2012 MEMPHIS FOOTBALL Page 26
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The University of Memphis
administration and a master’s of sports administration and facility management. D
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COACHING STAFF
N e b r a s k a , 2002 First Season
Adam Lechtenberg joined the Tigers football support staff in March of 2012, accepting a position as the team’s director of player personnel. Lechtenberg comes to Memphis from Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), where he served as co-offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. Lechtenberg coached two seasons at CCSU, guiding the Blue Devils to a 2010 Northeast Conference co-championship. CCSU led the league in nine offensive categories, including total offense, rushing offense, scoring offense and passing efficiency. He also served as the program’s admissions liaison and academic coordinator. Prior to his time at Central Connecticut State, Lechtenberg worked as an offensive graduate assistant under Justin Fuente at TCU. In his three seasons with the Horned Frogs, Lechtenberg helped TCU to three bowl appearances (2007 Houston Bowl, 2008 Poinsettia Bowl and 2010 Fiesta Bowl) and final national final rankings of No. 7 in 2008 and No. 6 in 2009. Lechtenberg previously coached at Truman State University (running backs), Wayne State College (GA/wide receivers) and Fowler High School (defensive coordinator). The Butte, Neb., native was an all-state first team quarterback, all-state honorable mention basketball player and state track and field medalist at Butte High School. Lechtenberg played defensive back at the University of Nebraska. Lechtenberg graduated from Nebraska in 2002 with a bachelor’s of science degree in agribusiness and earned a master’s degree in liberal arts from TCU in 2009. S
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ROH RK C U T C HL O W Memphis First Season
Rohrk Cutchlow returned to his alma mater as the director of football strength and conditioning in May of 2012. A three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at catcher for the Tigers baseball program from 1996-98, Cutchlow graduated from Memphis with a bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis on exercise and sports science. During the 2011 season, Cutchlow served as the director of strength and conditioning at Tulsa, where he oversaw the athletics department entire strength and conditioning program, while also working with the football team. Prior to Tulsa, Cutchlow directed the strength and conditioning program at Illinois State for eight years. He served as the Redbirds strength and conditioning coordinator his first four seasons, before being promoted to Assistant Athletics
Director for Sports Performance in 2007. While Cutchlow was at Illinois State, he worked with 12 players that signed NFL contracts. A native of Littleport, Iowa, Cutchlow was one of five finalists for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year award in 2006. From 2001-03, Cutchlow was the head strength and conditioning coach for Olympic sports at Iowa State, where he directed programs for 16 sports that included men’s basketball and wrestling. While at Iowa State, he earned his master’s degree in educational leadership and policy education. He then spent two seasons working with the Chicago Cubs AAA affiliate. A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA, Cutchlow holds additional certifications from USA Weightlifting and Functional Movement Systems (FMS). He is also a member of the Black Coaches Association. F
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K UR T S CH M I DT W i sc o n s i n -L a C r o ss e , 2002 First Season
Kurt Schmidt joined the Memphis strength and conditioning staff in 2012, after spending the previous four seasons at Arkansas. A member of the Razorbacks staff from 2008-12, Schmidt served as strength and conditioning coordinator and coordinator of nutrition education. With the Razorbacks, he coordinated a nutrition education program for the athletics department and developed programs for newcomers and injured student-athletes. Schmidt also produced a monthly nutrition newsletter and developed a vision training program. Prior to Arkansas, Schmidt worked at Utah State as an assistant and interim head of strength and conditioning from 2006-08. At Utah State, he worked with a number of programs, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, soccer and track and field. Schmidt also supervised a team of graduate assistants that covered gymnastics, softball and track and field. Schmidt holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Louisville, where he served as a graduate assistant from 2004-05. He was hired full-time at Louisville as an assistant football strength and conditioning coach from 2005-06. Prior to his graduate assistant position at Louisville, he served as a graduate assistant at Utah from 2003-04, working with softball and alpine skiing. He also assisted with the Utes football, men’s basketball, baseball and gymnastics programs. A native of Elma, Iowa, Schmidt earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, where he played linebacker for the Eagles. Schmidt, a 2001 Verizon Academic All-District first team honoree, was a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) honorable mention pick that same season. He served a summer internship at Iowa with the Hawkeyes football program, and then 2012 Memphis Football Fact Book
completed a second internship at Winona State University in 2002. Following his graduation from WisconsinLacrosse with an exercise and sport science degree with an emphasis in fitness management, Schmidt worked at Yale, serving first as assistant director of sports conditioning and then as interim co-director of sports conditioning until April of 2003. Schmidt, who is married to the former Trish Kalbas, is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and has his USAS Level 1 Sport Performance Certification. G
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DEL H OWARD M i ss o u r i , 2 0 1 0 First Season
Del Howard begins his first season as a defensive graduate assistant with the University of Memphis football program. Howard joins the Memphis staff after working the past two seasons as a defensive quality control graduate assistant at the University of Missouri. He transitioned into coaching following a four-year playing career at Mizzou. As the defensive quality control graduate assistant at Missouri, Howard was responsible for assisting with the day-to-day operations of the defensive coaching staff including video breakdown, scouting, computer and video information input and providing assistance in recruiting operations. Last year, Missouri posted an 8-5 record and defeated North Carolina 41-24 in the 2011 Independence Bowl. The Tigers were 10-3 in 2010 and played in the Insight Bowl. The Dallas native originally played cornerback at Missouri before moving to safety where he started three times for a defense which led the Big 12 Conference in total defense during league games. He was a member of a Missouri team which posted a 12-2 record and finished the season ranked fourth nationally in the final 2007 season poll. Missouri played in bowl games each year during Howard’s playing career. G
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R EYN WIL L IS East Carolina, 2009 Second Season
Reyn Willis joined the Tigers at the start of the 2011 fall camp and works with the offense. No stranger to Conference USA, Willis lettered two seasons as a wide receiver at East Carolina (2008-09) after transferring from Alabama. Willis totaled 151 yards on nine catches and one touchdown at East Carolina. He played 26 career games for the Pirates, also logging time with the special teams unit. Willis was part of East Carolina’s back-to-back C-USA championship seasons and helped the Pirates to consecutive AutoZone Liberty Bowl appearances in Memphis (2009, 2010).