Search the Community

21 years of coaching experience | Kansas State, 1994 Eric Wolford joins the OSU staff after serving as head coach at Youngstown State from 2010-14. During his time there, the Penguins compiled a 31-26 overall record, highlighted by an 8-4 record in 2013. He led Youngstown State to a 2012 victory over Pittsburgh and a 2011 road win over top-ranked North Dakota State. His 2011 squad set more than 30 team and game individual and season school records and the offense ranked among the top 15 in the Football Championship Subdivision in 13 different categories. Playing an 11-game regular season, the Penguins were the only team in the FCS to rush and pass for more than 2,500 yards. After starting his career as a graduate assistant for Bill Snyder at Kansas State in 1994, Wolford made full-time coaching stops at Emporia State, South Florida, Houston, North Texas, Arizona, Illinois and South Carolina before taking the head coach position at Youngstown State. His first full-time job was as the offensive line and strength coach at Emporia State in 1995. He moved to Tampa to help start up the program at South Florida from 1996-99, where he coached the Bulls' offensive line. In 1996, the team practiced, but did not compete. He moved on to the University of Houston, where he coached all three phases from 2000-02, serving as tackles and tight ends coach in 2000, running backs and special teams coach in 2001 and defensive line coach in 2002. In 2003, he moved on to North Texas, where he served as offensive line coach for a Mean Green squad that won nine games and featured the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, Patrick Cobbs. From 2004-06, he coached the offensive line at Arizona before moving on to Illinois, where he enjoyed a good deal of success as run game coordinator and offensive line coach from 2007-08. In 2007, the Illini led the Big Ten in rushing and in 2008, the Illini led the Big Ten in passing. The 2007 Illini squad played in the Rose Bowl and Wolford's offensive line paved the way for a rushing attack that amassed 3,338 yards on the ground a school record. Running back Rashard Mendenhall broke school records for rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and total scores in a season that year en route to earning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors. In 2008, Wolford's offensive line led the way for an Illinois offense that ranked second in the Big Ten with 438.8 yards per game and amassed over 5,000 yards of offense for the second consecutive season. He left Champaign to join Steve Spurrier's staff at South Carolina in 2009, where he served as run game coordinator and offensive line coach during his lone season in Columbia before getting the call to serve as head coach at Youngstown State. A four-year starter as an offensive lineman during his playing days at Kansas State, Wolford was part of Bill Snyder's first recruiting class. He and his wife, Melinda, have a son, Stone, and a daughter, Marlee.