One concern I have is the coaching staff on O. Has any one of these guys actually put together a game plan and actually called a game?
That's a legitimate question, especially when you consider how anemic the offense has been. We should be a run oriented team that will have gone through a ton of fumble drills by the time Villanova runs around. Here are some highlights I pulled from the Offensive coaching staff's bio's. Hope this helps.
Frank Verducci - Offensive Coordinator
Verducci was the offensive line and run game coordinator at Notre Dame during the 2009 season as the Irish ranked eighth in the country in total offense at 451.75 yards per game. He coached six offensive linemen that made NFL rosters.
Successful running attacks have been a common theme over the course of Verducci's collegiate coaching career. As Iowa's run game coordinator (1995-98), the Hawkeyes' single game (314), single season (1,691) and career (4,156) rushing records were eclipsed. The 1994 team set a record for fewest sacks allowed (10) in a season.
In 10 NFL seasons, Verducci contributed to the NFL single game rushing record (Cincinnati Bengals Corey Dillon -- 276 yards vs. Denver in 2000) along with Emmitt Smith's march past Walter Payton to set the NFL career rushing title in Dallas during the 2002 season.
Verducci worked with future NFL Hall of Famers Smith and Larry Allen during his time with the Cowboys. Verducci helped produce 1,000 yard rushers at each stop in Cincinnati (Corey Dillon), Buffalo (Willis McGahee) and Cleveland (Jamaal Lewis).
Mike Cummings - Offensive Line, Co-Offensive Coordinator
Prior to joining the UConn staff, Cummings was the offensive coordinator at Central Michigan from 2010-13. During Cummings' tenure at CMU, the school boasted one of the Mid-American Conference's top offenses. Cummings had position responsibility for the offensive line at Central Michigan and coached offensive tackle Eric Fisher, who was the first pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2012, Cummings directed a CMU offense that averaged 6.2 yards per play, ranking No. 2 in the MAC, produced nearly 400 yards of offense per game and scored 30 or more points in 10 games. Much of the offensive success can be attributed to the play of the CMU offensive line, which Cummings has position responsibility for, which allowed just 15 sacks, ranking No. 17 nationally.
Cummings coached five All-Mid-American Conference offensive linemen over the last three seasons. Colin Miller and Jeff Maddux were both named to the 2010 All-MAC Second Team, while Fisher was a Third Team selection in 2011 and was honored on the All-MAC First Team in 2012. Andy Phillips was a second team pick in 2013.
Fisher, who also earned All-America honors from the Associated Press, became the highest NFL draft pick in MAC and Central Michigan history. A starter of all 13 games in 2012, Fisher flourished under Cummings' tutelage rising from a relatively unknown commodity at the beginning of the season to a national sensation following dominant performances at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine.
The Chippewas ranked in the top 25 nationally in passing offense during 2010 and '11 under Cummings. CMU ranked 25th nationally in 2011, averaging 274.2 yards per game through the air, one year after ranking 20th with a 284.0 yards per game average. The Chippewas have thrown for 295 or more yards 17 times over the past four seasons, including six games of 350 yards or more.
Don Patterson - Tight Ends Coach
Patterson went to Iowa as a defensive backs coach in 1979, was the recruiting coordinator in 1980, worked with the tight ends from 1981-88, the quarterbacks and wide receivers from 1989-91 and then served as the offensive coordinator from 1992-98.
Under Patterson's guidance, the Iowa offense was explosive, leading the Big Ten in rushing (217.0 yards/game) and scoring (34.3 points/game) while finishing second in pass efficiency in 1997. Iowa finished the 1997 campaign ranked eighth in the nation in rushing offense and ninth in scoring.
Patterson was instrumental in Iowa's success, making the Hawkeyes one of only three Big Ten teams (also Ohio State and Michigan) to play in 14 bowl games during his tenure. Iowa appeared in the Rose Bowl after the 1981, 1985 and 1990 seasons, and made eight consecutive bowl appearances from 1981-88. The success of the Hawkeyes was immediate upon Patterson's arrival with Fry, evidenced by a Rose Bowl berth in their third season (1981), which was Iowa's first Rose Bowl appearance since 1958. Iowa ranked third among Big Ten teams in victories from 1979-98 and was one of three Big Ten teams to win more than 100 games between 1984-98.
Wayne Lineburg - Quarterback Coach
Lineburg and new UConn head coach Bob Diaco were on the same coaching staff together at Virginia in 2007 and '08. Lineburg is a 1996 graduate of Virginia.
Lineburg was the associate head coach, running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for the past two seasons at Richmond. He originally came to the school in 2010 as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and was the interim head coach in 2011.
In 2013, Lineburg's offensive help lead the Spiders to a four-game winning streak at the end of the season, including victories over two ranked teams to close the year. Richmond's offense ranked 24th in the country (441.4 yards per game) in the Football Championship Subdivision - a mark which was second in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Spiders led the CAA in passing offense at 328.2 yards per game.
In 2012, Lineburg helped guide a prolific Richmond offense rank 20th in the nation in passing offense (271.2) and 21st in scoring offense (33.2). Richmond had an 8-3 record and earning a share of the Colonial Athletic Association championship. The Spiders saw two offensive players, fullback Kendall Gaskins and tight end Kevin Finney, earn All-American honors.
Lineburg had twice been the Spiders' offensive coordinator prior to the start of the 2011 campaign, when he continued in that role while also serving as interim head coach. Under Lineburg, senior wide receiver Tre Gray was named Associate Press Third-Team All-American.
The Radford, Va. native had a first stint with Richmond for three years from 2004-06 as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach.
Under Lineburg, the Spiders' posted prolific offensive numbers. In 2005, Richmond gained a school-record 4,957 yards of total offense and scored 44 touchdowns. The offensive unit averaged 381.3 yards per game and ranked 41st in the country that year. Lineburg's offense averaged more than 330 yards per game every year and had an 800-yard rusher each of those three seasons.
Lineburg was on the offensive staff at Virginia from 2007-09, working with the wide receivers in 2007-08 and the running backs in 2009. He was also a graduate assistant at Virginia from 1998-99. UVa played in the 1998 Peach Bowl, the 1999 MicronPC.com Bowl and the 2008 Gator Bowl with Lineburg on staff.
David Corley - Wide Receivers, Special Teams
In his two seasons working with the running backs at William & Mary, he groomed tailback Jonathan Grimes into one of the nation's top players at the FCS level. Grimes set the Tribe's freshman records for both rushing and all-purpose yards and was named as a honorable mention All-American as a return specialist. Grimes follow-up sophomore campaign moved him into the program's career top-10 lists in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in just his second season. He eventually graduated as the most decorated player in Colonial Athletic Association history with 11 all-conference honors.
