Coach Bios

Prime Speaker

• Alex Golesh

Offense

• Steven Ciocci, Bryant
• Xavier Dye, Coastal Carolina
• Joe Gerbino, Bethune-Cookman
•  Tyler Haines, Catawba
• Kelly Lee, Eastern NM State
• Jay MacIntyre, FIU

Defense

• Brandon Harris, FAU
• Tremaine Jackson, Valdosta St.
• Avante Mitchell, Olivet Nazarene
• Jordan Odaffer, South Carolina St.
• William Henry, Southeastern University
• Milton Patterson, FAMU
• Jimmy Smith, Arkansas

Specialty room

• Mike Bloomgren, Rice
• Thomas Carroll, NC Central
• Drew Davis, St. Thomas University
• Myers Hendrickson, Former Western Illinois HC
• Bill Kramer, Former Naples HS HC
• Robb Mackett, CCAC Head Official
• Ed Artido, Conference USA Referee
• Jerry Odom, Western Carolina

Bios

Steven Ciocci is in his fifth season as the offensive line coach, the run game coordinator, and the recruiting coordinator at Bryant. Bryant’s offensive line enjoyed a great year in 2022, helping the Bulldogs set a school record with 429.0 yards of total offense per game. Bryant also averaged 33.3 ppg, the second-highest average in school history. Jamichael Watts earned Big South Second Team honors, while Watts, Trevor Smith and Ahmad Assad were Phil Steele All-Big South selections.
Ciocci’s offensive line shined in the fall of 2021, helping the Bulldogs lead the league with 30.0 ppg and finish 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the NEC. Under his tutelage, Mike Andrejco earned All-NEC First Team honors, while Trevor Smith took home All-NEC Second Team honors. Bryant averaged 151.5 yards per game on the ground and the offensive line allowed just 1.45 sacks per game. Andrejco Jamichael Watts, Trevor Smith and Michael McNish were also named Phil Steele All-NEC selections.
In the spring of 2021, Ciocci helped the Bulldogs’ running game regain its characteristic dominance. Ciocci’s offensive line paved the way for Daniel Adeboboye to rank seventh nationally with 109.8 yards per game on the ground. It is the first time a Bryant running back had averaged over 100 yards since 2015.

South Carolina native Xavier Dye joined head coach Tim Beck’s coaching staff as the running backs coach in January 2023. Dye came to Coastal Carolina after three years on staff at South Florida from 2020-22, where he worked with CCU’s current offensive coordinator Travis Trickett in coaching the wide receivers in 2020 and the tight ends group in 2021-22. He also served as the recruiting coordinator for his last two seasons in Tampa.

In 2022, Dye’s tight ends contributed to major improvements in USF’s total offense (350.9 to 390.8 ypg), rushing offense (158.5 to 197.9 ypg), scoring offense (23.2 to 28.0 ppg), third down conversions (34.3 to 39.1 percent), red zone conversions (76.7 to 85.1 percent), pass efficiency (107.56 to 130.22), and passing touchdowns (6 to 18) from 2021. He went to USF after serving as the wide receivers coach on head coach Neal Brown’s first staff at West Virginia during the 2019 season, also coaching alongside Trickett, after two years at his alma mater in Clemson.

A native of Greenwood, S.C., Dye served as an offensive graduate assistant coach working with the receiving corps for two years at Clemson from 2017-18, which included future NFL wideouts Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, and Hunter Renfrow. Over those two years, the Tigers posted a 27-2 record, won two ACC championships, and made two College Football Playoff appearances, including winning the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship.

Joe Gerbino is in his first season at Bethune-Cookman, serving as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach. He comes to B-CU after the historic 2022 season at Utica University. The program broke a school record for wins in a season and was selected to the NCAA playoffs for the first time in school history. Coach Gerbino’s Offense eclipsed school records for points, touchdowns, and all-purpose yards for the second time in his tenure. He was selected as the 2022 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) D3 Assistant Coach of the Year. He mentored two of the program’s most prolific offensive players, Nate Palmer, and Braeden Zenelovic. Palmer broke school records for receiving yards and touchdowns in a season and was voted AFCA 1 st team All-American, Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) OPOY, and Empire 8 OPOY. Zenelovic broke school records for passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing efficiency, and average yards per play in a season. He was also voted second team All-ECAC and Empire 8. Coach Gerbino served on the AFCA D3 Assistant Coaches Committee in 2021, was selected to participate in the NFL Coaches Academy in 2020, spoke at the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic, and was promoted to be one of the youngest Offensive Coordinator’s in college football at 24 years old in 2017.

