SPEAKERS
The USA Football National Conference is the premier educational and networking event for leaders in the football community.
Speakers are subject to change. Each speaker’s opinion is their own.
Biography to come
John Benton, a veteran of 32 years of coaching experience, including 15 seasons in the NFL, is in his third season as the 49ers offensive line coach.
Under Benton’s tutelage in 2018, the 49ers offensive line was anchored by veteran T Joe Staley and 2018 first round draft choice Mike McGlinchey, who both started all 16 games. The 49ers offensive line, featuring Staley, McGlinchey, OL Mike Person, C/G Weston Richburg and OL Laken Tomlinson, combined to make 79 of 80 starts. The line helped pave the way for RB Matt Breida, who ranked fourth in the NFL averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
In 2017, the 49ers offensive line continued to improve throughout the season. Anchored by T Joe Staley, who was selected to the Pro Bowl, the offensive line helped the 49ers offense rank 12th in the NFL, averaging 349.2 yards per game. San Francisco also registered 3,925 net passing yards, the most by the team since 2000 (4,239).
In 2016, Benton served as an assistant offensive line coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Under the guidance of Benton and assistant head coach/offensive line coach Doug Marrone, the Jaguars offensive line allowed 34 sacks, the fewest sacks allowed in a single season since 2007 (31) and 17 fewer than the team allowed in 2015. Seeing improvement as the season progressed, the Jaguars offense ranked fifth in rushing yards per game (124.5) during the second half of the 2016 season (weeks 9-16).
Prior to Jacksonville, Benton spent two seasons (2014-15) as the offensive line coach for the Miami Dolphins. In 2015, the Dolphins averaged 4.35 yards per carry, good for ninth in the NFL while RB Lamar Miller tied a career high with eight rushing touchdowns.
In 2014, Benton’s offensive line helped the Dolphins offense produce 361 first downs, tied for the second-most in franchise history and the most since 1985, when the team had the same amount. The line paved the way for Miller, who surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark (1,099) for the first time in his career, and helped protect QB Ryan Tannehill, whose 4,045 passing yards were the most by a Miami quarterback since Dan Marino (4,453 yards) in 1994. Miller and Tannehill combined to become the first duo in franchise history to produce a 1,000-yard rusher and 4,000-yard passer in a season.
Prior to Miami, Benton served as the offensive line coach for the Houston Texans for eight seasons (2006-13). With the Texans, Benton’s offensive line was instrumental in establishing one of the NFL’s top-ranked offensive attacks, setting franchise marks for rushing yards (2,448) in 2011, and passing yards (4,654) and total offense (6,129 yards) in 2009. Behind All-Pro T Duane Brown and All-Pro C Chris Myers, Houston’s offensive line helped All-Pro RB Arian Foster become the 13th fastest player in NFL history to reach 5,000 career rushing yards. Additionally, Foster registered three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons (2010-12) and a franchise-record 25 career 100-yard rushing games.
In 2012, Benton’s offensive line anchored Houston’s third consecutive 2,000-yard rushing season as Foster led the NFL with 15 rushing touchdowns. Foster surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the third consecutive season behind the play of Myers and Brown. Houston’s offense ranked seventh in yards per game (372.1) and eighth in points per game (26.0) while allowing 28 sacks, the fourth fewest in the AFC.
The Texans offensive line helped pave the way for a franchise record 2,448 rushing yards in 2011. Excelling in the playoffs, the Houston run game averaged 159.5 yards per game in helping the Texans reach the Divisional round. For the first time in franchise history, the Texans had two players eclipse 900 rushing yards in the same season as Foster recorded 1,224 yards and RB Ben Tate notched 942 yards on the ground. Both Foster and Tate rushed for 100-or-more yards in the same game twice during the 2010 season, making Houston just the sixth team since 1985 to accomplish the feat. In Benton’s system, Myers was selected to his first Pro Bowl while Brown was selected as a Second-Team All-Pro by the Associated Press.
