under Cummings, look to be on their way to the NFL in 2022 as draft prospects. Both earned invitations to the Senior Bowl, All-MAC First Team honors and All-America accolades from Pro Football Focus.
Cummings mentored an offensive line unit that paved the way for running backs Kobe Lewis and Lew Nichols III to rush for a combined 976 yards (third in the conference) in an abbreviated 2020 season. Lewis tied for third in the league with six rushing touchdowns, and Cummings’ offensive line helped produce three of the five longest rushing plays of the season in the MAC.
In 2019, Cummings' offensive line paved the way for two CMU running backs to rush for 1,000 yards as the Chippewas led the MAC in total yards (6,070).
Cummings’ most recent stint at CMU was his fifth separate time there. He has been at CMU as an offensive line coach, offensive coordinator and graduate assistant. His five different stints were from 1988-89, 1992-97, 1999, 2010-13 and 2019-20.
Cummings was the offensive coordinator for the Chippewas from 2010-13. He coached five All-MAC offensive line selections during that four-year stretch, including Eric Fisher who was picked No. 1 by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2013 Draft. CMU's passing attack finished in the nation's Top 25 twice during the stretch.
While he was Central Michigan's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 2010-13, Gino Guidugli, UC’s current offensive coordinator, was an assistant for the Chippewas.
In between his two latest stints at CMU, Cummings served as the offensive line coach at VMI in 2017-18. In 2018, the Keydets ranked eighth in passing offense among Football Championship Subdivision teams.
From 2005-09, Cummings served as the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Marshall. In each of his five seasons, at least one offensive lineman earned All-Conference USA honors. Prior to Marshall, Cummings was the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Western Michigan for three seasons.
Cummings’ career also includes stops at Eastern Michigan (defensive line/special teams/recruiting coordinator, 2000-01), Michigan State (tight ends/ special teams, 1998), Millersville (offensive line, 1990-91) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (offensive line, 1987).
Cummings earned three varsity letters in football at Buffalo. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education and exercise science from Buffalo in 1984 and his master’s degree in athletics administration from CMU in 1990.
Cummings and his wife Donna have two daughters, Elizabeth and Emily.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Hometown: Jamestown, N.Y.
Wife: Donna
Daughters: Elizabeth and Emily
Education: B.S. Physical Education and Exercise Science (Buffalo, 1984), M.S. Athletics Admin. (CMU, 1990)
Year In Coaching: 35th
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2019-21: Central Michigan (offensive line)
2017-18: VMI (offensive line)
2014-16: Connecticut (offensive coordinator/tight ends/offensive line)
2010-13: Central Michigan (offensive coordinator/offensive line)
2005-09: Marshall (offensive line/recruiting coordinator)
2002-04: Western Michigan (offensive line/recruiting coordinator)
2000-01: Eastern Michigan (defensive line/recruiting coordinator)
1999: Central Michigan (offensive line)
1998: Michigan State (tight ends/special teams)
1992-97: Central Michigan (offensive line)
1990-91: Millersville (Pa.) (offensive line/special teams)
1988-89: Central Michigan (graduate assistant)
1987: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (offensive line)
Nate Letton
enters his first season as Cincinnati's tight ends coach in 2022. He served as an offensive graduate assistant for the Bearcats from 2020 to 2021.
Letton's two seasons as a graduate assistant coincided with arguably the greatest two-year stretch in UC football history. The Bearcats recorded a 22-2 record with two American Athletic Conference Championships and two New Year's Six Bowl berths, including the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Letton worked closely with the offensive line, which had all five starters collect All-AAC honors in 2021.
The Cincinnati offense broke school records for touchdowns (70) and points scored (516) in 2021.
UC also ranked second in the AAC and 11th nationally in scoring (36.5) and led the conference and ranked No. 9 overall in yards per play (6.7). The 2020 offense was impressive as well, ranking 19th nationally in total offense and 15th in scoring offense.
Before joining the UC staff, Letton coached at his alma mater, Centre College, from 2015 to 2019. He coached wide receivers in 2015 and tight ends in 2016 before coaching the offensive line for three seasons.
In 2018, he helped Centre go 10-2 and capture the SAA Championship while advancing to the NCAA Division III Playoffs. He mentored Drew Yeager to All-America honors as the offensive line paced Centre to 471 yards per game and 41.9 points per game. In 2017, all five of his offensive linemen captured All-SAA honors.
Letton is a Lexington, Ky., native. He graduated from Centre in 2015 with a degree in biology and a minor in education. He snagged All-SAA Honorable Mention accolades in 2014 by registering 67 tackles from his linebacker position and leading Centre to an undefeated regular season and conference title.
Darren Paige
enters his second season as the running backs coach at the University of Cincinnati after joining the staff in 2021.
In his first year leading the running back’s room, he aided in the development of junior Jerome Ford, who had one of the finest seasons ever for a Cincinnati running back as the Bearcats tallied a 13-1 record for the first time in school history, won the American Athletic Conference Championship and secured a spot in the 2021 College Football Playoff.
