Charleston, S.C. There will be several new faces along the sidelines this season as The Citadel Athletics Department and Head Football Coach Kevin Higgins welcomes six new additions to the Bulldog Coaching Staff. Among the new faces is offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Dave Cecchini, formerly of Harvard University. Defensive coordinator Isaac Collins came on board in January, while all six of the new coaches join the staff this month.
“I am really excited about the coaches in our program,” Higgins said. “They are great teachers and communicators, and are passionate about the coaching profession. Also, they understand the vision of building a championship program and doing it the right way. They will be terrific role models for our players as we teach life's tough lessons. I know this--there is a sense of urgency in our office everyday. I love it!”
Cecchini, former quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at Harvard University, spent six years with the Crimson before accepting the offensive coordinator position at The Citadel. While at Harvard, he set 14 team or individual offensive records, including points scored in a season (33.9). He was awarded the 2005 Mike Campbell Top Assistant Coach honor by the AAFCA after his offense was ranked first in the Ivy League for the 2005 season. In 2004 under Cecchini's coaching, the Crimson finished 10-0 and were the Ivy League Champions, leading the conference in scoring, total offense and passing efficiency, while totaling the fewest turnovers.
Before his tenure at Harvard, Cecchini spent six seasons at Lehigh University where he was Higgins' assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. He also served as tight ends coach, running back coach, quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator.
Also among the group of assistant coaches are defensive line coach Eric Westerfield, offensive quality control/offensive line coach James Holcombe, defensive quality control/defensive line coach Chris Partridge, and cornerbacks coach Aashon Larkins.
Westerfield spent the last four seasons with Cecchini at Harvard as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Under Westerfield's leadership, the Crimson defense was the No. 3 rushing defense in the country, while in 2004 they were the No. 2 scoring defense in the country and the top in total defense in the Ivy League. Each season at Harvard, Westerfield totaled two All-Conference defensive linemen, except 2002 when he had one. Westerfield also coached at Ohio Northern University (2000-02) and Methodist College (1993-2000), where he started his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1992.
