North Carolina State University Athletics
O'Brien Adds to Staff
1/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
NC State head football coach Tom O'Brien has added two more coaches to his staff - a special teams coach/recruiting coordinator and a defensive line coach.
Jerry Petercuskie, who will serve as recruiting coordinator and special teams coach, has been on a staff with O’Brien for the past 12 seasons. He held that same position for the past 10 years at Boston College and worked alongside O’Brien at Virginia for the previous two campaigns. Under Petercuskie’s guidance, BC ranked fourth nationally in kickoff returns last season, posting the best mark in the ACC. He has been a collegiate coach for 32 years.
“Jerry has done a great job with the special teams and with the recruiting process,” said O’Brien. “It was very important to me that he be a part of our staff here and I look forward to continuing to work with him. We face many challenges this year as we try to hold on to commited prospects and also try to fill the remaining spots in this recruiting class and I know Jerry will be up to those challenges.”
Keith Willis is the first member of O’Brien’s defensive staff at NC State and will serve as defensive line coach. Willis has spent the past six seasons on O’Brien’s staff at BC. In 2005, the Eagles led the ACC in rushing defense and he coached defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, a first-round draft pick in 2006. Willis played for a dozen years in the NFL and has spent the last 12 years in collegiate coaching.
“Keith is as fine a defensive line coach as there is in this country,” O’Brien continued. “His wanting to be part of our staff here at NC state shows his tremendous commitment to our goal of making our student-athletes champions in the classroom, the community and the football field.”
O’Brien now has six assistant coaches on staff and says that he won’t rush to fill the remaining positions. “It’s going to be an ongoing process,” he said. “It’s more important to do it right than to do it quickly. With the recruiting limitations of being able to have just seven coaches on the road at one time, we feel confident that we are well equipped to do what we need to do at this point.”
Jerry Petercuskie (Boston College ‘75)
Recruiting Coordinator/Special Teams
32 years in coaching
Jerry Petercuskie brings 32 years of collegiate coaching experience to NC State, where he will serve as the recruiting coordinator and special teams coach. He has spent the past 10 seasons on Tom O'Brien’s staff at Boston College and has coached with O’Brien for the past 12 campaigns.
Boston College ranked fourth nationally in kickoff returns last season, posting the best mark in the ACC while Eagle freshman Jeff Smith ranked eighth nationally in that category. Petercuskie also coached the Eagles’ Will Blackmon, who finished his career ranked second on the NCAA’s all-time kick return yardage list.
Before returning to his alma mater in 1997, Petercuskie coached the defensive tackles at the University of Virginia from 1995-96. Prior to his stint in Charlottesville, he spent five campaigns as defensive coordinator at Liberty University (1989-94). From 1983-88 he served as the linebackers and defensive line coach at Rutgers.
A center on the Boston College football team from 1971-74, Petercuskie graduated with a degree in psychology in 1975. Following graduation, he coached for one season at Trenton State College (1975) before enrolling in a master’s degree program at Penn State, where he served as a graduate assistant (1976) and part-time offensive line coach (1977) for the Nittany Lions. He began his full-time coaching career at Brown University in 1978, coaching offense, defense and special teams units for the Bruins until 1982.
Petercuskie has been on coaching staffs that led teams to 12 bowl games, including the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl, the 2005 MPC Computers Bowl, the 2004 Continental Tire Bowl, the 2003 Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl, the 2002 Motor City Bowl, the 2001 Music City Bowl, the 2000 Aloha Bowl and the 1999 Insight.com Bowl (BC), the 1996 Carquest Bowl and 1995 Peach Bowl (Virginia), and the 1977 Fiesta Bowl and 1976 Gator Bowl (Penn State).
The 53-year-old and his wife, the former Karen Lovejoy, are the parents of three children, John (19), who is a sophomore at BC, Mark (18) and Alexandra (16). His dad, John Petercuskie, was BC’s defensive coordinator from 1969 through 1972.
The Petercuskie File
Date of Birth: 7/8/53
Coaching Experience
1997-2006 Boston College (asst. head coach/recruiting coordinator/special teams)
1995-96 University of Virginia (defensive tackles)
1989-94 Liberty University (defensive coordinator/linebackers)
1984-88 Rutgers University (defensive line)
1983 Rutgers University (linebackers)
1978-82 Brown University (receivers/linebackers)
1976-77 Penn State University (part-time assistant/G.A.)
1975 Trenton State College (part-time offensive line)
Bowl Games as a Coach
2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl (Boston College)
2005 MPC Computers Bowl (Boston College)
2004 Continental Tire Bowl (Boston College)
2003 Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl (Boston College)
2002 Motor City Bowl (Boston College)
2001 Music City Bowl (Boston College)
2000 Aloha Bowl (Boston College)
1999 Insight.com Bowl (Boston College)
1996 Carquest Bowl (Virginia)
1995 Peach Bowl (Virginia)
1977 Fiesta Bowl (Penn State)
1976 Gator Bowl (Penn State)
Coaching Accomplishments
√ 2006 Boston College squad ranked fourth nationally in kickoff returns, while freshman returner Jeff Smith ranked eighth.
√ Will Blackmon finished second on the NCAA’s all-time kick return yardage list.
√ Blackmon named All-ACC honorable mention as a specialist in 2005.
√ Blackmon named All-Big East second team in 2004.