Tyler Haines joins Catawba College after serving as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach at Shepherd University during the 2022 season. “After a thorough national search with a highly impressive and qualified candidate pool, we are pleased and excited to welcome Coach Haines to our Catawba family to lead our football program,” Caddigan said. “Tyler has a strong football pedigree, successful experience in rebuilding a division II program and has most recently helped guide Shepherd to the Division II national semifinals. He has a contagious passion for excellence and commitment to building young men on and off the football field. Coach Haines has a well-balanced plan with a disciplined culture that will uphold the core values of Catawba College and elevate our program to one that our alumni, campus community, and the greater Salisbury and Rowan communities will be proud of.”

Kelley Lee comes back to Eastern New Mexico University as announced on January 9, 2023. The Truth or Consequences, N.M. native is in his second tenure as the head coach of Greyhound football. Coach Lee holds a 21-12 record (.636) and guided the Hounds to the program’s first ever Division II bowl win after defeating Southern Arkansas in the 2019 Heritage Bowl. Prior to being named head coach, Lee spent five seasons as ENMU’s offensive coordinator and built one of the most dominant running games and efficient passing games in the Lone Star Conference and NCAA Division II.

From 2017-2020 as the program’s head coach, he coached 50 All-LSC honorees and three All-Americans. The 2019 Hounds broke the school record for rushing yards in a single season with 4,191 yards and matched the second-highest win total in the history of the program with a record of 8-4. Lee and company also broke the Lone Star Conference record for rushing attempts in a season with 770, a mark that was previously held by the Greyhounds back in 2016 with 731 attempts.

Senior Paul Terry continued the storied tradition of dominant fullbacks for Eastern New Mexico and secured the Lone Star Conference rushing title with 1,888 yards on the ground, marking the fifth time in the last six seasons in which a representative from Greyhound football led the LSC in rushing. Terry broke the school record for individual rushing yards in a season and earned his second straight D2CCA All-Region selection at season’s end.

Jay MacIntyre is entering his second season as wide receivers coach in 2023 after joining the staff last season following a stint at UT Martin and a successful playing career at the University of Colorado. MacIntyre spent two seasons as the wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator at UT Martin, where he helped guide the top passing offensive in the Ohio Valley Conference. UT Martin led the OVC in passing offense (258.9 yards) while featuring a pair of All-OVC honorees at the wide receiver position.

In an abbreviated 2020 campaign, the Skyhawks wide receiving core posted a huge year. UT Martin led the OVC in passing offense (258.9 yards) while featuring a pair of All-OVC honorees from Colton Dowell and Donnell Williams. Dowell ranked amongst OVC leaders in receptions (40, first), receiving yards (459, second), touchdowns (four, second), receptions per game (5.7, second) and receiving yards per game (65.6, third). Williams also ranked amongst the league’s elite in receiving yards per game (74.2, second), receiving yards (445, fourth), receptions per game (4.88, fifth), receptions (29, seventh), touchdowns (three, seventh) and yards per catch (15.3, ninth).

Before UT Martin, MacIntyre spent the 2019 campaign in a similar role at Southeastern (Fla.) University. While with the Fire, the passing game was dynamic in an offense which averaged 43.5 points per game. The passing game averaged 304.5 yards per game while receivers averaged 15.5 yards per reception and tallied 28 touchdowns. In total, eight different receivers eclipsed 100 receiving yards on the season.

Brandon Harris. The Harris name is synonymous with football success in South Florida, spanning from his father Tim Harris, Sr. a longtime high school coach, through his brother Tim Harris, Jr., to Brandon.

At FAU
Joined the staff in January of 2022 with the primary focus dedicated to developing the cornerbacks, a group that graduated experience in 2021 while developing younger players to assume the starting role.
In January of 2023, Harris was elevated to co-defensive coordinator, and he will continue to focus efforts with the corners.
Worked with a group that became a custom to a “next man up” mentality as the unit worked through injuries and position adjustments to find the best unit.
At FIU
Hired as an assistant coach for FIU football in February of 2021
The second FIU stint saw his efforts geared towards the cornerbacks.
Began his coaching career at FIU as a 2019 graduate assistant.
Is the younger brother of former FIU offensive coordinator, Tim Harris, Jr.

Discipline. Obedience. Grit. Three words that Valdosta State University Head Football Coach Tremaine Jackson lives by that have become fundamentals in his coaching philosophy. Jackson, who was named by ESPN as one of 45 minority coaches under 45 to watch and to Football Scoop’s 2022 Minority Watch List, is in his first season with the Blazers after spending the 2020 and 2021 seasons leading the Colorado Mesa Mavericks.

