Wake Forest University Men's Football

Grey Bechok originally joined the Wake Forest football staff as the Assistant Director of Football Operations on Coach Jake Dickert’s staff in June 2025. In ...

Ruggiero begins his third season as Wake Forests offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after previously serving in the same role under head coach Dave Clawson at Bowling Green. Under Ruggieros direction, the Wake Forest offense was the most improved in the nation in 2015, gaining 117 yards more total offense per game over 2014. Ruggiero has been an offensive coordinator for 24 years at the college level at six different universities before Wake, and has tutored quarterbacks for 26 years at the college level. His offense has finished in the top 10 in the country in either total offense or scoring offense at all six stops. Ruggieros units have finished in the top six in the country in passing offense at the last four stops. He has coached an All-American QB at five of his last six coaching stops. In 2013 Ruggieros BGSU offense finished fourth in the country in total offense (per possession), first in the nation in time of possession and first in the conference and 10th in the nation in passing efficiency behind a sophomore quarterback who was named the MVP of the conference championship game. In 2009 Ruggieros offense finished sixth in the country in passing while QB Tyler Sheehan (Houston Texans) threw for over 4,000 yards and receiver Freddie Barnes (Chicago Bears) broke the all-time NCAA record with 155 catches in one season. Before Bowling Green, Ruggiero was the quarterback coach at Kansas State and coached Josh Freeman to a first round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft. He also mentored Collin Klein who went on to be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Ruggiero spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons as the offensive coordinator at Elon University, where he rebuilt an offense that was 108th in the country prior to his arrival and within two years finished ninth in the nation in scoring offense and second nationally in passing offense. There he worked with quarterback Scott Riddle, a first team All-American and the Southern Conferences Freshman of the Year in 2007, who went on to play in the Canadian Football League. As a true freshman Riddle broke 27 school records en route to being named College Sporting News National Freshman of the Year and leading the country in total passing yards, passing yards and completions per game. Prior to Elon, Ruggiero spent six years at Hofstra including the final four years as offensive coordinator. His offense finished 10th in the country in scoring offense and finished third and fourth in the country in passing offense in his final two consecutive years. He mentored Anton Clarkson (NY Giants) to All-CAA honors and Rocky Butler (Saskatchewan Roughriders) to All-America status. Butler earned First-Team All-American honors and was the runner-up for the Walter Payton Award for top I-AA player behind Brian Westbrook in 2001. That season Butler was third in the country in total offense and second in passing efficiency. While still at Hofstra he recruited and coached future New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston, who was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team in 2006. In 1999, Ruggiero coached the tight ends at William & Mary where both of his TEs went on to the NFL. Prior to that Ruggiero was the head coach at Glenville State in West Virginia. At Glenville, he led the Pioneers to their only NCAA Division II playoff appearance ever and won the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in 1997. There they finished second in the country in total offense and first nationally in passing offense. Ruggiero was also the OC at Clarion University for three years and finished first in the country in scoring offense. He started his career as the offensive coordinator at Defiance College for five years where the team finished fourth nationally in scoring offense. Ruggiero is a 1988 graduate of the University of Delaware where he played quarterback and served as a graduate assistant while earning both a bachelors and masters degree in physical education. Ruggiero and his wife, Jennifer, have one daughter, Emma. The Warren Ruggiero File

