CONTENTS n n n - of College Football Games

The Un i v e r s i T y of Ak r o n • 2008 fo o T b A l l Me d i A GU i d e
COACHES AND STAFF
Dan a Ch a m B e r s
Defensive Line
Third Season
Central Missouri State, 1983
Dana Chambers is in his third season at Akron,
serving as the defensive line coach.
In his first season with the Zips, Jermaine
Reid and Kiki Gonzalez combined for 21 tackles
for losses. Reid moved on to the Canadian
Football League and Gonzalez signed as a free
agent with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2007, Almondo Sewell was named second
team All-Mid-American Confernce and
honorable mention Freshman All-American. Also, despite missing time due
to injuries, Nate Robinson was invited to the East-West Shrine Game and
signed as a free agent with the New York Giants.
Prior to Akron, Chambers spent two years at Youngstown State, as the
Penguins’ defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator. In 2005,
Chambers coached two all-conference players and an all-newcomer team
performer for YSU. Defensive end Justin Scholes was a first-team All-Gateway
selection, while fellow end Brandon Brown was a second team all-conference
pick. Freshman DT Mychal Savage was named to the conference’s
all-newcomer team. The defensive front played a key role in the turnaround
of the defense and the program, as the Penguins finished 8-3 overall and
shared the school’s Gateway Football Conference title.
After yielding 191.9 yards rushing and 378.0 yards per game in 2004,
YSU allowed just 133.5 yards rushing and 330.4 total yards a season later.
The team also led the GFC in scoring defense and total defense in 2005.
Before coming to YSU, Chambers spent the 2003 season at Upper Iowa, a
program which moved from Division III to D-II status.
Chambers spent eight years at the Division I-AA level, including five in the
GFC. He spent four years as the defensive line coach at Southwest Missouri
State, and three as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois.
From 1999-2002 he was the defensive line coach at SMS. Under Chambers,
the Bears had three All-Gateway d-line selections. While at SMS, he
took part in the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship Program, spending the
2001 training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line.
Prior to his stint at SMS, Chambers spent one year at Roosevelt High in
St. Louis, Mo. Before that, he was a mainstay on the coaching staff at Western
Michigan, spending 11 seasons (1987-97) with the Broncos.
During his tenure, he served as the defensive ends coach, defensive line
coach and special teams coordinator. From 1991-97, he coached the defensive
linemen and was in charge of special teams, while from 1987-1991
he was the coach of the defensive ends.
Chambers began his collegiate coaching career in 1983 as a student
assistant coach at Central Missouri State, working with the outside linebackers.
After a year at Centaurus High in Lafayette, Colo., as assistant football
and basketball coach, he moved to Eastern Illinois in 1984. There, Chambers
spent three seasons working
with the Panthers’ outside
linebackers.
A native of Fulton, Mo., he
was a three-sport standout
at Fulton High, competing in
football, basketball and track
— earning all-state honors in
football. Chambers played two
years at Highland (Kan.) Community
College and finished his
career at Central Missouri State,
serving as team captain his senior
year. He earned a physical
education degree from CMSU
in 1983.
Chambers and his wife Amy,
who works in the Zips’ academic
advising office, have three
children, Dana Jr., LaQuisha and
Parker. He is a cousin of former
major league outfielder Bake
58
The Chambers Family (I-r):
Dana, Parker and Amy.
McBride, who was a member
of the 1980 World Champion
Philadelphia Phillies.
mik e Da w s o n
Linebackers
Third Season
UMass-Amherst, 1997
Mike Dawson is in his third season with the
Akron football program, coaching the linebackers.
Brion Stokes led the Zips in tackles in 2007,
while Kevin Grant was third. Stokes, who
ranked among the MAC top 10 in both tackles
for losses (14.5) and sacks (5.5), was a second
team All-Mid-American Confernce pick as he
finished his career with 38.5 TFL, second on the UA all-time list, and Grant
was a third team All-MAC pick.
He came on board in February, 2006, and led a corps which featured four
of the team’s top seven tacklers. Grant was second on the squad in tackles
and Stokes ranked third, while Doug Williams and Mark Groza tallied 50
and 49 tackles. The quartet combined for 38 tackles for losses, including
13 by Stokes.
Dawson was an assistant at the University of New Hampshire for the
previous six years where he served on both sides of the ball, including his final
two seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He spent
his second season at UNH in charge of the offensive line. In 2005, UNH
was one of the top-ranked ranked teams in Division I-AA and advanced to
the national quarterfinals. Dawson spearheaded one of the top defenses
in the country, as the Wildcats ranked 35th nationally in scoring defense
(22.23 ppg) and led the nation in takeaways (45) in 2005. UNH was also
second in the Atlantic 10 in sacks (34) during the 2005 campaign. In 2005,
the Wildcats were co-champions of the A-10 for the first time since 1994
and posted a record of 21-5 from 2004-05.
A three-year starter at linebacker and defensive end with the University
of Massachusetts-Amherst, Dawson began his career as a defensive line
coach at UMass-Lowell in the spring of 1998. He returned to his alma mater
in the spring of 1999 before spending that fall as a graduate assistant at
Pittsburgh working with current UA head coach J.D. Brookhart and offensive
coordinator Joe Moorhead.
Dawson also gained coaching experience on the defensive side of the
ball at the University of Maine from July 1998 through March 1999. He graduated
from UMass-Amherst in 1997 with a degree in sports management.
Dawson’s brother, Matt, is the linebackers coach at Fordham.
Dawson is married to the former Jodi Walters, who was an all-conference
swimmer at UMass-Amherst. The couple has a son, Frankie, born in October
of 2007.
The Dawson Family (I-r): Jodi, Frankie and Mike.
Akron’s 66th and Final Season at the Rubber Bowl