In just two years in Grand Junction, Jackson raised the bar both on and off the field and has quickly made an impact on the total program in Titletown since he was hired as the 11th head coach in VSU history in January 2022. In addition to a successful 2022 Black-Red Spring Game, the team produced nearly 600 hours of community service, assisting with Habitat for Humanity, Blazer Kids’ Day and the #ValdostaMiracles Softball Game and had 45 student-athletes achieve a 3.0 grade-point average or better in the classroom.

During Jackson’s tenure at Colorado Mesa, he went 10-3 in his two seasons, including an 8-2 mark in 2021, highlighted by a thrilling 26-21 victory over then-No. 3-ranked Colorado School of Mines. It was the Mavericks’ first victory over a top-5 opponent since becoming an NCAA Division II school in 1994. Jackson’s squad went 2-1 in the spring of 2021 during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Avante Mitchell has been named the 11th head coach of the Olivet Nazarene University football program, ONU Interim Athletic Director Justin Glenn announced Thursday.

“It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome Coach Mitchell and his family to ONU,” said Glenn. “Throughout the search process, it became clear to us that coach Mitchell is the right person to lead our program and his emphasis on being great on and off the field will make him an incredible addition to the Olivet community. We are confident that the football program will reach new heights under his leadership.”
Mitchell, from Detroit, MI, brings over a decade of coaching experience to ONU. He comes to Olivet after a four-year stint as the head coach at Lawrence Tech University. He first served as the defensive coordinator for the Blue Devils during the 2019 season before being promoted to head coach in 2020.
“It is an immense blessing to have the opportunity to lead the Olivet Nazarene University football team into its next chapter, “said Mitchell. “I am sincerely thankful to President Gregg Chenoweth, Jason Stephens, Justin Glenn, and Mike Conway, as well as the entire ONU Athletics staff, for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead ONU Football into the future.

Jordan Odaffer joins South Carolina State Bulldogs coaching staff as the Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers coach. Odaffer comes to Bulldogs after serving a three-year stint on Benedict football staff as the team’s Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Benedict 2023 Season saw the Tigers claim Back-to-Back SIAC Conference Championships, Back-to-Back HBCU Division II National Championships, and first ever national top 5 ranking.

The 2023 Purple Swarm defense ranked in the top 5 in NCAA Division II in 10 categories including Scoring Defense (#1), Yards per Play (#1), Red Zone Defense (#1), Sacks Per Game (#1), Pass Yards Allowed (#2), Pass Efficiency Defense (#2), 4th Down Defense (#2), Tackles for loss (#2), Total Defense (#4) and Takeaways (#4). Benedict College’s 2022 campaign saw the Tigers claim their first ever SIAC Conference Championship, first ever national ranking, first ever national top 10 ranking, first ever playoff berth, and first ever HBCU Division II National Championship.

The Tigers defense ranked in the Top 10 in NCAA Division II in 10 categories including 4th Down Defense (#1), Defensive Red Zone Attempts (#1), 3rd Down Defense (#3), Opponent 1st Downs (#3), Passing Yards Allowed (#3), Scoring Defense (#4), Defensive Touchdowns (#5), Safeties (#5), Total Defense (#7), and Fumble Recoveries (#10).

Drew Davis was at FIU for five seasons, serving as an assistant coach overseeing the tight ends. Drew is the son of FIU head coach Butch Davis. 

Davis has been apart of three bowl appearances with FIU including the 2018 Bahamas Bowl victory over Toledo. In his first season, Davis helped FIU tie the program record for wins in a season (8), before breaking that record in 2018 with nine victories on the year. 

In 2019, FIU’s tight ends combined for nearly 300 yards receiving and caught 26 balls. Sterling Palmer made up a majority of those stats, as the sophomore hauled in 22 catches for 205 yards to become the fifth favorite target of future NFL draftee James Morgan. The tight end group also aided in pass protection and run blocking, with the Panthers ranking seventh in the nation and first in the conference for sacks allowed. 

During the 2018 season, Davis developed first-year tight end Sterling Palmer into a Conference USA All-Freshman Team selection after he finished with 26 receptions for 279 and two touchdowns in 10 games started. Palmer was also selected to ESPN’s All-Bowl Team after his three catches, for 64 yards and a touchdown to lead FIU past Toledo in the 2018 Bahamas Bowl. 

