Mario Verduzco, who will work with the Bears' quarterbacks, comes to Missouri State after spending 14 years on the staff of Missouri Valley Football Conference power UNI, including the last seven as co-offensive coordinator. During his time in Cedar Falls, Verduzco helped the Panthers claim six Valley titles and make eight NCAA Division I FCS postseason appearances, while mentoring seven different UNI signal-callers who earned all-conference recognition a total of 13 occasions. Five of those honorees were selected as league freshman or newcomer of the year, and Eric Sanders was a 2007 Walter Payton Award finalist and the MVFC's Offensive Player of the Year.
Before joining the UNI staff, Verduzco served as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator at Rutgers, where he worked with Steckel on head coach Terry Shea's staff from 1996-2000. During his time with the Scarlet Knights, Verduzco developed what has been called one of the top quarterback clinics in the nation. Two of his pupils - Rutgers' Mike McMahon and UNI's Tom Petrie - have gone on to play professionally in the NFL. Previously, Verduzco coached high school football at Soquel (Calif.) High School for 10 years before breaking into the collegiate ranks at Gavilan College and San Jose State, where he earned a bachelor's degree in human performance in 1988 and a master's degree in biomechanics and exercise physiology two years later. The Pittsburg, Calif., native then moved on to De Anza College, where he spent a total of five years -the final two as head coach - before heading east to Rutgers.
"I'm excited about working with Mario," head coach Dave Steckel commented. "He brings a wealth of knowledge and a very sharp offensive mind, as well as over a decade of experience developing quarterbacks and guiding championship-caliber offenses in this league."
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