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Irish connection produces
'run-stopper'
From staff and ECU
reports
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Rock Roggeman
(Photo: ECU SID) |
Skip Holtz has taken
another step in following through on his
stated intention to assemble a
staff characterized by a bit of East Carolina flavor and a dash of Holtz
flavor, tapping into his Notre Dame rolodex to find a seasoned defensive
aide.
Thomas "Rock" Roggeman, a
former Notre Dame player and an accomplished defensive coach with a
penchant for bottling up running attacks, has been hired to oversee
ECU's linebacking corps, Holtz announced on Friday.
Roggeman was the second
appointment in as many days of a staffer whose path intersected Holtz's
own playing days (1985-86) at Notre Dame. Roggeman was a graduate
assistant for the Irish for two years in the mid-'eighties.
Holtz, who took over the
reigns of the ECU football program on Dec. 3, announced Thursday that
Greg Hudson, Minnesota's defensive coordinator, would
assume that same position on the Pirates' staff. Hudson played at Notre
Dame in 1986-87.
Roggeman is the seventh staff member
overall announced by Holtz, whose previous
hires have included three aides with ECU ties — assistant head coach and
defensive line coach
Donnie Thompson, offensive line
coach
Steve Shankweiler and running
backs coach
Junior Smith.
Thompson and Shankweiler
list stints as assistants at ECU on their resumes, while Smith, a former star player for
the Pirates, has logged his coaching experience elsewhere.
Including Shankweiler, who was South Carolina's offensive line coach
last season, Roggeman is the fifth assistant brought on board the Pirate ship with
previous ties to Holtz. In addition to Roggeman and Hudson,
Phil Petty, a former quarterback
and graduate assistant at South Carolina, has joined the Pirates as an
offensive coach and
Clifford Snow has been named
director of football operations.
Roggeman comes to East
Carolina after coaching the defensive line at Alabama State since 2002.
He helped lead the Hornets to a 10-2 record and a Southwestern Athletic
Conference title in 2004 and also played a key role in shaping one of
the top defenses on the Division I-AA level — a unit which earned Top 10
ranks in turnover margin (6th/+1.17), turnovers forced (7th/34), fewest
rushing touchdowns allowed (7th/9) and rushing defense (9th/103.0 ypg).
From 1998 to 2001,
Roggeman worked at Alabama A&M, handling the Bulldogs' defensive line
for two years before being elevated by then-A&M head coach Ron Cooper to
defensive coordinator prior to the 2000 season. In that 2000 season,
Roggeman oversaw one of the top defensive units on all levels of college
football, topping the I-AA ranks in rushing defense (39.7 ypg/NCAA
record), fewest yards per carry (1.3 ypc), fewest rushing touchdowns
allowed (5) and sacks (60 for -365 yards). The Bulldogs finished eighth
nationally that season in total defense (275.6 ypg).
Roggeman built on his
reputation as a run-stopper the following season, as Alabama A&M
finished third nationally in rushing defense (80.8 ypg) and fourth in
fewest yards per carry (2.4 ypc).
Roggeman, 41, also worked
on Cooper's staff at Eastern Michigan (1993-94), where he served as
defensive coordinator and defensive line coach, and at Louisville
(1995-97).
During his three-year
tenure with the Cardinals, Roggeman helped mold a defensive unit which
led the nation in turnovers forced (45/1995) and finished in the Top 10
in Division I-A in turnover ratio (2nd/1995), scoring defense
(6th/1995), total defense (4th/1996), rushing defense (4th/1996) and
pass efficiency defense (9th/1996).
"I'm excited someone with
Rock's credentials, experience and background will be a part of our
staff and program," said Holtz in a statement. "His energy, intensity
and work ethic is contagious and I know he has the motivational skills
to get our players to perform at a high level. I know he's a believer in
playing football the old-fashioned way — hard."
Roggeman began his
full-time coaching career as a defensive line coach and strength and
conditioning coordinator at Murray State in 1987 before moving to
Nevada-Las Vegas three years later to handle the Rebels' defensive line
efforts.
He earned a bachelor's
degree in history from Notre Dame in 1985 after playing for the Irish in
1983-84. Roggeman was cited as a 1984 Monogram winner before accepting a
two-year position as a graduate assistant, first under Gerry Faust and
then under Faust's successor as head coach of the Irish, Lou Holtz.
Roggeman was a Parade
All-America selection as a linebacker at Sahuaro High School in Tucson,
Ariz., and a member of the National Honor Society. His father, Thomas,
Sr., is an Indiana Football Hall of Fame inductee after a highly
successful coaching career at the high school and collegiate levels.
02/23/07 11:30 AM
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Bonesville.net. All
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Bonesville.net contributed to this report. An
ECU Athletics press release was used in
compiling this report.
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