Football Staff Takes Shape
1/14/2018 11:49:00 PM | Football
The Kent State football program recently announced a number of additions to its coaching and support staff.
"I couldn't be more excited about the staff we have assembled at Kent State," Head Coach Sean Lewis said. "They are great mentors and coaches who will work well together. And they are excited to get going with our team."
Brian Cochran will serve as defensive line coach after being in the same position at Chattanooga with Flashes' new defensive coordinator Tom Kaufman. Prior to Chattanooga, Cochran spent 10 seasons at John Carroll in multiple roles, including defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. Cochran also served as head coach at Heidelberg from 2003-06.
Safeties coach Jon Cooley joins Kaufman and Cochran as one of three members from Chattanooga's defensive staff in 2017. Cooley served as defensive backs coach for the Mocs after spending the 2016 in Kentucky as a graduate assistant. He was also a defensive backs coach at John Carroll, Milliken and Bluffton.
Zac Barton will serve as special teams coordinator. Barton served as co-defensive coordinator, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for the last six seasons at Winona State. He has worked on both sides of the ball, spending the 2011 season as offensive line coach at Memphis. In 2010, Barton was on staff with Sean Lewis at Nebraska-Omaha as defensive line coach.
Another member of that Nebraska-Omaha staff was Matt Middleton, who has been named wide receivers coach. Middleton most recently served as recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach at South Dakota for five seasons (2013-17). He also served as wide receivers coach at Kansas in 2012. Middleton spent two seasons at Nebraska-Omaha in 2009-10.
Also coming to the Flashes from South Dakota is Bill O'Boyle, who will serve as Kent State's offensive line coach. O'Boyle spent the last two seasons USD's offensive line coach and run game coordinator. O'Boyle and Middleton also worked together at Chadron State, where O'Boyle was the head coach for seven seasons (2005-11) and spent the previous 11 seasons as an assistant there.
Macky MacPherson has been named running backs coach. MacPherson joins the Flashes from Syracuse after serving the past two seasons as an offensive graduate assistant alongside Lewis. He also spent one season as a grad assistant at Louisiana Tech. MacPherson is the grandson of former Syracuse and New England Patriots head coach Dick MacPherson.
Former Bowling Green quarterback and Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Matt Johnson also joins the Flashes from Syracuse. Johnson will serve as an offensive quality control coach after being in the same role with the orange. Johnson and the Falcons averaged 372.1 passing yards and 44.2 points per game on the way to a 2015 MAC championship.
Matt Battaglia will serve as a graduate assistant, working primarily with the offensive line. Battaglia was a guard at Northern Illinois from 2010-13.
Adam Young has been named director of football operations. Young spent the previous three seasons in the same role at Louisiana Tech, including a year on a staff with MacPherson. Young was also the assistant director of operations at UAB in 2013 and 2014. He also spent five seasons on staff at Florida State..
Steve Schrum has been named director of player personnel, a new position on Kent State's staff. Schrum spent the previous two seasons as recruiting quality control assistant at Syracuse. He spent two seasons on Florida's staff, before working at Towson, Northwestern and Akron. Schrum was also a scouting intern with the Baltimore Ravens.
Two more staff members are expected to be announced in the near future.
Kent State begins offseason workouts this week as it awaits National Signing Day on Feb. 7.
