Football
- Title:
- Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends
- Email:
- fmcmicha@kent.edu
- Phone:
- 330-672-3350
A 42-year veteran of the collegiate coaching ranks, Dave McMichaelย enters his seventh season at Kent State. ย McMichael joined the Golden Flashesย in March of 2011 as the teamโs tight ends coach.ย In February of 2012, he was promoted to special teams coordinator, while continuing his work with the tight ends. ย
In 2016, tight end Brice Fackler was second on the team in receiving touchdowns. ย Sophomore kicker Shane Hynes made 15 field goals, including a game-winner at Central Michigan as time expired.
The 2015 season for Kent State special teams saw a third consecutive All-MAC selection for punter Anthony Melchiori, while April Goss became just the second female in FBS history to record a point.ย Kicker Shane Hynes and long snapper Chad Bushley each earned spots on the Academic All-MAC Team.
In 2014, Casey Pierce put together the most productive year by a Kent State tight end in program history, earning a spot in the Senior Bowl.ย Pierce's 60 catches were the most by a tight end in KSU history.ย His 641 receiving yards were the most by any Flashes' receiver since 2010.ย The 2014 season also included an All-MAC First Team selection for punter Anthony Melchiori.
The Golden Flashesโ special teams excelled in 2012, ranking 12th in the nation in net punting and averaging one of the nationโs best field positions after kickoffs.ย Dri Archer returned three kickoffs for touchdowns, while Freddy Cortez converted 19-of-25 field goal attempts, all 58 extra points, and 34 touchbacks on kickoffs.
ย
Sandwiched in-between his two tenures in Morgantown, McMichael spent nine years at Connecticut, first as the offensive tackles coach from 2001-04 before moving to tight ends coach. He also served as the Huskies' special teams coordinator from 2001-04.
In 2008, McMichael tutored tight end Martin Bedard, who was selected as the 14th overall pick by the Montreal Alouettes in the second round of the 2009 Canadian Football League Draft.
His time at UConn was marked by a dramatic rise in offensive totals, while the special teams steadily improved as the team's talent pool deepened. All-BIG EAST pick Ryan Krug developed into an NFL prospect under McMichael, anchoring an offensive line that yielded just 10 sacks in 2003, the third fewest in the nation. Tight end Dan Murray earned All-BIG EAST recognition in 2005.
Huskiesโ tight end Steve Brouse caught 26 passes, four of which were for touchdowns in 2007, helping UConn to the 2007 BIG EAST Championship.
Prior to 2001, McMichael spent the previous 18 seasons as an assistant coach at West Virginia under Hall of Fame head coach Don Nehlen. McMichael coached the offensive tackles and tight ends for his entire tenure at West Virginia, and the Mountaineers played in 11 bowl games and finished ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 six times. He was a coach for two WVU teams that played for the national championship (1988 and โ93), finishing both campaigns with an 11-1 record.
McMichael has directly coached 11 NFL signees. He has had seven players who were drafted by NFL teams, including first round selections Brian Jozwiak (Kansas City, 1986) and Anthony Becht (New York Jets, 2000). He has recruited a total of 14 eventual NFL players, including 11 draftees. He has also worked with five All-America selections.
McMichael went to West Virginia after spending three seasons (1980-82) as defensive line coach at Southern Illinois. At SIU, McMichael helped develop and recruit a core of players that would go 10-1 en route to winning the 1983 Division I-AA Championship. He previously served three seasons (1977-79) as the offensive line coach at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio.
McMichael was a three-year letterwinner on the offensive line at Bowling Green for coach Don Nehlen. The Falcons went 19-10-1 over his final three seasons, including two of the school's biggest victories; wins over Purdue and Syracuse. He received his bachelor's degree in marketing research from Bowling Green in 1974 and his master's degree in physical education in โ77.
McMichael is a native of Kettering, Ohio, and was inducted into the Fairmont (Ohio) High School Hall of Fame in 1999 as a charter member. He is married to the former Karen Alexander and the couple has a son, John David.
