Rockets Add Jason Nichols to Football Staff
2/18/2009 5:00:00 AM | Football
TOLEDO - University of Toledo head coach Tim Beckman announced the appointment of Jason Nichols to the Rockets' football staff. Nichols will coach the outside receivers.
Nichols spent the past four seasons as the wide receivers coach at Kent State. Prior to that, Nichols spent three seasons at Appalachian State coaching a receiving corps that was one of the most prolific in school and Southern Conference history. Under Nichols' guidance, Walter Payton Award finalist Davon Fowlkes set school and conference records for receptions, receiving yards and all-purpose yards in 2004, while leading NCAA FCS sub-division in all three categories. In 2003, Nichols mentored a pair of 1,000-yard receivers and his 2002 unit combined for over 190 catches.
"Jason is a quality person and a great addition to our program," said Beckman. "He worked with (UT passing game coordinator) Scott Satterfield at Appalachian State so he understands our offensive scheme. He also knows the Mid-American Conference, having been at Kent State the past four years. He understands what this conference is all about."
Prior to his tenure at Appalachian State, Nichols was an assistant at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT for the 2001 season. At Sacred Heart, Nichols coached the first player to be drafted in Northeast Conference history, Devern Johnson, a sixth-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2002 NFL Draft. Sacred Heart posted an 11-0 record and defeated Duquesne for the ECAC championship. Nichols also spent two weeks during the summer of 2004 with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an offensive intern, working primarily with the wide receivers.
Nichols also spent the spring of 2001 as a graduate assistant at East Carolina University, where he was a four-year letter winner and the school's all-time leading receiver as a player from 1994-97. He earned a bachelor's degree in business education from ECU.
While a student-athlete at East Carolina, Nichols caught a school-record 152 passes in his career for 1,557 yards and played in back-to-back Liberty Bowls. He signed with the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League and later played with the Carolina Cobras of the Arena Football League.
Beckman said that he will be adding one more assistant to his staff.
Jason Nichols' Coaching History
2009: Toledo, Outside Receivers
2005-08: Kent State, Wide Receivers
2002-04: Appalachian State, Wide Receivers
2001: Sacred Heart, Wide Receivers
