2013 Toledo Spring Football Prospectus - University of Toledo ...

Head Coach Matt Campbellclasses have been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the MAC byvirtually every scouting service.Taking Over the HelmCampbell‘s career took a dramatic turn at the endof the 2011 regular season when Beckman left theprogram to take the head coaching position at Illinois.UT Athletic Director Mike O’Brien immediatelynamed Campbell the interim head coach. Three dayslater, O’Brien decided to remove the interim labeland Campbell was introduced as Toledo’s permanenthead coach.With the Military Bowl looming in just 16 days,Campbell had to prepare his team for the game, whilesimultaneously gearing up for the 2012 recruitingbattles and re-building his coaching staff.For the Military Bowl matchup vs. Air Force, Campbellchose to remain in his normal offensive coordinatorposition in the coaches’ box and let associatehead coach Louis Ayeni handle the on-field duties.The strategy worked out perfectly, as the Rockets putup 42 points against a solid Falcon defense. The gamewas ultimately decided by the UT defense, however,as the Rockets forced a fumble when Air Force triedfor a two-point conversion following an apparentgame-tying touchdown with just over a minute leftto play.Building Champions at ToledoCampbell’s first full season as head coach of theRockets was quite an exciting ride. Following anovertime loss at Arizona in the season opener, Toledoreeled off eight consecutive victories, includinga 29-23 triumph over then No. 18 Cincinnati. Closeconference losses to Ball State and Northern Illinoisshot down the Rockets’ dreams of regaining the MACChampionship title, but UT won nine regular-seasongames and earned a berth into the 2012 FamousIdaho Potato Bowl vs. Utah State. It was Toledo’s thirdstraight winning season and third consecutive bowlappearance.Campbell has been a part of five nationalchampions as a player and coach, and hasparticipated in six bowl games as a coach.Campbell’s Rockets also accomplished somethingthat no UT squad has ever done—crack into the Top25 of the BCS rankings. Toledo moved into the No. 25spot on Nov. 4, the same week it placed No. 23 in theAP poll and No. 25 in the USA Today coaches poll. Itwas the Rockets first appearance in a Top 25 poll since2001.The 2012 Rockets featured nine players whoearned All-MAC honors, including a league-best sixslots on the first team. Junior Bernard Reedy earnedfirst-team accolades at wide receiver and punt returner,as well as second-team honors at kickoff returner.A first-teamer on the defensive side of the ball, seniorDan Molls, led the nation in tackles with 166.