The tight end unit provided healthy pass protection as FIU allowed only eight sacks all season, which ranked first in C-USA and third in the nation. Davis’ group also contributed solid blocking that fueled a dynamic rushing attack, as the team finished with the most rushing touchdowns (27) and second-most rush yards (2,286) in school history. With Davis as the tight ends coach the Panthers passed for most yards in school history (3,194) while also breaking single-season records for passing touchdowns (27) and total points scored (450). Davis helped the FIU offense top the C-USA in total points scored, points per game (34.6), total touchdowns (58), team passing efficiency (154.7), third-down conversion percentage (46.8), and fourth-down conversion percentage (65.2).

Milton Patterson enters his third season as the defensive line coach and first as the co-defensive coordinator for Florida A&M after joining the staff in the spring of 2021. Patterson comes to Tallahassee following a stint at Fayetteville State, where he served as the defensive coordinator from 2020 to 2021. in 2022, Patterson was pivotal in developing All-Americans Isaiah Land and Kamari Stephens. Land continued to wreak havoc in the offensive backfield recording 7.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss in the eight games he played. Stephens came onto the scene recording ten sacks (T-8th in the nation) and 13 tackles for loss after only recording 0.5 sacks in 2021. Land and Stephens were also named to the All-SWAC First Team. Land signed with the Dallas Cowboys. In Patterson’s first season, he coached the nation’s best defensive player Isaiah Land. Land led the nation in sacks (19.5) and tackles for loss (25.5) as he went on to win the 2021 Buck Buchanan Award and SWAC Defensive Player of the Year. Land also set a Florida A&M single-game record after recording five sacks in a win versus South Carolina State. Land finished the season as an AP All-American, AFCA All-American, FCS Stats Perform All-American, HERO Sports All-American, and BOXTOROW All-American. Patterson also coached Savion Williams, who finished the season on the All-SWAC 2nd Team after recording 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

Jimmy Smith was named the Associate Head Coach by Head Coach Sam Pittman during the spring of 2023 prior to his fourth season as the running backs coach for the Razorbacks. The Arkansas running game was historically productive in 2022 with Smith’s running backs putting up big numbers, led by sophomore Raheim Sanders. The Razorbacks ran for 3,077 yards and averaged 236.7 yards per game to finish seventh in the nation. The Hogs eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark for just the 10th time in school history with the eighth-most yards in a single season by an Arkansas offense. The team’s 2022 total was the most since Darren McFadden and Felix Jones helped set the school record in 2007 with 3,725 yards. Sanders ran for 1,443 yards and 10 scores to finish second in the league with 111.0 yards per game. Sanders’ name dots the Arkansas record book after his sophomore season, he resides in the school’s single-season Top 10 in rushing attempts (222 – 10th), rushing yards in a game (232 – 5th), rushing yards in a season (1,443 – 4th), yards per rush in a season (6.50 – 5th) and 100-yard games in a season (7 – T3rd). The sophomore was also a key piece in the passing game for the Hogs, hauling in 28 passes for 271 yards and two more touchdowns. His 131.8 yards from scrimmage per game led the SEC. Sanders earned First-Team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press and USA Today to go along with second-team honors from the league’s coaches and Pro Football Focus.

Mike Bloomgren enters his sixth season looking to leverage the momentum gained by a return to the postseason into greater success in the Owls’ historic first season of play in the American Athletic Conference. Rice enters the AAC coming off a season that saw the team return to bowl action for the first time in eight years with a lineup bolstered by its highest-ranked recruiting class of the modern era and an influx of veteran talent from other programs.
In the new era of open transfers, Bloomgren and staff have added 42 new faces to the returning core group of players who return 302 combined starts. Seven of the newcomers join Rice from FBS programs and add another 114 games of experience. Six of the transfers joined the Owls for spring drills in addition to four 2023 high school signees, who made up the first class of early freshmen enrollees in program history. The wealth of returning talent stands in marked contrast to Bloomgren’s first campaign in 2018, which was one of transition as 21 true freshmen from his initial national recruiting class saw action, eight of which (in addition to one JUCO transfer) found their way into the starting lineup. The youthful Owls learned their lessons quickly and closed with a resounding 27-13 win over Old Dominion, which had defeated 13th-ranked Virginia Tech earlier in the season.
His second season was highlighted by a closing rush as the Owls won their last three games, their first three-game winning streak to end a season since 2012 and setting the stage for optimism heading into 2020 before a pandemic entered the picture.

Thomas Carroll accepted the role of Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at North Carolina Central University in February 2019.

Carroll spent the prior seven seasons with FIU (Florida International University) assisting with daily oversight of the Panthers’ strength and conditioning program.

