HICKORY, N.C. - Lenoir-Rhyne Football Coach
Mike Jacobs has announced the addition of five assistant coaches to his staff. Each of the five were on staff with Jacobs at Notre Dame (Ohio) and led the Falcons to become one of the best Division II programs in the nation.
Jahmal Brown - Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers Coach
Brown led the Notre Dame defense the past two seasons and produced back-to-back All-American accolades for DL Sha'haun Williams. In 2019, opponents ran for just 2.6 yards per carry and his defense produced 23 takeaways. Williams finished 2019 with 18 tackles for loss and 10 sacks after leading the nation with 20 sacks in 2018. In 2019, LB Guam Lee and LB Nathan Moore became the first set of teammates in program history to each top 100 tackles in a season. Seven of his players were named All-Conference in 2019 and Bryce Sheppert was MEC Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Brown, who was named the College Assistant Coach of the Year by the Norheast Ohio chapter of the National Football Foundation, played four years at Bowling Green where he aas a four-year starter as a safety. As a senior, he was named the team's most valuable defensive back and was selected to participate in the Detroit Lions Rookie Mini-Camp.
Anthony Soto - Offensive Coordinator / Offensive Line Coach
There was no offensive player in the nation better than NDC's Jaleel McLaughlin over the past two seasons and Soto had a big hand in that. As a freshman, McLaughlin rushed for an NCAA Division II record 2,421 yards, the most ever by a first-year player. During his sophomore campaign, McLaughlin led the nation with 2,316 yards and 30 touchdowns. McLaughlin was a Harlon Hill finalist each of those two seasons and finished as the runner-up for the award in 2019.
Soto's run game produced a staggering 3,352 yards in 14 games (239.4 per game) and found the end zone 42 times. He coached a pair of offensive linemen to First Team All-Conference honors and two more were Honorable Mention selections. Jimmy Burchett and Brandon Nicholson were First Team All-Region linemen and Burchett earned D2CCA Second Team All-American honors.
In 2018, Soto led the Falcons to an average of 264.6 yards on the ground per game. His offensive line played a key role in the success in the passing game as well as they allowed only 12 sacks in 14 games, which ranked 13th in NCAA DII. Offensive lineman Austin Treneff was named a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award, which is given to the best lineman in NCAA DII. Treneff finished fourth in the voting. In 2017 and 2018, Treneff was named Academic All-American.
Shawn Chaffee - Defensive Line Coach / Recruiting Coordinator
Chaffee helped the Falcons to back-to-back MEC Championships and NCAA Playoff appearances. In 2018, the Falcons advanced to the NCAA Semifinal and captured a Region 1 Championship, and appeared in the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2019.
Chaffee coached one of the best players in the nation and helped lead Sha'haun Williams to back-to-back All-American selections. In 2018, Williams led the nation with 20 sacks which ranks third in NCAA DII for a single season. Williams finished second in the nation with 24.5 tackles for loss and joined fellow DL Derrick Brumfield who each ranked fifth in forced fumbles with four apiece.
Not to be outdone, Williams would go on to post 18 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2019 to go with a team-high 10 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.
Chaffee also coached 2018 MEC Defensive Freshman of the Year Jack Kosko. Kosko went on to be named Second Team All-Conference in 2019 and ranked in the top 10 in the league in sacks.
Devin Figaro - Wide Receivers Coach
Figaro comes to Hickory after spending a year at Valparaiso. In his one season at Valpo, Figaro helped numerous wide receivers make clear strides over the course of the season. He guided juniors Ollie Reese and Deuce Larose to 2019 All-PFL Honorable Mention status.
Several Valpo wide receivers had career days on Nov. 9 vs. Morehead State as Larose made six catches for 112 yards, surpassing 100 yards for the first time in his career. Oscar Lopez hauled in nine grabs for 78 yards, both personal bests. Larose had Valpo's highest single-game receiving total since Nov. 10, 2018, while Lopez was the first Valpo player with nine or more receptions in a game since Nov. 14, 2015. Larose (48.4, ninth) and Reese (45.4, 10th) both finished in the Top 10 in the PFL in receiving yards per game. Reese also finished sixth in all-purpose yards per game with 110.7.
Before making his way to Porter County in 2019, Figaro had been the wide receivers coach at Notre Dame College in Cleveland, Ohio since the spring of 2017.
Figaro coached two players to all-conference honors during his time at Notre Dame College. He previously served as a graduate assistant/assistant wide receivers coach at the University of San Diego and helped lead the Toreros to the first undefeated season in Pioneer Football League history. He was on staff as San Diego became the first non-scholarship FCS program to win an FCS playoff game in 2016.
Figaro played at Tulane University (2009-2011) and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (2011-2013). He was the captain of the wide receivers in 2013.
Tony Baldesare - Special Teams Coordinator / Tight Ends Coach
Baldesare joined the Notre Dame coaching staff in the summer of 2015. In 2016, he was promoted to Tight Ends Coach and Director of Football Operations. Prior to the 2018 season, Baldesare became the team's Special Teams Coordinator.
In his four three seasons coaching the tight ends, NDC has seen three different players reach the marks of at least 25 receptions, 450 yards and five touchdowns. In 2019, Zaire Mitchell finished second on the Falcons with 42 grabs for 573 yards and six touchdowns on his way to being named First Team All-Region.
Tight end B.J. Baldwin was named First Team All-Mountain East and First Team All-Region in 2016 while Mitchell earned All-MEC honors in 2018.
In his second season in charge of Special Teams, Marvelle Ross was named Don Hansen Football Gazette Regional Special Teams Player of the Year after finishing with 637 kickoff return yards and three touchdowns. Ross added 167 punt return yards for 804 total return yards in 2019.
In his first year as Special Teams Coordinator, Baldesare led a unit that ranked highly in the NCAA DII in several categories. The Falcons ranked second in punt return touchdowns (4), fifth in blocked punts (4) and sixth in punt return yards (460). In 2018, Ross was named All-MEC after scoring on three punt returns. Ross's three punt return touchdowns tied for the most in the country.
Baldesare came to Notre Dame after two years with Hiram College, where he served a number of different roles.He was the Director of Football Operations with the Terriers from Jan. 2013, until he left in May of 2015. In addition to his duties as the Director of Football Operations, he was also the Linebackers Coach. In his time with the Terriers, they had their best season in over 30 years, and had a top-8 ranking in defensive takeaways.
Prior to coaching at Hiram, Coach Baldesare was an assistant with Ohio University back in 2006, when they won the Mid-American Conference Eastern Division.
