Sports
Football: Former Ohio coordinator named head coach at Fresno State
By: Grant Burkhardt
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Former Ohio defensive coordinator and secondary coach Tim DeRuyter was named head football coach at Fresno State University on Wednesday.
DeRuyter was Ohio's defensive coordinator from 1995-98 and 2002-04. His defenses gave up an average of 23 points per game in his first stint and just over 29 points per contest in his second term in Athens. His defense's best season (scoring defense-wise) was 1997, when Ohio finished 8-3 and surrendured just 16.1 points per game. The worst defensive output in a season under DeRuyter came in 2002, when Ohio gave up 31 points per game.
Prior to his appointment with the Bulldogs, DeRuyter was the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M and was given the interim head coach tag after Aggies' head coach Mike Sherman was fired after the regular season. The 48-year-old has also worked at Navy, Air Force and Nevada.
"We will build student-athletes into champions, both on and off the field," DeRuyter said, according to a release on FSU's athletic website. "Fresno State is where I can live out my dream of building a team that can accomplish this. Along with that, I want to help fulfill the dreams of the Red Wave by winning conference championships and becoming a player once again on the national stage."
DeRuyter will coach Texas A&M in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 31 then begin duties as FSU's head coach.
Frank Solich was named the head coach at Ohio in 2005 and he, along with defensive coordinator Jimmy Burrow, has helped Ohio to a 23 point per game scoring defense average and a perenially high-ranking unit over his seven seasons in Athens.
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