Benton’s unit paved the way for another record-setting season for Houston’s offense in 2010. The Texans ranked third in the NFL with a franchise-record 6,186 yards of offense (386.6 yards per game) and helped Foster lead the NFL in rushing yards (1,616) and total touchdowns (18; 16 rushing, two receiving), each setting a new single-season franchise record.
In 2009, the line provided protection for the NFL’s passing leader, QB Matt Schaub, who threw for 4,770 yards and 29 touchdowns. The offense ranked fourth in the NFL with an average 383.1 yards per game. The passing attack led the NFL with 290.9 yards per game while Benton’s offensive line group gave up the fifth-fewest sacks in the league (25).
Benton’s line featured the same starting lineup for all 16 games, a first in Texans history, in 2008. The offensive line paved the way for rookie running back Steve Slaton to set a then-franchise record with 1,282 rushing yards, while the offense ranked third in the NFL with 6,113 total yards.In 2007, Benton’s offensive line group allowed 22 sacks, the lowest total allowed in franchise history. In his first season in Houston, Benton oversaw an offensive line that surrendered 25 fewer sacks (43) than in 2005 (68).
Prior to joining the Texans in 2006, Benton spent two seasons (2004-05) with the St. Louis Rams, coaching an offensive line that was anchored by All-Pro T Orlando Pace. In 2005, the Rams offensive line helped All-Pro RB Stephen Jackson rush for 1,046, the first 1,000-yard season of his career.
Prior to the NFL, Benton spent 17 years coaching at the collegiate level. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Colorado State (1987-90) before moving on to California University (PA), where he coached the offensive line and served as the recruiting coordinator (1990-94).
Benton returned to Colorado State in 1995, where he spent nine years as offensive line coach (1995-99) and co-offensive coordinator (2000-03).
A native of Durango, CO, Benton was a four-year starter as an offensive lineman at Colorado State (1983-86) and earned honorable mention All-WAC honors during his junior and senior seasons. He was named to the WAC’s All-Academic team as a senior in 1986. Benton and his wife, Nicole, have two children: Gabrielle and Paige.
Elijah Brooks, who has spent the last eight years molding some of the nation’s best players for future success in the collegiate and professional ranks as the head coach of local powerhouse DeMatha Catholic High School, has joined the Maryland coaching staff in January 2019.
Brooks will join Michael Locksley’s staff as the running backs coach. Brooks coached current Maryland running back Anthony McFarland Jr., who broke the program’s freshman rushing records this past season with 1,034 yards and four touchdowns, in high school.
In addition to McFarland, Brooks also coached current Maryland running back Lorenzo Harrison III, offensive lineman Terrance Davis, defensive back Tino Ellis, defensive lineman Austin Fontaine, offensive lineman Evan Gregory, offensive lineman Marcus Minor, defensive lineman Oluwaseun Oluwatimi and wide receivers Chris Jones and DJ Turner at DeMatha.
Under Brooks, a number of Stags have gone on to see NFL success, including linebacker Cameron Wake, safety Rodney McLeoud and offensive linemen Arie and Cyrus Kouandijo.
As head coach at DeMatha, Brooks won four consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships from 2014-17, posting a 72-20 record during that span. Before his stint as head coach, Brooks served as the running backs coach from 2007-11.
Brooks starred as a running back in college, racking up 3,025 rushing yards and 549 receiving yards at Kent State and William & Mary.
Biography to come
Biography to come
Matt Drinkall was added to the Army West Point football staff in February 2019. He currently serves as the tight ends coach.
He came to the Banks of the Hudson after a very successful five-year stint as the head coach at Kansas Wesleyan where the Coyotes were 42-17, including a 37-12 slate against KCAC opponents. His last four teams won 40 games (40-8) during the best four-year run in school history. He departed holding the fourth-highest win total in program history as well.
