Walkosky brings big-time experience to Dragons

Former assistant at Washington St., UT impresses players

Zach Baker
Sports Writer

zbaker@advertiser-tribune.com

David Walkosky knows he and his new team have challenges ahead of them.

Walkosky was named the football coach at Tiffin University on Monday, replacing Nate Cole, who abruptly resigned last month.

Walkosky, who coached special teams and cornerbacks at Washington State last season and before that was an assistant for eight years at Toledo, is taking on his first collegiate head coaching job.

The Dragons have went 17-3 over the past two seasons and were Great Lakes Football Conference champions last fall.

But with Tiffin going into the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Football Conference this upcoming season, things likely will get tougher.

“I think going into the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a great challenge,” Walkosky said. “It’s going to be a playoff game every single week. So we’re going into a conference that’s demanding and challenging, which really, really excites me.”

The Steubenville native has ties to northwest Ohio. As an assistant with the Rockets, Walkosky recruited all over the state and became familiar with high school coaches and some of the players now wearing TU uniforms.

“I’ve always been familiar with Tiffin’s program,” he said. “I’ve been recruiting northwest Ohio and southeast Ohio for eight years. So I’m well-aware of all the high schools in Seneca County, and all the Columbus area, all the way over to Steubenville, all the way down to Portsmouth and all of northwest Ohio.

“The high school coaches all are aware of me,” he said, “and I feel I have a very good relationship with them, and I really look forward to meeting the coaches in this county and building a relationship with them. I think recruiting is the No. 1 thing.”

Tiffin Athletic Director Lonny Allen said Walkosky’s connection to this area made a big impression on him.

“That struck me,” Allen said. “One of the best things David has is he’s energetic, he’s charismatic and he has integrity. One of the things you worry about when you hire a big college guy is if he can handle the small-college obstacles. He hasn’t forgotten his roots.”

Allen spent one season with the Cougars, coaching under Bill Doba, who was fired after a 5-7 mark in 2007. Still, there was a high point for the team — beating Washington, 42-35 in the final game of the season.

“Bill Doba is a great head coach, and you’re playing against Washington in the Apple Cup, the 100th year of that,” Walkosky said. “It was an awesome experience.”

Walkosky said he met with the players as a group Monday.

“He seems like he fits,” linebacker Steve Yarbrough said. “It looks like he’s what we need, as in, stern, on top of things and aggressive, but [he] knows how to get the job done.”

As part of the interview process, Walkosky met with a few of the team leaders. That group included linebacker Parris Burt and quarterback Matt Root.

Each said they came away impressed.

“He seemed like a very aggressive coach; he seemed like he knew what he wanted,” Burt said. “He has a lot of experience, and I think he’s going to bring that experience here and take our team to the next level.”

Root said he was glad Walkosky is in.

“We’ve got our coach now,” he said, “and we can really start focusing on what we got to do now.”

Allen praised the players, who had their spring game this past weekend.

“Our players have been outstanding,” Allen said. “We have a group of impressive young men. They were involved in the interview process, and they went in open-minded. It was impressive how they handled the whole transition.”

The spring practices were led by defensive coordinator Paul Smith and offensive coordinator David Taynor.

“I can’t even put into words how much respect I have for those two guys,” Allen said. “They were in a tough situation having to work together and run practice. I think that shows what kind of coaches they are. I can’t say enough good things about those to guys and the rest of the staff down there.”

Root echoed those sentiments.

“They deserve a ton of credit,” the quarterback said. “They work together very well. Without them and all the assistants, we probably wouldn’t have had spring ball. They did a great job of keeping us focused and not letting us worry too much about what was going on.”

Walkosky said he will talk to each of the assistants. He said he hasn’t hired a staff yet.

“I’m going to interview the coaches that are here; they’ve done a great job,” Walkosky said. “If they fit what I’m looking to do ... whatever is best for the players is what I want to do.

“I’m going to bring in men that are great teachers, great leaders, great people,” he said. “I demand that. I demand that from myself, and I want everyone in the community to demand that from me also.”