Ford was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 156 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He rushed for 1,319 yards and a school-record-tying 19 touchdowns in 2021. He collected 2021 AAC Championship Game MVP honors after rushing for 187 yards with touchdowns of 79 yards and 42 yards in the 35-20 win over Houston.
As a unit, the UC rushing attack averaged 5.2 yards per carry – second in the AAC and the 18th-best mark in the country. Cincinnati led the AAC with 34 rushing touchdowns and finished fourth in the league with 172.6 rushing yards per game.
Overall, the UC offense broke the school records for touchdowns (70) and points scored (516).
Paige, entering his second decade in coaching, came to UC after spending the 2019 and 2020 seasons mentoring wide receivers at Eastern Michigan.
EMU was limited to six games in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the wide receivers group accounted for 77 percent of the team’s receptions (97-of-126) and 58 percent of the scores (7-of-12). EMU led the nation in red-zone offense and Hassan Beydoun was a Second-Team All-Mid-American Conference selection.
Eastern’s offense was electric in 2019 en route to an appearance in the Quick Lane Bowl, amassing 5,271 total yards, 49 touchdowns, and 379 total points. Overall, the EMU offense set the program record for touchdowns in a season (49), touchdown passes in a season (27), and passes completed in a season (313). Additionally, EMU’s 285 first downs, 379 points, and 5,271 total yards of offense ranked second all-time in program history.
Wide receiver Arthur Jackson III was selected Second Team All-MAC after leading the team with the 16th-most yards receiving in a single-season at EMU. He had 732 yards receiving on 46 catches and notched seven touchdowns on the year to ranked tied for fifth in a single campaign. Additionally, his 15.91 yards per reception ranked eighth in the MAC.
Paige has mentored wide receivers for the past nine seasons with a previous stop at Stony Brook University during the 2018 campaign. In his one season with the Seawolves, he helped SBU earn the program’s fourth NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoff appearance. The wide receiving corps hauled in 161 catches for 2,050 yards and 17 touchdowns, led by Julius Wingate who averaged 14 yards per catch.
Prior to his arrival at Stony Brook, Paige had a one-year stint as the wide receivers coach at the College of the Holy Cross. In 2017, Paige helped Blaise Bell earn Second Team All-Patriot League honors after the junior wide receiver led the Crusaders with 46 receptions for 601 yards and eight touchdowns. As a team, Holy Cross finished second in the Patriot League in passing offense as it averaged 254 passing yards per game. Two of his charges, Julius Wingate (Kansas City) and Marshall Ellick (Philadelphia), spent time in NFL Training Camps.
Paige spent the summer of 2017 with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans as part of the Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship Program.
From 2013-16, he served as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Mustangs went 31-12 during Paige’s four years on the staff, while advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, Midwestern State earned the No. 1 seed in Region 4 after winning the Lone Star Conference Playoff. During Paige’s tenure, the Mustangs averaged at least 30 points and 400 yards of total offense per game each season. His players earned all-conference honors six times, including DeAndre Black, who was named a Second Team All-American in 2016.
Prior to his time at Midwestern State, Paige served as an offensive graduate assistant coach at Kent State University during the 2012 season, working with the wide receivers. He helped the Golden Flashes to an overall record of 11-3 and the 2012 MAC East Division Championship. The team’s 11 wins and 10-game win streak were both program records. On an individual level, Dri Archer was named a First Team All-American as a kick returner and a Third Team All-American as an all-purpose player. Archer was selected in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Paige also coached the wide receivers at Gannon University in Erie, Pa. in 2011 and was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Haines City (Fla.) High School in 2009.
The former collegiate standout also enjoyed a two-year professional career (2008-09) with the Peoria Pirates of the Arena Football League 2 (AF2), seeing action in 20 games. In his second season, he hauled in 63 passes for 663 yards and nine touchdowns while returning 34 kickoffs for 678 yards and another score. In all, Paige accounted for 1,344 all-purpose yards while making 15 tackles on defense to garnered mention as Peoria’s Iron Man of the Year.
He earned an invitation to the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders mini-camp in 2009 and participated in training camp for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League in 2010.
Paige began his collegiate career at Miami University, playing in seven games as a “true” freshman in 2003. The RedHawks were 13-1 and winners of the Mid-American Conference and GMAC Bowl Championships. He then transferred to the University of Findlay for three seasons (2005-07). He led the Oilers in receptions and receiving yards all three seasons, totaling 117 catches for 1,461 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Rossford, Ohio native earned Ohio High School Division IV Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior. He also played in the Ohio-Pennsylvania Big 33 All-Star Game and the Ohio North-South All-Star Game.
Paige graduated from Findlay in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in social work and completed his master’s degree at Kent State in 2013.
