Football Staff
C.J. Irvin | Assistant Coach/Tight Ends, Fullbacks
Another familiar face returned to the Illinois State football coaching staff, as former Redbird offensive lineman and student assistant coach C.J. Irvin took over as tight ends and special teams coach in 2019. He begins his fourth year in that role in 2022.
The Redbird tight ends were a big part of the success of the ISU running attack led by All-American James Robinson in 2019. Starters Robert Gillum and Tanner Taula combined for 12 receptions on the season and were integral in blocking schemes for the Redbirds. In his role as special teams coordinator, Irvin watched as Sam Fenlason kicked his way to MVFC Honorable Mention honors after a bounce back year in 2019.
In his new role, Irvin will work with the team’s tight ends and h-backs. He returns to Illinois State after spending the 2018 season with the Wisconsin football program, serving in a quality control role with the Badgers' offensive line.
Irvin came to UW after spending the 2017 season as a graduate assistant at Texas, where he worked with the Longhorns' offensive line. He held a similar position at Houston for the 2016 season and also served as interim offensive line coach for the Cougars' matchup with San Diego State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
His coaching career began as a student assistant at Illinois State, a role he filled for two seasons after suffering foot injuries that ended his playing career for the Redbirds. He helped Illinois State reach the FCS National Championship game in 2014 and the FCS quarterfinals in 2015.
Irvin, who received the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Commissioners Academic Excellence Award, graduated from Illinois State in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology/physical education. He and his wife, Caitlin, reside in Bloomington.
Tony Petersen
| Offensive Coordinator/ Wide Recievers
Tony Petersen joined the Illinois State coaching staff in January of 2022 and begins his second season running the Redbird offense, while mentoring the teams quarterbacks.
Petersen has directed some of the nation's most exciting and prolific offenses during his 30-year college coaching career, serving as an offensive coordinator in the Big Ten, MAC, Conference USA, American and Sun Belt conferences and most recently spent the 2021 season as offensive coordinator at Illinois.
Prior to his time with the Illini, Petersen spent the 2020 season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Appalachian State, when the Mountaineers finished 9-3 overall with a Myrtle Beach Bowl victory over North Texas on December 21. App State averaged 452 yards in total offense (26th nationally), including 264.9 rushing yards (7th nationally), on the season.
Petersen spent the 2019 season as an offensive analyst at Missouri after three-year stints coordinating successful offenses at Marshall (2010-12), Louisiana Tech (2013-15) and East Carolina (2016-18). In total, he has helped lead his teams to 12 bowl games, seven conference championships and two FCS national championships throughout his coaching career.
A record-setting quarterback himself at Marshall, Petersen went on to coach two different stints at his alma mater from 1991-99 and again from 2010-12. During his first stint, the Thundering Herd qualified for the postseason eight straight times, winning FCS national titles in 1992 and 1996 and Mid-American Conference titles in both 1997 and 1998 after the school moved up to the FBS level.
As a player at Marshall, Petersen was named the 1988 Southern Conference Athlete of the Year and the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year in 1987 after leading the Herd to the Division I-AA national championship game with a school-record 35 touchdown passes. He set 16 SoCon single-season and career standards in passing and total offense to go along with six Marshall single-season school marks before signing with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent in 1989 and then entering the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant at Kentucky in 1990.
Petersen went to Marshall after a stellar career at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif. A native of Lodi, Calif., he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the Major League Baseball Draft after his first year at Delta.
He earned his bachelor's degree in sports management and marketing in 1990 and master's degree in administration in 1995, both from Marshall. Petersen and his wife, Beth, have three children: Andy, Nikki Nelson and Taylor.
Travis Niekamp | Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
Former ISU defensive lineman and Redbird assistant coach Travis Niekamp begins his sixth season as the team's defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach in 2023. Niekamp previously served as outside linebacker, safeties and defensive tackles coach for head coach Todd Berry at Illinois State (1998-99).
In 2022, the Redbirds were once again among the top defenses in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the FCS. Illinois State ranked No. 10 in total defense (318.5 ypg) and No. 11 in scoring defense, allowing just 20.4 points per game to opponents. The Redbird defense also got to opposing quarterbacks regularly, ranking No. 5 in the country with 3.18 sacks per contest thanks to a dominant effort from outside linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh, who led the country in sacks per game and went on to be named the 2023 Buck Buchanan Award winner as the top FCS defensive player in the country.
