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Kragthorpe Announces Defensive Staff Additions
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U of L head coach Steve Kragthorpe

U of L head coach Steve Kragthorpe

Jan. 7, 2008

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville head football coach Steve Kragthorpe has announced that former University of Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English has joined the Cardinals' staff in the same capacity; former Duke University head coach Ted Roof was named to mentor the linebackers at Louisville; and former University of California defensive line coach Ken Delgado has been hired to coach the defensive line at U of L. Current defensive line coach Mark Nelson will be the special teams coordinator.

English spent five seasons with the Wolverines and just concluded his second season as the school's defensive coordinator. English spent his first three seasons coaching the secondary.

This season, English oversaw an aggressive Michigan defense that entered its bowl game against Florida with the nation's eighth-ranked pass defense and were 13th in pass efficiency defense. The Wolverines were also 22nd in scoring defense and 24th in total defense.

English, 39, was named the Rivals.com National Defensive Coordinator of the Year during his initial season as the defensive signal caller at Michigan in 2006. The defense rated among the nation's best, finishing first against the run, fourth in sacks, seven in third down defense, 10 in total defense and 15th in scoring defense.

 

 

The Wolverine defensive secondary collected 36 interceptions during his three seasons overseeing the entire corps and turned four of those picks into touchdowns. In addition, U-M yielded 37 TD passes by the opposition during that time, including an NCAA-leading nine in 2003.

English became the first coach in NCAA history to have two defensive backs earn consensus All-America honors in the same season, since the organization began incorporating both an offensive and defensive team in 1965, as cornerback Marlin Jackson and safety Ernest Shazor earned the recognition following the 2004 season.

English made an immediate impact on the Wolverine secondary during his first season. U-M tied for the national lead in fewest touchdown passes yielded with nine and finished ninth in pass efficiency defense. The secondary collected 13 interceptions and returned two for scores.

A 15-year veteran of college coaching, English spent five seasons at Arizona State. He coached secondary all five years with the Sun Devils, the final two years with the cornerbacks and the previous three seasons mentoring the safeties. He helped ASU to three bowl appearances: the 1999 Aloha, 2000 Aloha and 2002 Holiday bowls.

English also tutored the secondary for two seasons at San Diego State (1996-97) and served as the outside linebackers coach at Northern Arizona (1996). His first stint at ASU was as a graduate assistant coach handling the defensive line during the 1994-95 seasons. English began his collegiate coaching career as the defensive backs coach at Mt. San Antonio College (1993) in Walnut, Calif. He coached one season at Ganesha High School (1992), his alma mater, in Pomona, Calif.

English was a four-year letterman (1987-90) and senior starter at safety for the California Golden Bears. He also started on special teams all four seasons at California. English finished his career with 134 tackles and seven sacks and participated in the 1990 Copper Bowl against Wyoming. His identical twin brother, Don, also played for the Golden Bears.

English played one season of prep football at Ganesha High School before heading to California.

A 1990 graduate of the University of California-Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in communications, English earned his master's degree in education administration from Arizona State in 1995. Roof comes to the Derby City after five seasons as the head coach at Duke, where he compiled a record of 6-45.

Roof served as Duke's interim head coach for the final five games of the 2003 season and, under his guidance, Duke posted a 41-17 victory over Georgia Tech on November 8, then closed out the season by defeating North Carolina, 30-22.

Roof, who was nominated in 2000 for the Broyles Award given to the nation's top assistant coach, previously served as an assistant coach at Duke from 1990-93. Before returning to Durham, Roof was the defensive coordinator at his alma mater from 1999-01.

In 2002, Roof directed the Blue Devil defense to marked improvements from the previous season. After finishing ninth in the ACC against the run in 2001, Duke led the league in rushing defense a year later by allowing just 120.5 yards per game on the ground. In 2003, the Blue Devils jumped from ninth in passing defense in the ACC to a third-place standing.

