The last time Scott Isphording stood on the sidelines for Ohio, he did so as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator.
It was 2009, Tyler Tettleton was a freshman and it was the first of what has become five straight bowl seasons for the Bobcats.
Now, Isphording has returned to Ohio, this time as the quarterbacks coach of a trio of young players vying for a starting job in the fall. Isphording has also been named co-offensive coordinator, and will assist in play-calling duties.
“The tradition is always great here at Ohio,” Isphording said. “But, given the recent history, we expect to win now. In 2009, we were still kind of figuring things out. You can feel that the players today expect to go out and have success.”
Isphording rejoins Ohio after a four-year stint at Toledo, where he served as quarterbacks coach, passing coordinator and recruiting coordinator. During his tenure, the Rockets made three bowl games and won the 2011 Military Bowl.
Toledo was also Mid-American Conference West Co-Champions under Isphording in 2011. Isphording has also been named MAC Recruiter of the Year by Scouts.com.
Isphording began his coaching career at Fort Hays State in 1994. Since then, he has coached at Colorado School Of Mines, Wittenberg and Eastern Michigan.
His Eastern Michigan stint began in 2004, which will make the upcoming season the 11th straight year Isphording has been a coach in the MAC. Despite his years of experience and success inside the conference, Isphording’s philosophy on keeping a successful offense has remained simple.
“Whether you’re at Ohio State in the Big Ten, Georgia in the SEC or Ohio in the MAC, it still comes down to being able to execute whatever offense you choose to run, and getting the ball to your playmakers,” Isphording said. “Here at OU, we choose to go really fast, spread the ball out and use the whole field. Fortunately, I’ve seen a couple playmakers stand out already in practice.”
As far as what Isphording has been able to bring to practice, players have noticed a deeper emphasis on drilling and technique compared to other instructors in the past. It is that basic approach to playing the quarterback position that has everyone from coach Frank Solich to quarterback Derrius Vick excited about the growth that is possible with Isphording in his current role.
“He comes with a different mindset of getting better every single day, and doing things like the different footwork drills over and over as long as it’s necessary,” Vick said. “I definitely was not expecting all that, but knowing that’s what he’s all about has made all of the quarterbacks tremendously better. He’s a QB guru, and no matter what he says, it’s going to benefit us.”
Isphording will get a chance to test his players’ skills in a game situation this Saturday, when the Bobcats buckle their helmets for the annual Green and White game. However, Isphording says the way he evaluates the scrimmage won’t be much different than how he’s evaluated his players in practice since spring practices began.
“I probably do weigh the scrimmages more, but every minute of practice, I’m evaluating,” Isphording said. “I really believe that if you execute every minute of every day, it’s going to carry over to those Saturdays during the season.”
@_tonywolfe_
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This article originally appeared in print with the headline "Ohio is returning to the basics with new quarterbacks coach."
