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
ren o Fe r r i
Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
Fifth Season
U.S. Military Academy, 2000
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy,
Reno Ferri is in his fifth season on the Akron
staff, serving four roles with the program. He
is in his second season as the running backs
coach. He spent 2007 as wide receivers coach,
his second year with the Zips as the director of
football operations and his first as an offensive
graduate assistant coach.
He also serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator, helping UA land
the league’s top-rated recruiting class in 2005, ‘06 and ‘07 — producing
Freshman All-Americans in each class (Kevin Grant, David Harvey and Almondo
Sewell).
In his first year as running backs coach, first year player Bryan Williams
was named third team All-MAC, rushing for 728 yards. However, versus
league opponents, Williams rushed for 612 yards and averaged 4.9 per carry.
Also, Williams teamed with Alex Allen to rush for a combined 1,148 yards
and average 4.5 yard per carry. The two heped the Zips rush for 127.8 yards
per game, the best average by the Zips in head coach J.D. Brookhart’s first
four years.
In 2006 as wide receivers coach, Jabari Arthur blossomed into an allleague
caliber player while David Harvey would earn Freshman All-American
honors.
Ferri spent 2005 as UA’s director of football operations, overseeing all administrative
duties of the staff which included team travel, summer camps
and recruiting visits. Ferri spent the 2004 season as a graduate assistant
with the Zips, helping out on the offensive side of the ball.
He joined the UA staff after serving as the graduate assistant football
coach at his alma mater, Army, during the 2000-01 school year. He also
served as the junior varsity defensive coordinator and the video coordinator
for the defense.
The Youngstown, Ohio, native, graduated from The United States Military
Academy in 2000 with a bachelor of science degree in general engineering.
While at West Point he was a member of the football team, where he
served as a game captain and was a three-year letterwinner. As a student
at Cardinal-Mooney High
School in Youngstown,
Ohio, he was a decorated
football and track athlete.
In football, he was chosen
as team MVP, conference
MVP, first team All-Ohio
and Northeast Ohio Player
of the Year.
Ferri served as 1st Lieutenant
in the United States
Army from May 2000
through March 2002. During
that time his responsibilities
included Fire Direction
Officer and Battalion
Survey Officer.
He is married to the former
Rebekah Hardin, who
is from Kent. The couple
has a daughter, Giana
Elise (born in December
of 2006) and son, Reno III
(born in June of 2008).
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The Rerri Family:
Front: Rebekah, holding Reno III.
Back: Reno, holding Giana Elise.
Akron’s 66th and Final Season at the Rubber Bowl
emm a n u e l mCDan i e l
Cornerbacks
Second Season
East Carolina, 1995
Emmanuel McDaniel made an immediate
impact on the Akron defense in 2007, his first
season on the Zips’ staff.
Corner backs Reggie Corner and Davanzo
Tate teammed up to give Akron one of the best
tandems in the nation. Corner, a fourth-round
pick of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, was a first team
All-Mid-American Conference selection after leading the league, and ranking
fourth in the NCAA, with seven interceptions. Tate paced the MAC In
pass breakups with 17. Together, Corner and Tate each had 19 passes defended,
which both led the MAC and tied for sixth in the NCAA. When not
knocking down passes, Tate ranked fourth on the team with 73 tackles in
‘07.
While that was his first year as an assistant, McDaniel was no stranger
to the program.
After an eight-year NFL career (1996-2003), McDaniel retired from professional
football, stepping away from the sport for a couple of years to be
with his then newborn son. He began to work his way back into the sport in
2006 as he worked as a volunteer in the Akron football office.
A native of Griffin, Ga., McDaniel played for four teams over his NFL career,
including the Carolina Panthers (1996 and 2002), the Indianapolis Colts
(1997), New York Giants (1999-2001) and the Arizona Cardinals (2003). He
ended his career with 161 tackles, 32 passes defended and eight interceptions.
In addition to being a highly-touted nickel back in the league over his
career, McDaniel additionally served on his teams’ punt, punt return and
kickoff coverage units.
His best season in the NFL came in 2000 when he picked off six passes
to help the Giants post a 12-4 regular-season record and rank as one of the
top five defenses in the league. Also during the 2002 season, McDaniel was
named his team’s Defensive Player of the Game as the Giants defeated the
Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game. He followed that by
earning a starting nod as the nickel back in Super Bowl XXXV versus the
Baltimore Ravens.
McDaniel was a part of two other successful teams during his career. In
his first year in the league, the Panthers were 1996 NFC West champions
and reached the NFC Championship game. In his lone season with the Dolphins
(1998), Miami entered the playoffs as a wild card before falling in the
second round to eventual Super Bowl champion Denver.
McDaniel was a four-year letterman (1992-95) at East Carolina where he
finished his career with 112 tackles and 13 interceptions. He led the Pirates
in interceptions three times and his 13 career picks rank sixth all-time in
ECU history. As a senior, McDaniel earned first team All-South Independent
honors, under the direction of then Pirate defensive backs coach and current
Akron defensive coordinator Jim Fleming.
McDaniel received a B.A. in criminal justice in 1995. He is married Lynn
Viehmeyer of Poland, Ohio, and the couple has one son, Jaylen (4).
The McDaniel Family (l-r): Lynn, Jaylen and Emmanuel