COLUMBUS, Ohio - Capital University head football coach
Jim Bickel announced Friday that Crusader assistant
Henry Stanford will be promoted to offensive coordinator effective immediately. Stanford, who is also the recruiting coordinator for CU football, takes over for
Manny Matsakis who was hired as the running backs coach of the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
"There is no question that we will miss Manny, but our offense will be in great hands with Henry calling the plays," Bickel said. "Henry and the rest of our staff will give us a smooth transition into this fall."
Stanford has over 13 years of coaching experience dating back to his days as a student assistant coach for Ohio State during the Buekeyes' 1996 and 1998 Big Ten Championship teams. He will be entering his second season at Capital after spending the previous four years at Elmhurst including three seasons as associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator. Overall, Stanford has coached 28 All-Conference selections in the past 13 years.
During his time at Elmhurst, the Blue Jays won 22 games and were near the top of the conference annually in scoring, passing, rushing and third-down conversions. Stanford coached 12 All-Conference selections at Elmhurst to follow up a successful coaching career that has included stints at Tiffin (1999 & 2003), Otterbein (2000 & 2001) and Kenyon (2002). He also served as an intern coach for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals during training camp in 2007.
"We are fortunate to have someone like Henry with coordinator's experience on our staff," Bickel said. "His knowledge of the OAC and use our current players will surely help the transition this season."
Stanford looks forward to the challenge of calling an offense against some of the top competition in the nation at the NCAA Division III level.
"It is an honor to be the offensive coordinator at Capital because it is the OAC," Stanford said. "These are the best defenses on some of the best teams in the country. I look forward to the challenge of restoring the pride that Capital football had during its three recent trips to the postseason."
Although Stanford will still call the offense the "Triple Shoot" for now, he plan on molding the play calling to a more balanced attack.
"We will be very similar to 2008, but whenever you change the play caller some things will change with that," Stanford commented. "I feel that we will have multiple looks to our offense with three goals - Play Physical, Play Fast, Play as a Unit."
Stanford's transition should be helped be a large corps of players that gained valuable experience against OAC competition last season. The group will include two experienced quarterbacks, four veteran wide receivers, two tested running backs and four returning starters in the offensive line.
"We are in a very good situation right now offensively," Stanford said. "The confidence that they bring to the field should allow us to adjust to the changes in the offense quickly during the preseason. There is no question that you can not substitute that experience come game day."
Stanford also feels that this offense will be a good fit for not only the current Capital players, but the Crusaders of the future.
"We run this offense because it is a great fit for players from the State of Ohio," Stanford said. "Our balance will allow us to make the best use of each player's strength and athletic ability while teaching a discipline that will lead to success both on and off the field."
Capital finished with a 5-5 overall record in 2008 under the direction of first-year head coach Jim Bickel. The Crusaders placed fifth in an Ohio Athletic Conference that sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. CU has produced eight straight non-losing seasons and a 62-25 (.713) overall record along with 22 All-America selections since 2001.
The Crusaders open the 2009 season on Sept. 5 when the travel to Adrian for a 6 p.m. non-conference game. Capital then returns home to open the OAC slate on Sept. 19 against Heidelberg at 1:30 p.m.