Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 5-9
Arizona State’85L’86W’87WOhio State’89L’90L’91L’92L’93W’94L’95L’96W’97L’98W’00L
Show all 14 games
1985Holiday BowlL 17-18
1986Rose BowlW 22-15
1987Freedom BowlW 33-28Ohio State
1989Hall of Fame BowlL 14-31
1990Liberty BowlL 11-231991Hall of Fame BowlL 17-24
1992Florida Citrus BowlL 14-21
1993Holiday BowlW 28-21
1994Florida Citrus BowlL 17-24
1995Florida Citrus BowlL 14-20
1996Rose BowlW 20-17
1997Sugar BowlL 14-31
1998Sugar BowlW 24-14
2000Outback BowlL 7-24
Stats
Big games
Pick a job to see its years on their own.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
Winless in 7 tries against Lou Holtz.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
0-2 against his rivals at Arizona State. Just 1-2 against Terry Donahue.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
7-13 against his rivals at Ohio State. Just 1-5 against Lloyd Carr.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
7-15 against his rivals. Just 1-5 against Lloyd Carr.
Building the roster
Four numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Followed him here
Tulsa→
Arizona State1985Arizona State→
Ohio State1988Players who transferred from his old program to his new one through the portal in the same year he made the move. Name-matching across data sources misses some, so every count is a floor, not an exact number.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1988-2000) predates 2021, when transfer-portal tracking begins in this database. Portal usage cannot be measured for this tenure at all -- this is not the same as '0% portal'.
“His own” means the player arrived while he was head coach; “inherited” means a predecessor brought him in.
Where he recruits
is his biggest recruiting state: 2 of 4 signees (50%) across his 2000–2000 classes on record (his tenure ran 1988–2000), drawn from 3 states in all. Next: MI (1).
The map counts signed recruits across his tenure; the distance figures cover his current roster, transfers and walk-ons included. Two different groups, kept separate on purpose.
The NFL pipeline
The NFL pipeline
players drafted into the NFL off his teams here (a floor — see the note below). None can be traced to who brought them in — there’s no roster record for these players here. 15 went in the first round.
At least 51 — the draft class following his 1995 season is missing from this table entirely; and his 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 seasons predate the modern 7-round draft, so this table’s pre-1994 pick counts are a floor, not a full count, for those seasons.
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | R1.21 | Nate Clements | Defensive Back |  Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 2001 | R1.29 | Ryan Pickett | Defensive Tackle |  St. Louis Rams | Estimated |
| 2001 | R6.18 | Rodney Bailey | Defensive End |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 2001 | R7.14 | Reggie Germany | Wide Receiver | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 2001 | R7.28 | Derek Combs | Running Back |  Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 2001 | R7.29 | Ken-Yon Rambo | Wide Receiver | Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 2000 | R1.24 | Ahmed Plummer | Defensive Back |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 2000 | R4.04 | Na'il Diggs | Linebacker |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | R4.32 | Gary Berry | Defensive Back | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 2000 | R5.15 | Michael Wiley | Running Back |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 2000 | R7.17 | James Cotton | Defensive End |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 2000 | R7.22 | Kevin Houser | Tight End |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1999 | R1.08 | David Boston | Wide Receiver |  Arizona Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1999 | R1.23 | Antoine Winfield | Defensive Back | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1999 | R1.28 | Andy Katzenmoyer | Linebacker |  New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1999 | R2.18 | Joe Montgomery | Running Back |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1999 | R4.06 | Joe Germaine | Quarterback |  St. Louis Rams | Estimated |
| 1999 | R4.33 | Damon Moore | Defensive Back |  Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1999 | R6.23 | Brent Bartholomew | Punter |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1999 | R6.27 | Dee Miller | Wide Receiver | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1997 | R1.01 | Orlando Pace | Offensive Tackle | St. Louis Rams | Estimated |
| 1997 | R1.03 | Shawn Springs | Defensive Back |  Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1997 | R2.03 | Rob Kelly | Defensive Back |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1997 | R3.24 | Ty Howard | Defensive Back | Arizona Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1997 | R3.31 | Mike Vrabel | Defensive End | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1997 | R4.33 | Nicky Sualua | Running Back | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1997 | R6.26 | Matt Finkes | Defensive End |  Carolina Panthers | Estimated |