From 2001 to 2002, the Blue Devils moved from ninth to fifth in the ACC and from 113th to 58th nationally in total defense.

At Georgia Tech, Roof coached the linebackers in 1998 before being elevated to defensive coordinator prior to the 1999 season. In 1998, the Yellow Jackets went 10-2, shared the ACC title with Florida State and upended Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. The 1999 Tech team went 8-4 and finished the year ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll. In 2000, the Yellow Jacket defense ranked 12th in the nation in rushing defense and 20th in scoring defense, allowing just 19.0 points per game, as Georgia Tech posted a 9-3 record and was ranked 17th in the final national poll.

In 2001, the Tech defensive unit ranked third in the ACC in total defense (333.3 ypg) and second in rushing defense (117.1 ypg) - marks that ranked 32nd and 23rd nationally. In Georgia Tech's 24-14 win over 11th-ranked Stanford in the Seattle Bowl, the Yellow Jackets held the Cardinal offense to season lows of 350 total yards and 14 points. During Roof's coaching stint at Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets posted a four-year record of 35-14, tied for the 1998 ACC Championship and played in four bowl games (Gator - 1998 & 1999, Peach - 2000, Seattle - 2001).

Roof began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Alabama from 1987-88 before serving as the linebackers coach at West Georgia in 1989. He then spent four seasons as the outside linebackers coach at Duke under Barry Wilson, and his recruiting efforts helped lay the foundation for the Blue Devils' 1994 squad that went 8-4 and played in the Hall of Fame Bowl. Following his stint in Durham, Roof was on the staff at Massachusetts for three seasons and then served one season as defensive coordinator at Western Carolina before moving on to Georgia Tech.

A native of Lawrenceville, Ga., and a graduate of Central Gwinnett High School, Roof lettered four times for the Jackets during the 1982-85 seasons. He started his final three seasons and was a leader of the Rambling Wreck's famed "Black Watch" defense as a senior, when he served as team captain while Georgia Tech went 9-2-1 and defeated Michigan State in the All American Bowl.

A first team All-ACC selection in 1985, Roof ranks seventh on the Jackets' all-time tackling list with 417 hits. Named the Defensive Back of the Year in 1985 by the Atlanta Touchdown Club, Roof continues to hold the second-highest single-game tackle total in Georgia Tech history with a 25-stop effort against Tennessee.

Roof, 42, who was enshrined into the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998, earned a bachelor's degree in Management in 1987. Delgado heads to Louisville after spending the past six seasons as an assistant at California and helped lead the Bears to five straight bowl appearances. Under Delgado's guidance, former California linemen Tully Banta-Cain, Ryan Riddle and Brandon Mebane have earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors. In 2004, California allowed only 82.5 yards rushing per game - second nationally. In 2002, Delgado's defensive line produced a Pac-10 best 44 sacks.

Prior to joining the staff at Cal, Delgado served eight years at San Diego State. He served six season as the as defensive line coach 1994-1999, and was promoted to be the Aztecs' defensive coordinator for two years from 2000-01.

As an assistant at San Diego State, Delgado tutored Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (Green Bay), a three-time All-Conference choice and the Aztecs' all-time sack leader. Delgado also helped develop 1998 WAC Freshman of the Year Jerome Haywood, as well as La'Roi Glover, who is a four-time All-Pro defensive lineman with the San Francisco 49'ers. Before heading to San Diego State, Delgado coached one season at Utah in 1993, where he coached future first round pick Luther Ellis. Prior to that, Delgado spent seven seasons at San Jose State. He coached the defensive line from 1988-92 and also served as a graduate assistant from 1986-87. As the defensive line coach at San Jose State, his 1990 Spartan defense ranked third nationally in rushing defense and 13th in the country in total defense.

Delgado earned his bachelor's degree in business management from San Jose State in 1984, where he also played two seasons for the Spartans. He was a Honorable Mention Junior College All-American and a first team All-State notice at Chabot College.

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