Cohen, the former head coach at Hofstra University, will begin his second season as Wake Forests defensive line coach in 2015. Cohens influence on Wake Forests defensive line was immediately apparent in 2014. Tackle Tylor Harris was a second-team All-ACC selection while fellow tackle Josh Banks earned honorable mention All-ACC honors. Cohen was the head coach at Hofstra for four seasons from 2006 through 2009 when the school dropped the program. In 2007 he guided the Pride to a 7-4 record, the second-most improved record in the Football Championship Subdivision that season. For his efforts, Cohen was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award which is presented each year to the top FCS coach in the nation. Cohen and Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson first worked together in 1989 and 1990 at the University of Albany under legendary head coach Bob Ford as Cohen was in charge of the linebackers and strength and conditioning. In 1991, Cohen became the defensive line and linebackers coach at Lafayette. After three seasons with the Leopards, he joined the University of Delaware in 1994 as the defensive line and linebackers coach, spending five seasons with the Blue Hens. Cohen helped coach Delaware to three FCS playoff appearances including a spot in the national semifinals in 1997. In 1999, Cohen joined head coach Dave Clawson's first-year staff at Fordham and spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator, associate head coach and linebackers coach. Following the 2001 season, Cohen returned to Delaware for four seasons and helped the Blue Hens to the FCS national championship in 2003 with a 40-0 shutout of Colgate in the title game. Delaware went 15-1 that season en route to the national title. He was named the I-AA National Defensive Coordinator of the Year by Football Monthly. Following his four-year stint at Hofstra, Cohen became the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Western Michigan in 2010. In 2011 the Broncos' defense was ranked 10th in the nation in turnovers gained with 31, was sixth in red zone defense and first in the nation in fourth down defense. Three of his players earned All-Mid-American Conference honors with Drew Nowak earning All-America status. In 2012, Cohen took over the linebacker duties at Rutgers and coached one of the top defensive units in school history. The Scarlet Knights finished fourth in the nation in scoring defense (14.2 points allowed per game), tied for ninth in turnovers gained (32) and 10th in total defense (311.6 yards per game). Linebacker Khaseem Greene earned Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors and was named an All-America after making 136 tackles and forcing six fumbles. Green was a fourth round pick of the Chicago Bears in the NFL Draft. In 2013, Cohen coordinated a Rutgers defense that ranked third in the nation in run defense. Cohen is reunited on the Wake Forest staff with defensive coordinator Mike Elko. Elko served as the defensive coordinator at Hofstra from 2006-08 under Cohen. A native of Huntington, N.Y. Cohen was a three-time league champion, all-county and All-Long Island selection at Commack North High School. A 1988 business management graduate of Long Island University-C.W. Post, Cohen earned his master's degree in education administration from SUNY-Albany in 1990. While playing at C.W. Post, Cohen was a two-year starter at defensive tackle and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors as a senior. Cohen and his wife Denise have two sons, Charlie and Brian. The Dave Cohen File