| 1995 | R1.08 | Joey Galloway | Wide Receiver | Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1995 | R1.24 | Korey Stringer | Offensive Tackle |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1995 | R1.30 | Craig Powell | Linebacker |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1995 | R3.03 | Chris Sanders | Wide Receiver |  Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1995 | R3.12 | Marlon Kerner | Defensive Back | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1995 | R3.13 | Lorenzo Styles | Linebacker |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1995 | R3.34 | Preston Harrison | Linebacker |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1995 | R5.33 | Tito Paul | Defensive Back | Arizona Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1994 | R1.01 | Dan Wilkinson | Defensive Tackle |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1994 | R3.01 | Jeff Cothran | Running Back | Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1994 | R4.11 | Raymont Harris | Running Back |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1994 | R6.25 | Jason Winrow | Offensive Guard | New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1994 | R7.18 | Butler By'not'e | Running Back |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1993 | R1.21 | Robert Smith | Running Back | Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1993 | R2.09 | Roger Harper | Defensive Back | Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1993 | R3.03 | Steve Tovar | Linebacker | Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1992 | R1.22 | Alonzo Spellman | Defensive End | Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1992 | R7.20 | Scottie Graham | Running Back | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1991 | R1.19 | Vinnie Clark | Defensive Back | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1991 | R2.19 | Jeff Graham | Wide Receiver | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1990 | R5.02 | Jeff Davidson | Offensive Guard |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1990 | R7.20 | Joe Staysniak | Offensive Tackle | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1989 | R5.09 | Jeff Uhlenhake | Center |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1989 | R5.15 | Vince Workman | Running Back | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
A pick counts toward his tenure when the player’s final college season was one he coached, a checkable rule rather than a claim about who developed the player. A blank note means the player is on a verified roster and arrived on his watch. “Estimated” means no roster record, so the final season is assumed to be the year before the draft.
Career
Coaching career
The arc of his career is on Now.
Inheritor inherited a power and neither built it higher nor let it collapse · Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
8th-best Ohio State tenure of 12 by the numbers.
Followed Earle Bruce (1979–1987) · succeeded by Jim Tressel (2001–2010).
| Season | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||||||||||
| Record | 4-6-1 | 8-4 | 7-4-1 | 8-4 | 8-3-1 | 10-1-1 | 9-4 | 11-2 | 11-1 | 10-3 | 11-1 | 6-6 | 8-4 | |
| Postseason | — | L bowl | L bowl | L bowl | L bowl | W bowl | L bowl | L bowl | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | — | L bowl | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||||||||||||
| Offense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Defense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||||||||||||
| 1st-down pass% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Red-zone pass% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
2nd-best Arizona State tenure of 19 by the numbers.
Followed Darryl Rogers (1980–1984) · succeeded by Larry Marmie (1988–1991).
| Season | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||
| Record | 8-4 | 10-1-1 | 7-4-1 | |
| Postseason | L bowl | W bowl | W bowl | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||
| Offense | — | — | — | |
| Defense | — | — | — | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||
| 1st-down pass% | — | — | — | |
| Red-zone pass% | — | — | — | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | — | — | — | |
7 NFL Draft picks: Darryl Clack (1986), David Fulcher (1986), Scott Stephen (1987), Skip McClendon (1987), Bruce Hill (1987), Danny Villa (1987), Dan Saleaumua (1987)
5th-best Tulsa tenure of 22 by the numbers.
Followed F. Dry (1972–1976) · succeeded by Don Morton (1985–1986).
7 NFL Draft picks: Rickey Watts (1979), Eddie Hare (1979), Don Blackmon (1981), Eugene Williams (1982), Bill Purifoy (1982), Sid Abramowitz (1983), Michael Gunter (1984)
All-time wins
Wins at programs this site tracks, 1936–present — one consistent count for every coach, not each program’s own historically reported total.
2nd-most wins by a Missouri Valley coach
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+4.4 pts at Ohio State · #411 of 1290 · middle half