In his first season as the helm of the Redbird defense, Niekamp's defensive unit was one of the best in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the FCS. The Redbirds ranked in the top 10 of the FCS in team passing efficiency defense (No. 9 - 105.23) and scoring defense (No. 10 - 20.0 ppg) and finished the year ranked No. 13 in total defense (309.8 ypg). ISU also ranked second in the conference in nearly every defensive category behind eventual national champion North Dakota State.
Niekamp spent two seasons as part of the coaching staff at Montana prior to returning to Illinois State, serving as the Grizzlies’ special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. He joined head coach Bob Stitt’s staff in January of 2016, and in his first season at Montana, Niekamp coached linebacker Josh Buss, who finished the 2016 season as Montana’s leading tackler. Buss posted 20 tackles for loss, a national best among sophomores, and earned a place on the HERO Sports FCS Sophomore Defensive All-America first team.
Prior to heading to Montana, Niekamp served as Louisiana-Monroe’s co-defensive coordinator in 2015 for Berry, as well as the Warhawks’ special teams coordinator and linebackers coach from 2013-2015. In 2012, Niekamp served as ULM’s tight ends coach.
No stranger to the Northwest, Niekamp also served as linebackers coach at Washington State from 2007-2011, in addition to serving as the Cougars' director of football development. Prior to his time in Pullman, he was the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Eastern Washington from 2004-2007.
Following his playing career as a defensive lineman at Illinois State (1994-1997), Niekamp joined the coaching staff and helped the Redbirds earn a spot in the NCAA FCS playoffs in 1998, before winning the program’s first Gateway Conference title and reaching the FCS semifinal game in 1999. In 2000, he moved with Berry to the United States Military Academy as tight ends coach (2000-03).
A native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Niekamp and his wife, Tracy, have three children -- Tye Dalton, Dexter Kole and Brooke Ryan.
Tevin Madison | Assistant Coach/Defensive Backs
Former Kansas State graduate assistant Tevin Madison is in his first season as an assistant coach at Illinois State and will work with the team’s defensive backs.
Madison comes to Illinois State after spending the 2022 season with the Wildcats a defensive graduate assistant. In that role, Madison worked with the safeties while also helping break down film and run the scout team. He joined the Kansas State program after serving as the assistant defensive backs coach at Southeast Missouri State, where he helped the Redhawks finish with a 4-2 conference record to tie for second in the Ohio Valley Conference.
A native of Fayette, Alabama, Madison began his collegiate career at Texas Tech, playing the 2014 through 2016 seasons, while he finished his career in 2017 at West Alabama. He also spent the 2019 season playing for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Indoor Football League.
Cody Deti | Assistant Coach/Safeties
Deti's charges were key to the success of the Redbird defense in 2019. Led by All-American safety Luther Kirk and All-MVFC First Team standout Devin Taylor, the Redbird secondary t ranked No. 3 in the country in passes intercepted with 19 and No. 11 in pass efficiency defense. Their performances in the defensive backfield also aided in a team-record 52 sacks on the year and a No. 11 rank in total defense.
During the 2018 season, Deti's secondary helped the Redbirds post the second-best scoring defensive in the MVFC (20.0) and the second-best total defense (309.8 ypg) behind eventual national champion North Dakota State. Safety Luther Kirk (1st team) and cornerback Devin Taylor (2nd team) both earned All-MVFC honors, as ISU fielded one of the better defensive back units in the league.
During his time working with the Redbird defensive backs, Deti helped safety Ben Ericksen earn All-America honors and Mike Banks and Dontae McCoy become All-MVFC selections. His most recent success was Davontae Harris, who was named a first-team All-American and was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ericksen was named a Third-Team All-America selection by The Sports Network and the Associated Press and selected to the College Sporting News 2012 Fabulous Fifty FCS All-America Team. That same season, Ericksen earned All-MVFC First-Team honors, after he finished the season ranked No. 4 in the country in interceptions per game and led the MVFC with seven.
In 2014, Banks ended his illustrious career with the Redbirds and is one of the most durable players in ISU history, having started every game of his career (50 total). He earned All-MVFC Second-Team honors as a cornerback and finished his career with the third-most passes defended in ISU history (46).
While Banks patrolled the cornerback position, senior captain Dontae McCoy anchored the Redbird defense from the safety spot. McCoy earned All-MVFC Honorable Mention honors, after recording 67 tackles and breaking up four passes in his final season at ISU in 2014.