The culmination of that was in 2018 when Wesleyan won its first conference championship since 2002 after going 10-0 and advancing to the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship. The Coyotes posted a program-best 13-1 record and shattered virtually every school and numerous KCAC and NAIA records in the process during their historic season.
Drinkall holds a bachelor of science degree from Western Illinois – Quad Cities in Kinesiology (2005) and a master of science degree in recreation administration (2007) from Western Illinois. Drinkall attended Bettendorf High School where he became one of only two players in program history to have compiled 1000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving.
Former NFL head coach and ESPN Analyst Herm Edwards was named the 24th head coach of Sun Devil Football, as announced by Arizona State University and Vice President of University Athletics Ray Anderson on December 3, 2017.
Edwards arrived in Tempe with a football legacy that has impacted thousands, whether as a player, coach, analyst, motivational speaker and author, or community advocate and philanthropist.
In just two years with the Sun Devils, Edwards has recorded five wins over Top-25 ranked programs in addition to recording 14 wins and becoming just the third coach in program history to defeat rival Arizona in each of his first two seasons at Arizona State.
In his second year at the helm of the Sun Devils, the trajectory of the program continued to curve upward with ASU going 3-1 over top Top-25 teams – two of which coming on the road at No. 6 Michigan State and No. 15 Cal before shaking up the college football landscape with a momentous victory over No. 6 Oregon at Sun Devil Stadium in the penultimate week of the regular season.
Three times during the 2019 season, Edwards was tabbed as the Dodd Trophy National Coach of the Week from the organization that annually awards its namesake trophy to the top coach in college football.
Edwards’ 2019 offense has been highlighted by another exceptional season from Pac-12 First Team running back Eno Benjamin, who has posted consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for the first time at ASU since Freddie Williams in the 1970s. Benjamin has 2,867 rushing yards in his career and now sits in seventh-place on the school’s all-time rushing list. He is within 127 yards of Leon Burton (1952-54), who is sixth in ASU history.
For the third consecutive season, the Sun Devils also lay claim to a 1,000-yard receiver with Pac-12 First Team receiver and returner Brandon Aiyuk finishing the regular season 8th nationally and 2nd in the Pac-12 with 1,192 receiving yards on the year while his 99.3 receiving yards per game are also 13th in the FBS and second in the league. He is fifth in ASU single season history in single-season receiving yards and within 18 of fourth and 56 of third.
Rashad has been at USA Football for a year working in Football Education. In his role at USA Football, Rashad works largely in coach education and development. In addition to his responsibilities at USA Football, Rashad also coaches at Carmel High School in Carmel, IN. Carmel is a perennial powerhouse appearing in 3 of the last 4 Indiana state championships (winning 2016, 2019). Prior to coming at USA Football, Rashad coached collegiately at Lock Haven University. While at Lock Haven Rashad had the opportunity to coach both Running Backs and Defensive Backs. In his time there he coached several all-conference players. Before going to Lock Haven, Rashad worked for the NFL Regional Combines. In that role he largely worked in player personnel and football operations of the Combines. Before joining the Combine, Rashad was employed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In his role at the NCAA Rashad worked in Student-Athlete Affairs and Leadership Development. In this role, he assisted student-athletes, athletic administrators and coaches develop as professionals and people. Rashad is a former collegiate football player playing at Kent State University.
Selected in the sixth round of the 1987 NFL Draft, Merril Hoge starred at running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1987-93) and Chicago Bears (1994), playing the majority of his career under Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. A former youth football dad and volunteer coach, Hoge recognizes the health, fitness and social benefits of playing America’s favorite sport.
A series of concussions led to his retirement from the NFL, inspiring him to advance progressive standards and safer play across grassroots football.
Adam Korzun enters his sixth season as the director of performance nutrition with the Green Bay Packers. He oversees all aspects of player nutrition, hydration and supplementation.
