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FB coaches-update

Six Coaches Join JCU Football Coaching Staff

| By: Joe Ginley '16, SID
Three of the additions are JCU Football alumni. 
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- With a promising fall camp ahead, John Carroll University Football has made several additions to the coaching staff.

Bryan Beigie '04, Brandon DiMarco '18, Andrew Clemente '21, Anthony Ritossa, Rex Rover, Lenny Smith and have joined the JCU coaching staff. 

Beigie will help as an offensive assistant, the most veteran of the new coaches. Ritossa will work with the defensive line. Rover will mentor the wide receivers this year. Smith will coach up the linebackers. DiMarco and Clemente join the staff after suiting up for the Blue Streaks -- DiMarco as an offensive quality control coach and Clemente as a volunteer assistant coach.

Let's meet the new additions to the coaching staff below, in alphabetical order: 

Bryan Beigie '04: Offensive Assistant 
Beigie rejoins the JCU Football coaching staff for the 2021 season. Beigie previously coached the Blue Streaks' wideouts from 2014-17, so this will be his fourth season on staff. 

Beigie's wide receivers enjoyed great highlights during his previous stint. JCU fans won't soon forget when one of his wideouts, Willie Woods, hauled in a dramatic touchdown catch to best Mount Union in 2016. Beigie also coached Brian Kornowski to Honorable Mention All-OAC status in 2017. 

The 2004 JCU grad has served as the Practicum and Internship Coordinator for the Exercise Science and Sport Studies Department since 2014. Beigie also has experience coaching at St. Francis DeSales High School and Walsh Jesuit High School. He earned his Masters of Education degree from Cleveland State University in Exercise Physiology

Andrew Clemente '21: Volunteer Assistant
A Blue Streak through and through, Clemente is a welcome addition to the coaching staff. Clemente played three seasons for the Blue Streaks before hanging up the cleats prior to this season. He will be a volunteer assistant coach this season.

Clemente played at guard during the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons. The North Royalton native started all 10 games at left guard in 2018 and several games at right guard in 2019. In 2020, Clemente assisted the coaching staff after deciding to stop playing.

This May, Clemente earned his Bachelor's degree in Accounting. The Padua grad will be looking to attain his MBA from the prestigious Boler School of Business. 

Brandon DiMarco '18: Offensive Quality Control
DiMarco is no stranger to John Carroll, as he once donned the Blue and Gold. DiMarco played four seasons at quarterback for the Blue Streaks, including his senior year under Rick Finotti in 2017. DiMarco graduated from JCU in 2018 with a degree in Marketing. 

Following his JCU career, DiMarco played for the Wiesbaden Phantoms in the German Football League in 2019. Then from 2019-21, DiMarco pursued opportunities in the recruiting sector of business before joining the JCU staff for the 2021 campaign. 

A Cleveland native, DiMarco graduated from St. Edward High School, playing QB for Finotti. The Eagles reached the OHSAA Division I State Semifinals during DiMarco's senior year in 2013.  

DiMarco will primarily work with the quarterbacks under Pass Game Coordinator / Quarterbacks Coach Matt Baker. 

Anthony Ritossa: Defensive Line Coach
Ritossa joins John Carroll following a two-year stint at the University Pittsburgh. Ritossa worked for the Panthers football program as an academic counselor, assisting with recruiting efforts. 

Previously, he worked as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Connecticut.

Ritossa enjoyed a successful playing career with the University of Akron from 2010-15 as a tight end. After his playing days, he worked as a graduate assistant for the Zips. Ritossa earned a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice in 2014 and his Masters of Public Administration in 2016, both from Akron. 

A Kirtland native, Ritossa played his high school ball for the Hornets under renowned head coach Tiger LaVerde '97G. 

Rex Rover: Wide Receivers Coach
Rover arrives in University Heights after working at William & Mary in Virginia last season. With the Tribe, Rover worked as an offensive quality control/assistant running backs coach. 

Previously, he served as an offensive assistant/assistant tight ends coach at the University of San Diego for a season. During the 2019 season, USD earned a spot in the FCS Playoffs after winning the Pioneer Football League. One of his charges, Dalton Kincaid, won Third Team AP All-American honors as a sophomore.

Rover graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington with a degree in Kinesiology and Physical Education. During his time in Spokane, he served as an assistant coach at Gonzaga Preparatory High School. The Jesuit school won 4 consecutive league titles and a WIAA 4A State Championship in 2015.

A native of Palm Desert, California, he is a 2014 graduate of Xavier College Preparatory High School, another Jesuit school. 

Lenny Smith: Linebackers Coach
Smith is the second Mule to join the John Carroll staff. Smith is a 2016 Muhlenberg College graduate, finishing his Bachelor of Arts in Media & Communications a couple years after Defensive Coordinator Jeff Long, Jr. 

Smith most recently coached at Villanova University. At the Catholic institution, he worked as a graduate assistant from 2019-21. During that span, he mentored the defensive backs and the linebackers. He assisted with recruiting, game planning, and much more.

Before his time with the Wildcats, he coached the linebackers and long snappers during the 2018 season at SUNY Cortland. Smith also coached the inside linebackers and long snappers at Muhlenberg during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. 

A fun fact about the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania native -- Smith is bilingual, as he also can speak Spanish. 
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