Deti helped the Redbird secondary improve dramatically in his first season with ISU in 2011. The Redbird defense was ranked No. 9 in the country, after finishing No. 112 the previous year, and the Redbird secondary improved 22 spots on the national list in pass efficiency defense.
Much of that was due to the leadership of senior Otis Merrill and the emergence of Banks. Merrill was an All-MVFC Second Team selection at defensive back, after starting the final 10 games of the season and recording 41 tackles and an interception. Banks started all 11 games as a true freshman and was named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team at defensive back.
Deti came to Illinois State after serving as the defensive coordinator for head coach Scott Downing for five seasons at Northern Colorado, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program out of the Big Sky Conference.
Deti’s defense improved every season, as the 2009 team allowed 20 yards less per game than 2008 and the 2008 team allowed almost 100 yards less per game than 2007. Prior to his stint at Northern Colorado, Deti spent three seasons on head coach Danny Hope’s staff at Eastern Kentucky, where he worked with the defensive secondary and helped the Colonels to a 7-4 record and 7-1 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2005.
Prior to coaching at Eastern Kentucky, Deti spent three seasons at Princeton. He joined the Tigers staff in 2000, serving as the defensive assistant. In 2001, he moved to the offensive side of the ball, coaching tight ends, and spent his final season at Princeton as the wide receivers coach.
From 1997-99, Deti was a graduate assistant coach at Purdue, where he coached alongside Brock Spack who served as the team’s defensive coordinator. In his time with the Boilermakers, the team made two appearances in the Alamo Bowl and one in the Outback Bowl.
Deti played defensive back at Wyoming (1992-93), while Downing was the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys, before his career was cut short by an injury. He stayed active with the program by serving as a student assistant coach from 1994-96 and was part of the 1996 WAC Championship squad. Deti comes from a long line of football coaches, as his grandfather John was the head coach at Laramie High School for 33 years and his father John was the head coach at Laramie for 26 years.
Deti earned his bachelor’s degree in health science from Wyoming in 1997 and his master’s degree in history and philosophy of sport from Purdue in 1999.
He resides in Normal, Ill., with his wife, Megan, and their children, Samuel, Maddisyn and Emma.
Harold Etheridge | Assistant Coach/Offensive Line
Harold Etheridge begins his fourth season working with the Illinois State offensive line in 2022.
The Redbird offensive front dealt with injury early in the 2019 season that resulted in some shuffling up front, but once the group settled in they became one of the best units in the FCS. Led by consensus first-team All-American Drew Himmelman and MVFC Honorable Mention selection Adam Solomon, the offensive line was crucial in the success of All-American James Robinson who finished the season ranked No. 2 in the FCS in rushing yards and yards per game and sixth in rushing touchdowns.
Etheridge's offensive line unit, anchored by 2018 HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-America First-Team selection and All-Missouri Valley Conference Second-Team pick Drew Himmelman, was a critical part in making ISU the third-best scoring offense in the conference. The offensive line led the way for James Robinson, who rushed for a league-leading 1,290 yards with 12 touchdowns and earned multiple All-America honors following the season.
A veteran coach with more than two decades of experience, Etheridge returned to Normal prior to the 2018 season after previously spending nine seasons as the offensive line coach for the Redbirds in the late 1990s. During that time, Etheridge helped the Redbirds earn a spot in the NCAA FCS playoffs in 1998, before winning the Gateway Conference title and reaching the FCS semifinal game in 1999. In 2000, he moved with former ISU head coach Todd Berry to Army and coached the Black Knights’ offensive line for four seasons.
Most recently, Etheridge spent four seasons at Georgia State after joining head coach Trent Miles’ coaching staff in 2013 as the offensive line coach and assistant head coach. Etheridge previously worked with Miles for three seasons at Indiana State (2010-12), helping the Sycamores post three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the 1960s.
While at Georgia State, Etheridge’s offensive front blocked for record-setting quarterback Nick Arbuckle the last two seasons, helping him lead the Sun Belt Conference in passing and rank in the top 15 nationally both years. Etheridge also helped develop offensive tackle Ulrick John into a NFL prospect. John was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
At Indiana State, Etheridge served as Miles’ offensive coordinator the last two years and his offensive line coach for three seasons. In two years as the Sycamores’ offensive coordinator, Etheridge produced one of the nation’s top rushers in running back Shakir Bell. A first-team All-American as a sophomore in 2011, Bell led the nation in rushing with 151.8 yards per game and tied for second in voting for the Walter Payton Award as the top player in the FCS. In 2012, Bell ranked sixth nationally in rushing (134.1 ypg) while earning second-team All-America honors.