In 2008, Carroll became a volunteer coach at his high school alma mater in Lakewood, N.J. He then got an opportunity to join the South Florida football staff as a part-time strength and conditioning assistant. He would rejoin Lakewood a year later as Defensive Coordinator, while working as a substitute teacher and paraprofessional for the school district.

An accomplished defensive end for the Miami Hurricanes (2001-05), Carroll was part of one of the most dominant eras in school history. He was a freshman on the team that beat Nebraska for the national championship in the Rose Bowl. A year later, UM played Ohio State in the title game. As a sophomore, his team defeated Florida State in the FedEx Orange Bowl. His final two seasons concluded with appearances in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Myers Hendrickson was a Fighting Leatherneck long before he was named the 31st head football coach in Western Illinois University history on Dec. 17, 2021. He is returning to his alma mater, the place where he spent four seasons as a Leatherneck student-athlete and academic standout and brings a combination of postseason and championship coaching experience. Hendrickson initially signed with Ivy League member Cornell University out of high school, where he played for their program in 2007. As the head coach at Kansas Wesleyan University, Hendrickson led the team to an overall record of 31-5, which is the highest win percentage in program history. Hendrickson also won Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) championship titles in 2021 and 2019. The latter season contained a bevy of personal and team accolades as he was twice named Coach of the Year, while the team garnered KCAC Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year recognition. Six Coyotes were also named AP NAIA All-America, and the 2019 season also saw KWU reach as high as No. 2 in the national coaches’ poll – the highest ranking in school and conference history.

Bill Kramer is the former head coach of the Naples High School football program (1998-2019). The 216-51 record that Coach Kramer and the Naples Football staff compiled during that time ranks them number one in total wins and winning percentage in Naples High School’s more than 70 years of football tradition. Under his leadership, the team won two State Championships and dozens of Regional and District championships. More than ninety percent of his football players went on to college, served in the United States Armed Forces, or became first responders.

Coach Kramer was inducted into the Florida Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame (2016) and the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame (2017) among many other notable awards and recognitions. He and his wife Sue have four daughters, three sons-in-law, and two grandsons. Bill resides in Naples, FL with his family.

Robb Mackett.
• 16 years high school official
• 3 FHSAA State Championships
• 2 American Showcase Games in Dublin Ireland official
• 6 FHSAA State Semi Finals
• President Greater Naples Officials Association
• VP National Football Foundation Collier County providing scholarships to Collier Football Student Athletes
• 2019 Contributor To The Game Award Winner National Football Foundation
• May 6 2023 Naples Mayor Declared Robb Mackett Day in Naples for work with Naples athletes

Ed Ardito.
• 40 years College Official
• 192 NCAA Division One Games Referee
• 6 Bowl Games Referee
• 2 Conference USA Championship Games
• Worked at all three Academies and sites from every conference and Notre Dame

Veteran collegiate football coach Jerry Odom, who spent the last eight seasons as the head coach at Tusculum University, has been hired as the defensive coordinator at Western Carolina University it was announced today by head coach Kerwin Bell just ahead of the early signing period that begins on Dec. 20.

A college teammate at the University of Florida and an assistant coach for Bell, Odom brings nearly 30 years of coaching experience at both the college and professional ranks to the Catamount program. He has mentored 16 NFL players and coached in five postseason bowl games including the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and the Outback Bowl.

Odom’s career includes nine seasons as the defensive coordinator including three years at East Carolina and six at Jacksonville University.

“I’m extremely excited about the hire of Jerry Odom as our defensive coordinator,” said Bell. “We feel that adding Coach Odom to our defensive coaching staff will elevate us to a championship level on the defensive side of the football and ultimately help us bring a championship.

William Henry joined the Fire in July of 2021 as the defensive backs coach after spending the spring at Stetson University with the secondary, primarily the cornerbacks and recruited Southwest Florida in addition to other national locations. 

In his first season with the Fire, he assisted a defense that allowed 20 points per game and held opponents to 192 yards per game through the air. During the 2022 season, Henry also served as the special teams coordinator mentoring Ashton Garner and Logan Gregory to First-Team All-Sun Conference seasons at kicker and punter, respectively.

Before heading to DeLand, Henry coached at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas during the fall of 2020 as the defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator. Henry spent the 2019 season at Valdosta State University coaching tight ends. In addition to working with the tight ends, Henry ran the scout team secondary and assisted with special teams. Prior to VSU, Henry worked with wide receivers and running backs at Samford. 

In addition to his collegiate experience, Henry spent two seasons as Special Teams Coordinator and defensive backs coach at Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn. and also coached at Siegel High School and Alcoa High School, where he coached two Mr. Football winners and a Gatorade Player of the Year, and Munford and Kirby High Schools.