BG football hires Schoonover to coach LBs

3/9/2018
BY JOHN WAGNER
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

BOWLING GREEN — The Bowling Green State University football program announced that Jacob Schoonover will be the team’s new linebackers coach.

Schoonover has served as linebackers coach at Illinois State since 2011, adding the title of special teams coordinator in 2012. Before that he was the defensive backs coach at Illinois Wesleyan in 2010 and also has served as a graduate assistant at Illinois State and at Missouri Western, his alma mater.

"I am extremely grateful to coach Mike Jinks and defensive coordinator Carl Pelini for giving me the opportunity to be a member of the Bowling Green family," Schoonover said in a release. "I am excited to do my part in executing the plan laid out by coach Jinks and coach Pelini for this defense.

“I look forward to developing relationships with the young men in this program and the members of the Bowling Green community."

The Falcons now have a full complement of 10 assistant coaches.

RELATEDJinks confident in his ability to lift BG football.

Since the conclusion of the 2017 season, a year that saw Bowling Green post a 2-10 record, including 2-6 mark in Mid-American Conference play, the defensive coaching staff has changed completely.

Besides hiring Pelini as defensive coordinator and Schoonover as linebackers coach, the Falcons have added defensive line coach Jimmy Williams, secondary coach LaMarcus Hicks, and cornerbacks coach DeJon Gomes.

The returning coaches on the offensive side of the ball are co-offensive coordinators Kevin Kilmer (wide receivers) and Andy Padron (quarterbacks), running backs coach Marcus White (who handled the defensive line last season), offensive line coach Stephen Hamby, and receivers coach Seth Doege.

Bowling Green has not named a special teams coach and also is in the process of hiring a strength and conditioning coach.

Contact John Wagner at jwagner@theblade.com419-724-6481, or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.