Paige and his wife, Amanda, have a son, Brandon (Zek), and a daughter, Aniyah.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: August 7, 1984
Hometown: Rossford, Ohio
Wife: Amanda
Children: Brandon (Zek), Aniyah
Education: Findlay (B.S. 2008); Kent State (M.S. 2013)
Year in Coaching: 11th
PLAYING CAREER
2003: Miami (OH) (Wide Receiver)
2005-07: Findlay (Wide Receiver)
2008-09: Peoria Pirates (AFL2) (Wide Receiver)
COACHING CAREER
YEAR: SCHOOL – POSITION
2009: Haines City (Fla.) HS – Co-Offensive Coordinator/QBs
2011: Gannon – Wide Receivers
2012: Kent State – Graduate Assistant
2013: Midwestern State – Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
2014: Midwestern State – Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
2015: Midwestern State – Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
2016: Midwestern State – Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
2017: Holy Cross – Wide Receivers
2018: Stony Brook – Wide Receivers
2019: Eastern Michigan – Wide Receivers
2020: Eastern Michigan – Wide Receivers
2021: Cincinnati – Running Backs
2022: Cincinnati – Running Backs
James Ross III
enters his first season as Cincinnati's outside linebackers coach.
He joins the Bearcats from Hope College where he served as the Flying Dutchmen's linebackers coach in 2021 and had recently been promoted to defensive coordinator.
Ross was a three-year starter at linebacker at Michigan from 2012 to 2015. He also spent three seasons as a graduate assistant with the Wolverines from 2018 to 2020.
Ross appeared in 50 games for the Wolverines, making 21 starts and collecting four letters. He finished his career with 188 tackles and 16.5 TFLs. The Orchard Park, Mich., native was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team by ESPN in 2012.
Ross started coaching following a brief stint with the San Diego Chargers in 2016, who signed the linebacker out of college.
As a graduate assistant, Ross helped Michigan coach linebackers and mentored five current NFL players, including Pittsburgh Steelers first round pick Devin Bush, New England Patriots second-rounder Josh Uche, Cameron McGrone, Khaleke Hudson and Jordan Glasgow.
As the linebackers coach at Hope, the Flying Dutchmen led the MIAA in scoring defense (14.5 points per game) and ranked No. 2 in total defense (291.7 yards per game) in 2021. Senior linebacker Jeremiah Purnell collected second-team all-conference accolades under Ross' tutelage.
Ross and his wife, Omni, have one son, Jayce, and are expecting a second child this spring.
Walter Stewart
begins his first season at Cincinnati in 2022 as the outside linebackers coach.
Stewart comes back to UC as a coach after playing here from 2008-12 as a defensive lineman. He was a team captain and second-team All-BIG EAST selection as a senior in 2012. He played in 43 games, went to four bowls, won four BIG EAST championships and totaled 185 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, 17.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles. He ranks ninth in school history in career sacks and tied for second in forced fumbles.
In his nine years of coaching, he has mentored two All-Americans, two conference defensive players of the year, one conference player of the year and 10 all-conference selections.
His most recent stop in his coaching career was with Temple from 2019-21 as the defensive line coach.
While at Temple, he helped lead the Owls to an 8-5 record and Military Bowl appearance in 2019. The Owls recorded 67 sacks in his 32-game span from 2019-21, including a 39-sack season in 2019 that ranked 16th nationally.
He mentored defensive end Quincy Roche, who was named the 2019 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year after tying the school record with 13.0 sacks. Roche now plays for the New York Giants after being a 6th round draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He’s also coached defensive lineman Ifeanyi Maijeh, who earned First Team All-AAC honors in 2019 with 6.5 sacks, and defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, who earned 2020 Second Team All-AAC honors.
Prior to his stop at Temple, Stewart served as the defensive line coach at Northern Illinois in 2018. NIU played in the Boca Raton Bowl and ended the year with the second-most sacks in the entire country (50), trailing only Clemson. Stewart also coached defensive end Sutton Smith, who was a back-to-back All-American.
Before NIU, Stewart was at Eastern Kentucky for the 2016 and 2017 seasons as the defensive line coach. During his time at EKU in 2016-17, his defensive line totaled 53 sacks between the two seasons. In 2016, 21 Eastern Kentucky brought down the QB 21 times, averaging 2.45 sacks per game (27th in the FCS).
In 2015, he coached the defensive ends at Florida A&M after being on the Tennessee staff from 2013-14 where he mentored All-SEC linemen Derek Barnett and Curt Maggitt.
Stewart earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Cincinnati in 2012.
He and his wife, Rebecca, have a daughter, Niya, and son, Nolan.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: June 21, 1990
Hometown: Youngstown, OH
Wife: Rebecca
Daughter: Niya
Son: Nolan
Education: B.S. Sociology (Cincinnati, 2012)
Year In Coaching: 10th
PLAYING CAREER
2008-12: Cincinnati
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2019-21: Temple (defensive line)
2018: Northern Illinois (defensive line)
2016-17: Eastern Kentucky (defensive line)
2015: Florida A&M (defensive ends)
2013-14: Tennessee (defensive line graduate assistant)