√ Boston College 2004 kickoff return team ranked first in the Big East, fourth in the nation.
√ 2004 Eagles ranked first in the Big East in net yards per punt.
√ In 2004, Boston College ranked first in the Big East in kickoff coverage.
√ 2001 Eagles led BIG EAST in net punting, and kickoff coverage
√ In 2001, Kevin McMyler led Big East in punting and was named second-team All-Big East.
√ 2001 Eagles ranked first in the Big East in kickoff coverage.
√ In 1999, William Green was ranked first in the Big East and 14th in the nation in kickoff returns.
√ Jason Malecki (Boston College) led the Big East in punting in 1998.
Playing Career
1971-74 Boston College (center)
Education
1975 BA (Psychology) Boston College
1977 MEd (Counseling) Penn State
Keith Willis (Northeastern ‘88)
Defensive Line
12 years in coaching
Keith Willis will coach the Wolfpack defensive line after spending the last six seasons coaching that same position at Boston College.
In 2005, their inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Eagles led the ACC in rushing defense (90.8 ypg.) and finished third in the league in scoring defense (15.9 ypg.). Defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka was named 2005 Preseason ACC Player of the Year and was an AFCA All-America selection.
Prior to his coaching stint at BC, Willis spend two seasons as the defensive line coach at the University of Cincinnati (1999-2000). In 2000, he helped lead the Bearcats to a 7-4 regular season record and a berth in the Motor City Bowl.
Willis played on the defensive line at Northeastern from 1978-81, leading the team in sacks each of his final three seasons. He was a four-year starter and two-time captain for the Huskies.
Following his NU career, Willis enjoyed a 12-year career in the National Football League — spending 10 of those campaigns with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He signed as a free agent with the Steelers in 1982 and ended his career there ranked fourth in team history with 59 quarterback sacks — trailing only L.C. Greenwood (73.5), Joe Greene (66) and Jason Gildon (62.5). His 14 sacks in 1982 and 12 sacks in 1986 are the second and third highest single-season totals in team history.
Willis battled back from a neck injury that kept him sidelined for all of the 1988 season to start all 16 games in 1989, tallying 32 tackles with 6.5 sacks. His comeback efforts were recognized by his being selected as the recipient of the team’s Ed Block Courage Award in 1990. Willis ended his career with the Steelers following the 1991 season and played as a reserve on the Buffalo Bills team that competed in the 1993 Super Bowl.
The 47-year-old retired from the NFL in 1993 and started his coaching career as defensive line coach at Slippery Rock College in 1995. During his four-year stay there, Willis was the school’s liaison for the Minority Student-Athlete Mentoring program. In the summer of 1998, he completed an NFL internship with the Steelers. He completed his undergraduate degree from Northeastern in therapeutic recreation with a concentration in juvenile delinquency in 1988.
Willis has coached in six collegiate bowl games, including the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl, the 2005 MPC Computers Bowl, the 2004 Continental Tire Bowl, the 2003 Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl, the 2002 Motor City Bowl, the 2001 Music City Bowl.
A native of Newark, N.J., Willis and his wife Maxine have two children, Jasmine (23) and Keith Jr. (21). Keith was a sophomore defensive tackle for Boston College’s football squad last season.
The Willis File
Date of Birth: 7/29/59
Coaching Experience
2001-2006 Boston College (defensive line)
1999-2000 Cincinnati (defensive line)
1995-98 Slippery Rock (defensive line)
Bowl Games as a Coach
2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl (Boston College)
2005 MPC Computer Bowl (Boston College)
2004 Continental Tire Bowl (Boston College)
2003 Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl (Boston College)
2002 Motor City Bowl (Boston College)
2001 Music City Bowl (Boston College)
2000 Motor City Bowl (Cincinnati)
Coaching Accomplishments
√ In 2005, Boston College led the ACC in rushing defense (90.8 ypg.) and finished third in the league in scoring defense (15.9 ypg.).
√ In 2004, Mathias Kiwanuka was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year, leading the conference in sacks (11.5- tied for fifth in the nation) and tackles for loss (24.5- third in the nation).
√ Boston College’s rush defense ranked first in the Big East in 2004.
√ Coached on Boston College teams that have won four bowl games.
√ In 2000, Cincinnati posted a 7-4 regular season record and played in the Motor City Bowl.
Playing Career
1978-81 Northeastern University (defensive line)
1982-91 Pittsburgh Steelers (defensive line)
1993 Buffalo Bills (defensive line)
Washington Redskins (defensive line)
Playing Accomplishments
√ Played on the defensive line at Northeastern from 1978-81 and led the team in sacks in each of his final three seasons
√ Signed as a free agent with the Steelers in 1982 and ended his career there ranked third in team history with 59 quarterback sacks
√ Battled back from a neck injury that kept him sidelined for all of the 1988 season to start all 16 games in 1989 and was selected for the Steelers’ Ed Block Courage Award in 1990
√ Ended his career with the Steelers following the 1991 season and played as a reserve on the Buffalo Bills team that competed in the Super Bowl in 1993
Education
1988 BA (Therapeutic recreation) Northeastern
Coach Doeren Signing Day Presser (Dec. 3rd)
Wednesday, December 03
FB Players Postgame Presser vs UNC
Sunday, November 30
Coach Doeren Postgame Presser vs UNC
Sunday, November 30
Coach Doeren Weekly Press Conference (Nov. 24)
Monday, November 24