Before going to Indiana State, Etheridge spent the previous two years coaching the offensive line at Washington State (2008-09) and one year in the same role at Northern Illinois (2007). During a three-year stint as the offensive line coach at North Texas (2004-06), Etheridge produced an offensive line that blocked for the nation’s leading rusher in 2004 in Jamario Thomas, who ran for 180.1 yards per game. The Mean Green won the Sun Belt Conference title and earned a berth in the New Orleans Bowl.
Etheridge began his coaching career in the high school ranks, first at Gallup (N.M.) High School (1983-86) and then Ballard (Ky.) High School (1987-88). From there, he moved to a collegiate position at Kentucky, serving as a graduate assistant working with offensive tackles in 1989-90. He worked under GSU’s first head coach Bill Curry in his second season at UK.
A native of Gallup, N.M., Etheridge was a four-year starting offensive guard for Western New Mexico (1979-82). He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from the school in 1982. Etheridge, who in 2001 published a book entitled “Coaching the Front Liners,” and his wife, Jeanne, are the parents of twins, Clayton and Eliza.
Ben Black | Assistant Coach/Defensive Line
Ben Black was hired as an assistant coach prior to the 2023 and will work with the team’s defensive line. He returns to Illinois State, after serving as a defensive analyst at Auburn working with the defensive line.
A four-year starter at Robert Morris, Black tallied 43 consecutive starts along the defensive line, and was named an all-conference player in 2014 and 2015. After graduation, RMU immediately hired Black as its defensive coach and his work helped Robert Morris lead the conference in total defense, rushing defense and scoring defense in his first season as an assistant in 2016.
Black then became a graduate assistant at Illinois State, helping the Redbirds reach the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs in 2019 as they led the FCS in sacks and red zone defense. Following his time at ISU, Black worked for two seasons at Indiana as a defensive graduate assistant before joining the Auburn staff.
Kye Stewart | Defensive Assistant Head Coach / Outside Linebackers
Former Illinois State All-American linebacker Kye Stewart begins his fourth season as the team’s outside linebackers coach in 2022.
The linebacker corps was a big part of the team's dominant defensive effort in 2019 that led to a FCS leading and school-record 52 sacks on the year. Linebackers Tuvone Clark, Brandon Simon, Zeke Vandenburgh, DeMarco Washington and Damien Jackson combined for 16.5 sacks and 33.5 TFLs on the season while helping the Redbirds to a No. 11 ranking in total defense in the FCS.
Stewart's outside linebackers aided the Redbirds in posting the second-best scoring defensive in the MVFC (20.0) and the second-best total defense (309.8 ypg) in the conference behind eventual national champion North Dakota State.
Stewart returned to Illinois State by way of Alcorn State, where he spent two seasons with the Braves as their defensive line coach.
The Braves improved to No. 2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in pass efficiency defense (114.9) and No. 3 in scoring defense (21.8 ppg) and rushing defense (133.1 ypg) in 2017. The Braves won their fourth-consecutive SWAC East Division title and became the first team in the history of the league to play in four consecutive SWAC Championship games.
Prior to his move to Alcorn State, Stewart worked for three seasons as a member of the Memphis football coaching staff, serving in the role as a graduate assistant coach on the defensive side of the football. He was mentored by head coach Justin Fuente, who was offensive coordinator at ISU during Stewart’s career, and Galen Scott, who was his defensive coordinator while playing for the Redbirds.
In 2014, Memphis ranked 11th in FBS Football in scoring defense, allowing just 195 points per game. The Tigers only gave up 349 yards a game, which ranked 27th in the nation. Memphis’ 106.31 defensive pass efficiency rating led the American Athletic Conference and ranked eighth nationally while the Tigers’ 121.5 rushing defense average was 19th nationally. Memphis won the American Athletic Conference championship, the team's first league title since 1971, and posted a 10-3 record en route to a Miami Beach Bowl title. In Stewart's first season as a member of the staff in 2013, Memphis' defense ranked 39th nationally in total defense (370.7 ypg allowed) and 12th against the run (116.3 ypg allowed).
Stewart joined the Memphis staff after playing four seasons in the Canadian Football League for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders (2009-11) and the Edmonton Eskimos (2012). Stewart, who played linebacker, was a member a Saskatchewan team which advanced to the Grey Cup Finals both in 2009 and 2010.
