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Hoke Announces Four More Football Staff Additions
Jan. 12, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head football coach Brady Hoke announced the addition of four more coaches to his staff on Monday. Darrell Funk (offensive line), Jeff Hecklinski (assistant head coach/running backs/recruiting) and Mark Smith (linebackers) all worked alongside Hoke at Ball State, while LeCharls McDaniel will enter his ninth year and fourth straight season as wide receivers coach for the Aztecs. The quartet joins three other Hoke hires, including offensive coordinator Al Borges, defensive coordinator Rocky Long and tight ends/special teams coordinator Dan Ferrigno. "[Funk, Hecklinski and Smith] are three guys who understand our philosophy for the program and the vision of the program," Hoke said. "They are as loyal as you can get in the coaching profession. They are in it for the right reason, which is the development of the student-athletes." Funk, a graduate of Colorado State and former assistant at his alma mater from 2003-07, will coach the Aztecs' offensive line after spending last year as Ball State's offensive line coach. Under his tutelage, starting center Dan Gerberry was named a first-team all-conference selection and was a candidate for the Rimington Trophy. Gerberry was joined on the all-conference first-team this past season by offensive linemen Robert Brewster and Andre Ramsey. Ball State ranked fourth in the country in fewest sacks allowed with just 1.0 per game, while the Cardinals rushed for 184.5 yards an outing to rank 31st nationally.
"I hired Darrell a year ago [at Ball State] and he is a tremendous offensive line coach," Hoke said. "Most offensive line coaches are very detailed in every phase of their coaching and Darrell is that way. He is an aggressive guy and he will bring toughness to San Diego State." The Fort Collins, Colo., native spent five seasons at Colorado State under head coach Sonny Lubick, including the final four working with the offensive line. Funk coached the Rams' special teams and tight ends his first season in 2003, after a one-year stint at Northern Illinois as tight ends' coach. He also has made stops as a full-time assistant at Rhode Island (1998-2001), Mesa State College (1993-97) and Muskingum College (1990-92). Funk was a three-year starter at CSU from 1983-86, playing on both the offensive and defensive line and at tight end. He has a bachelor's degree from Colorado State (1988) and has a master's degree from Illinois (1990). Funk and his wife, Teresa, have two sons, Tyler and Dustin, and one daughter, Courtney. Hecklinksi will serve as SDSU's assistant head coach and running backs coach, in addition to his role as the program's recruiting coordinator. The Western Illinois graduate joined Hoke at Ball State in 2004 as the team's receivers coach, before taking on added duties with recruiting this past season. On the field, Hecklinski helped coach two of the most prolific players in Cardinal history in wideouts Dante Love, who ranked second in the country in 2007 in all-purpose yards (206.92), and Dante Ridgeway, who was an All-American and one of three finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2004. "Jeff was on my first staff for a month (at Ball State) before going to Arizona," Hoke said. "I hired Jeff back (to Ball State) the next year. His dad was a coach and his father-in-law [Mike Deal] was an offensive line coach at Illinois. Jeff is a tremendous recruiting coordinator and will coach the running backs here. He is very organized with what he does and has a good eye for talent. He will help us retool how we recruit." Hecklinski was the quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator at Arizona in 2003, after two seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Central Missouri State, where he helped the team to the school's first-ever playoff appearance and bowl victory. He started his career as an assistant at Benedictine in 1998, and also spent two seasons at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas. Hecklinski earned his bachelor's degree at Western Illinois in 1997, where he was a quarterback and threw for over 5,980 yards to rank second in the school's career record book. He and his wife, Tiffany, have a daughter, Riley, and two sons, Michael and J.R. Smith, who will coach the Aztec linebackers, spent the last six seasons as Hoke's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Ball State and has been a d-coordinator on the collegiate level for eight years overall. In 2008, the Cardinals ranked 29th nationally in scoring defense, surrendering just over 20 points an outing. Under his guidance, the Ball State defense also was 28th in tackles for loss, 38th in pass efficiency defense, 55th in pass defense and 69th in total defense. "I have known Mark since 1981," Hoke said. "He is as good of a coach as you will find. He is an excellent teacher and a tremendous recruiter. He is a great mentor for kids." Before moving to Muncie, Smith was an assistant coach at Indiana State for 15 years, including the last two as defensive coordinator of the Sycamores, where he helped tutor six All-Americans including NFL Draft pick Dan Brandenburg. Smith has prior stints as an assistant at Rose Hulman (Div. III) from 1986-87 and at Bowling Green from 1982-85, where he helped the Falcons to league titles his first and final campaigns. Smith began his coaching career at Defiance High School in Ohio, after graduating from Purdue in 1979. The Richmond, Ind., native also has a master's degree from Bowling Green (1983). He and his wife, Kim, have three children, Heather, Eric and Craig. McDaniel is in his fourth year of his third stint at San Diego State, spending the last three as the wide receivers coach. McDaniel returned to The Mesa as running backs coach in 2005, after previously coaching the wideouts in 2002 and the secondary/special teams from 1994-96. This past season, the Aztecs had six different players log 20 or more receptions, including sophomore Vincent Brown who caught 64 passes for 631 yards and five touchdowns. Brown ranked in the top 50 nationally and fifth in the Mountain West Conference in receptions per game with 5.33. In 2007, McDaniel tutored a pair of NFL Draft Picks in SDSU wideouts Chaz Schilens (Raiders) and Brett Swain (Packers). Swain was a second-team all-league pick with 58 catches for 973 yards, while Schilens ranked first in the conference in league outings in receiving yards (100.7 ypg.). In McDaniel's first stint as the Aztecs' wide receivers coach in 2002, J.R. Tolver and Kassim Osgood set NCAA single-season records for receptions and receiving yards by two teammates. The Darrell Funk File Alma Mater: Western Illinois (1997) Coaching Experience:
The Mark Smith File
The LeCharls McDaniel File
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