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DeRuyter Hires First Members of Staff
DeRuyter announces first seven hires to his coaching staff
Jan. 4, 2012
FRESNO, Calif. - New Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter announced Wednesday that he has officially filled seven positions on his football staff with assistants that have combined to coach for nearly 90 years and in 21 bowl games while one of his hires is a local high school head coach that played 13 seasons in the NFL.
DeRuyter named Nick Toth (pronounced TOETH) defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Dave Schramm as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; local football legend Tim McDonald as secondary coach; Pete Germano special teams coordinator and defensive line coach; Phil Earley as the recruiting coordinator and offensive assistant; and Jordan Peterson as the assistant defensive backs coach.
In addition, Drew Hill has been retained as the Bulldog football operations coordinator. Hill has been with Fresno State for the past eight seasons.
"I am excited about the guys we are bringing in on our staff and am looking forward to having the team and the public get to know them," DeRuyter said. "This group brings in a great deal of experience and I trust in all of them that they will help us further elevate this program to where we want to go."
Schramm, who has coached in 10 bowl games and has 25 years of experience, takes over the potent Bulldog offense after spending the past seven seasons as an assistant coach at Utah. He was the Utes' offensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010 when they averaged 29.8 and 33.1 points per game, respectively. Schramm first coached the running backs from 2005-08 and has also coached the quarterbacks, tight ends and served as the recruiting coordinator in his time with the Utes where his primary recruiting area was southern California.
As the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2009, Schramm tutored Jordan Wynn, then a true freshman, to MVP honors at the Poinsettia Bowl. That same year, Schramm also oversaw only the second 1,000-yard rushing-receiving tandem in school history in Eddie Wide and David Reed. Wide set a school record for consecutive 100-yard rushing games (six) and Reed broke the school record for receiving yards in a season (1,188). Reed was taken in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by Baltimore.
In 2011, Schramm returned to his initial assignment coaching the running backs and led tailback John White to a 1,519 yard rushing season, setting a new single-season record at Utah.
Toth spent the past two seasons with DeRuyter on the coaching staff at Texas A&M where he was the outside linebackers coach. He has nine years of coaching experience, including three years of experience as a defensive coordinator at Ashland (Ohio) University (2007-08) and Mercyhurst (Pa.) College (2006).
Toth was fundamental in the development of Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, who captured the prestigious Butkus Award during an All-America campaign under his leadership in 2010. Miller went on to become the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Then this past season, Toth helped guide the Aggie defense that led the nation in sacks with 51.
McDonald, a native of Fresno and graduate of Edison High School, played strong safety for 13 seasons in the NFL from 1987-99 after an All-American career at Southern California. He was selected to six Pro Bowls in his career and won Super Bowl XXIX with the San Francisco 49ers in 1995. McDonald was one of only six safeties named to the Walter Camp All-Century Team selected in 1999, celebrating the greatest college football players of the 20th Century. McDonald retired from the NFL in 1999 and was the head coach at Edison High School in 2009 and 2011, leading the Tigers to a 10-2 record and the division one semifinals this past year.
Germano comes to Fresno State after spending the past 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio University, where for the last three years he was the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator. He was the Bobcats' recruiting coordinator for eight seasons, spent four seasons working with the tight ends and had a two-year stint as the outside linebacker coach. He has 27 years of coaching experience.
Earley has 25 years of coaching experience, 17 of which saw him overseeing the quarterback position. In 2010, he was the quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator at Idaho State and he was an assistant to the offensive coordinator at San Diego State in 2009. From 2006-08, Earley was the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse and had prior stints at Auburn (2005), Ohio (2004), Nevada (2000-03) and Idaho (1997-99). In 2005 at Auburn, Earley led quarterback Brandon Cox to a 2,324-yard passing season, which ranks as the seventh-best season in school history. At Syracuse, the 2007 team set a school record for the most passing yards in a season (2,750).
His 25 years of experience spans across the country, including his tenure at Washington State (1992-94) where he served as the recruiting coordinator and was responsible for football operations under head coach Mike Price. During that time, the Cougars won the 1992 Copper Bowl and led the Pac-10 in total offense.
Peterson was a defensive back at Texas A&M from 2006-09 who made 15 career starts, was a two-time first team Academic All-Big 12 honoree and was named to the 2008 CoSIDA Academic All-America Region VI team. He spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons as the defense graduate assistant coach for the Aggies.
The remaining three assistant coaching positions on DeRuyter's coaching staff will be filled in the near future.