Stewart played in the CFL after a four-year playing career at Illinois State. At Illinois State, Stewart was a two-time All-Gateway Conference player who concluded his playing career as an All-American in 2007. That same season, he finished fourth in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is annually given to the Defensive Player of the Year in NCAA FCS football. ISU advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs during junior season in 2006.
The Nashville, Tennessee, native graduated from ISU in 2008 with a degree in communications and a minor in business administration.
Sam Ojuri | Assistant Coach / Running Backs
Sam Ojuri begins his third season with the Illinois State staff working with the team's running backs in 2022.
Ojuri spent the past two seasons as a member of the Wyoming coaching staff as the offensive graduate assistant coach working with the tight ends and fullbacks. Prior to coming to Wyoming to work with his former head coach Craig Bohl, he coached at Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he spent time working with the wide receivers and running backs.
Prior to beginning his coaching career, Ojuri experienced great success as a running back himself. After graduating from Barrington High School in Barrington, Ill., in 2009, he was recruited to play at North Dakota State. He rushed for 3,594 yards and 33 touchdowns, while adding 210 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in a stellar career. He was the leading rusher for the Bison on three consecutive National Championship teams (2011, 2012 and 2013) and currently sits as the fourth leading rusher in school history.
In 2014, Ojuri started his professional career with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL and went on to play in the 101st Grey Cup. He also spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the British Columbia Lions over three seasons in Canada.
Ojuri graduated with a degree is sports management from NDSU and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in education. He and his wife, Danielle, reside in Normal with their two children, Aliyah and Samson.
Mickey Turner | Assistant Coach / Wide Receivers
Illinois State football head coach Brock Spack filled a hole in his coaching staff with the announcement of the hiring of Mickey Turner to be the program’s new wide receivers coach.
Turner comes to Illinois State after spending the past eight years as member of the Wisconsin coaching staff. In his eight years as tight ends coach, Turner helped the Badgers win 72 games, three Big Ten West Division titles and seven bowl victories in the Holiday, Cotton, Orange, Pinstripe, Duke’s Mayo, Las Vegas and Guaranteed Rate bowls.
Under Turner’s direction, Jake Ferguson emerged as a top target in the passing game, leading the Badgers in catches and yards in each of his final two seasons. His star pupil in his first three seasons at UW was tight end Troy Fumagalli, a finalist for the John Mackey Award and second-team All-American as a senior in 2017. He led the Badgers in receptions (46) and receiving yards (547) while pulling in four touchdown catches on the way to earning first-team All-Big Ten laurels.
Turner added responsibility for Wisconsin’s fullbacks in 2017, with senior Austin Ramesh and junior Alec Ingold serving as key parts of the Badgers’ offensive attack. The duo combined for six touchdowns and were integral to a rushing effort that saw UW average 222.9 yards per game.
Turner played for the Badgers from 2006-09, serving as a captain during his senior season in 2009 and contributing to a UW team that went 10-3 and downed Miami to win the Champs Sports Bowl. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Turner was presented with the team’s Ivan B. Williamson Scholastic Award as a senior.
Before returning to Madison, Turner spent the previous three years at Pittsburgh. The 2010 UW graduate went on to earn an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis before joining Chryst’s staff in 2015. He served as a graduate assistant in 2013 and was the Panthers’ assistant director of player development in 2014.
He and his wife, Katie, have a daughter, Callie, and two sons, Jackson and Tatum.
Holden Boyle | Director of Football Operations
Holden Boyle is in his first season as the program’s Director of Football Operations.
Boyle comes to Illinois State after spending three seasons at Western Illinois in the same role. In his role at ISU, Boyle will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program, handling team logistics, schedules, travel, practice preparation, overseeing the football budget as well as supervising the Redbirds’ recruiting efforts and support staff.
While at WIU, Boyle oversaw the day-to-day operations of the football program which included team travel, management of the football program’s budget, camps and clinics, game day operations, external communications and other administrative responsibilities. He also served as a liaison to various departments on campus including compliance, housing and dining and athletic academic advising among others.
He joined the Leatherneck program after spending two years at Arizona State working in the operations and recruiting departments.
A Chicago native, Boyle is a graduate of Arizona State where he earned two bachelor’s degrees in business management and sports business. He earned his masters of sport management at Western Illinois in the spring of 2019.
Nick Murray | Quality Control - Recruiting
Bio's and photo coming soon
Brandon Bennett | Assistant Coach - Offense
Bio's and photo coming soon
Kenneth Braimer | Assistant Coach - Defense
Bio's and photo coming soon