Biography to come
Biography to come
Andy Ryland is USA Football’s senior manager of education and training and has been with USA Football since 2010. He is a former Penn State linebacker and member of the U.S. Men’s Rugby team. Ryland was instrumental in the development of USA Football’s Heads Up Football and Master Trainer programs.
Follow Andy on Twitter: @USAFootballMT
Rich Scangarello enters his first season as offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in 2019. He was hired by the club on Jan. 16, 2019.
A 24-year coaching veteran with four seasons of NFL experience, Scangarello spent the past two seasons coaching quarterbacks for the San Francisco 49ers. He has also worked in the NFL as an offensive quality control coach with Atlanta (2015) and Oakland (2009).
In addition to coaching in the NFL, Scangarello spent 17 years at the collegiate level, serving as offensive coordinator, passing game coordinator or quarterbacks coach in 14 of those seasons. His collegiate experience includes coaching at Wagner College (2016), Northern Arizona University (2012-14), Millsaps College (2010-11), the University of California-Davis (1998-99, 2004-08), the University of Idaho (2000, 2002-03) and Carleton College (2001).
Coaching quarterbacks for the 49ers the past two seasons, Scangarello worked with four different signal-callers (C.J. Beathard, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer and Nick Mullens) who have started at least six games each during that time. Despite being the only NFL team with at least three different quarterbacks starting six or more games from 2017-18, the 49ers ranked 10th in the NFL in passing offense (265.1 ypg) and 20+yard passes (110) during that span.
Garoppolo, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3 of the 2018 season, started eight-of-nine games played for the 49ers after being acquired in a midseason trade with New England in 2017. He completed 173-of-267 passes (64.8%) for 2,278 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions (94.1 rtg.) while leading the team to a 6-2 record during that span.
Before joining the 49ers, Scangarello spent the 2016 season as the offensive coordinator at Wagner College. The Seahawks finished 6-5 as the offense ranked second in the Northeast Conference in scoring (29.7 ppg), passing (257.8 ypg) and giveaways (7).
Scangarello worked the 2015 season as an offensive quality control coach with the Falcons. In Atlanta, he assisted the offensive line with run-game preparation and coordinated the defensive scout team for the offense.
Before his one season with the Falcons, Scangarello spent three years (2012-14) as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Northern Arizona, helping the Lumberjacks to a 24-11 record and an FCS postseason berth in 2013. In 2012, quarterback Gary Grossart completed a school-record 66.7 percent of his passes as the offense ranked 27th in the NCAA in points per game (31.6).
Prior to his time at NAU, Scangarello spent the 2010-11 as the offensive coordinator, assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at Millsaps (Jackson, Miss.).
Scangarello entered the NFL in 2009 with the Oakland Raiders as an offensive quality control coach following four years (2005-08) at UC-Davis, which included one year (2008) as the school’s co-offensive coordinator. The Aggies’ offense ranked 11th in FCS in total offense (426.5 ypg) while scoring 28.5 points per game during his lone seasons as offensive coordinator.
Scangarello worked at Idaho as an offensive graduate assistant in 2000 before spending the 2002-03 seasons as the school’s quarterbacks coach. In 2001, he was the offensive coordinator at Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.)
He started his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at UC-Davis (1998-99), working with consecutive consensus Division II All-Americans, quarterbacks Kevin Daft and J.T. O’Sullivan, who both were drafted in the NFL.
A native of Roseville, Calif., Scangarello began coaching in 1996 at his alma mater, Oakmont High School, after earning a degree in business administration from Sacramento State University. He was born on April 15, 1972.
Coach Steve Specht is currently the head coach at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, where he’s been coaching since 2004. Known for his leadership and coaching philosophy, Specht’s success is recognized throughout the country. Specht has been named the NFL High School Coach of the Year, an Ohio Coach of the Year twice, and recognized as one of the top 10 high school coaches in America by Athlon. Also a USA Football board member, Specht has coached in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl
Biography coming soon
Biography coming soon
Blocking and Catching and 5 Ways to Enhance Individual Drills