Hunter continues into his second year on the Wake Forest football staff after coaching under head coach Dave Clawson at Bowling Green. Hunter works with Wake Forests running backs. Hunter spent eight years on the Bowling Green coaching staff working with the running backs. Retained on the staff when Clawson took over the Bowling Green program in 2009, Hunter took on additional responsibilities as recruiting coordinator. The Falcons rushing offense ranked 39th in the nation in 2013 with 193.4 yards per game. During his time at BGSU, Hunter coached three different running backs to All-America, All-MAC and MAC Freshman of the Year honors. Under Hunter's guidance, a number of Bowling Green running backs found success. Chris Bullock was named a Freshman All-American in 2006, while Anthon Samuel earned Freshman All-America honors in 2011. The 2012 season was arguably Hunter's best coaching job of his career, helping the Falcons transform from a passing team to a strong rushing attack. That rushing attack finished with the most rushing yards since 2006 and had four games of over 200 yards rushing. Samuel had 998 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, finishing two yards shy of becoming just the 10th Falcon to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. In 2011 Samuel ran for 844 yards and five touchdowns, earning MAC Freshman of the Year honors. Samuel was the first running back in school history to win the award and was third in the country among freshmen running backs, averaging 93.8 yards per game. Hunter molded Willie Geter into a third-team All-MAC performer as a senior in 2010, and helped him finish his career with 2,156 rushing yards, eighth-most in school history. A 1988 graduate of Bowling Green, Hunter started his coaching career in the Detroit area, rising to head coach at Pershing High in 2000. In his six years there, Pershing posted a 40-28 record, made four appearances in the state playoffs and earned a pair of district titles. A four-year starter for Bowling Green at defensive end, Hunter earned All-MAC honors in 1986 and 1987 and helped the Falcons to the 1985 MAC title and a berth in the California Bowl. As a redshirt freshman, Hunter had nine tackles and three sacks in a win over arch-rival Toledo. He led the 1985 BGSU team with eight sacks. Hunter finished his career with 336 tackles and 44 tackles for loss. He signed as a free agent with the San Francisco 49ers following his senior season. Prior to his stint at Pershing High School, Hunter was an assistant coach at St. Martin DePorres in 1989 and from 1994-99. He was the defensive backs coach for a team which won the state championship in 1989 and was defensive coordinator from 1994-99, also winning state titles in 1995 and 1996. As a player, he also played on state title teams at DePorres in 1981 and 1982. A native of Detroit, he and his wife, Amara, have a son, John, and a daughter, Justiss. The John Hunter File Birthdate July 18, 1965 Hometown Detroit, Mich. Wife Amara Children John and Justiss Alma Mater Bowling Green, 1988 Playing Background Bowling Green (1984-87) ... Defensive end ... Four-year starter ... earned All-MAC honors in 1986 and 1987 and helped the Falcons to the 1985 MAC title and a berth in the California Bowl. Coaching History 2014-current (1st season) Assistant Coach, Wake Forest 2006-13 (8 seasons) Assistant Coach, Bowling Green 2000-05 (6 seasons) Head Coach, Pershing HS (Mich.) 1989, 1994-99 (7 seasons) Assistant Coach, St. Martin de Porres (Ohio) The John Hunter File

Mitch Lisowski joined the Wake Forest Athletic Creative staff in August of 2022 after spending the previous year working at UT-Arlington. After joining as a ...

Katie Bason enters her third year on the football staff at Wake Forest University in 2025. Her role on Coach Jake Dickert’s staff is as the Demon Deacons Dir...

Tabacca begins his second season on the Wake Forest football staff. Tabacca, who joined the staff in January 2014, serves as the offensive line coach. Tabacca spent two years as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Ball State University from 2012-13. During the 2013 season, the Cardinals ranked among the nations top 20 teams in total offense, passing offense, passing efficiency and scoring offense while finishing ninth in red zone offense. While at Ball State Tabacca coached Jordan Hansel to All-Mid-American Conference first team honors and Jacob Richard to All-MAC third team honors in 2013 and Austin Holtz to All-MAC first team honors in 2012, while Jordan Hansel and Cameron Lowry received third-team honors. The Cardinals had success during Tabacca's tenure, playing in the Beef `O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl in 2012 and the GoDaddy Bowl in 2013. Tabacca was promoted to run game coordinator prior to the 2013 GoDaddy Bowl game against Arkansas State. While at Ball State, Tabacca was named one of the finalists for the Football Scoop Offensive Line Coach of the Year in 2012. His 2012 offensive line led the nation in fewest tackles for loss allowed and ranked 15th in sacks allowed. In 2013, his unit was eighth in TFLs allowed and 17th in sacks allowed. Tabacca is a 2004 graduate of Ball State and a four-year letterman for the Cardinals on the offensive line. He started 33 games in his final three seasons and was a two-time Academic All-Mid-American Conference selection while also serving as team captain as a senior. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Ball State in 2005 and 2006 before moving to Defiance College as the line coach, run game coordinator and strength and conditioning coach in 2007. He added offensive coordinator responsibilities for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Tabacca moved to Butler in 2010 as the offensive line coach and became the co-offensive coordinator in 2011 before returning to Ball State in 2012. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Tabacca is a graduate of Hilliard Davidson High School. He and wife Alyssa have four children -- Sophia, Lucas, Lily and Grace. The Nick Tabacca File