Spring Practice Schedule  (PDF) 

2017 Roster/Coaches |  NEC Football Website

To view video of Coach Houghtaling discussing spring ball, click HERE

Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College football team, under the direction of third-year head coach Jason Houghtaling, kicked off Spring Practice today at 6:20 am with the first of 15 sessions, which will culminate with the annual Green & White Game on Saturday, April 29.
 
Spring Practice affords the coaching staffs and student-athletes from across the nation an opportunity to practice, scrimmage and develop depth. The NCAA dictates that 12 of the 15 spring practices may permit physical contact, none earlier than the third practice session. Tackling is allowed in eight of the twelve contact sessions. Up to three of the eight tackling sessions may be devoted to 11-on-11 scrimmages.

"I thought we had a really positive first day out there," said Houghtaling. "The guys were flying around and really got after it. They competed with great energy and enthusiasm and I'm excited to look at the film. I think the work they've put in in was evident. It's important that our players take the gains they've made in the weight room and translate that to the practice field and I saw evidence of that.
As the Seahawks, fresh off a 6-5 season in 2016 and a third-place finish (4-2) in the Northeast (NEC) Conference, took the field this morning they did so while being directed by a new-looking coaching staff.

Rob Calabrese, who served as running backs coach and co-special teams coordinator for the Green & White last season, has taken over the reigns as offensive coordinator. Calabrese replaces Rich Scangarello, who was recently named quarterbacks coach for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.

Houghtaling has also tabbed three new assistant coaches in Doug Rigg (inside linebackers), Garrett McLaughlin (outside linebackers) and Sean Fitzgerald (running backs), each of whom will be pursuing master's degrees at Wagner in addition to their coaching responsibilities.

 

Calabrese, who accepted a position on the Temple University staff last winter before returning to Grymes Hill as offensive coordinator, enters his second season on the Seahawk staff. A former quarterback at the University of Central Florida where he passed for more than 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for more than 250 yards, Calabrese arrived at Wagner in 2016 following a two-year stint at UCF, where he served as a graduate assistant.

After earning a bachelor of science degree in sports and exercise science from UCF in 2012, Calabrese served as the varsity quarterbacks coach at Oviedo High School Paraprofessional before becoming a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater in 2014.

"Rob's a football guy," said Houghtaling. "When Rob came on board last year, I knew Rich (Scangarello) would probably be moving on at some point. So, Rich kind of groomed Rob for that position. He was a starting college quarterback, knows the game inside and out, and can coach the offense.

"Some of Rob's strengths are just the strengths of a great leader," Houghtaling added. "He's passionate about football, he's loyal, he's competitive, and he's organized. I'm really excited about Rob."


 

Rigg was a standout linebacker at West Virginia University from 2010-13 before signing a free agent contract with the NFL's Chicago Bears. Prior to arriving on Grymes Hill, the Bloomfield, NJ native served as an assistant coach his high school alma mater, Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, NJ where starred for the Crusaders before embarking on his collegiate coaching career.

During his time as an assistant at Bergen Catholic, Rigg served as cornerbacks coach and defensive coordinator for the Crusaders' sophomore and JV teams.

A member of the 2012 Big-12 All-Academic Team, the Bloomfield, NJ native played in 45 career games at West Virginia, where he amassed 141 tackles with nine tackles for a loss and three sacks. A career highlight came in 2011 when he forced a game-changing fumble against South Florida that gave the Mountaineers the possession they used to win the game and clinch an Orange Bowl bid.

In 2014, Rigg earned a degree in exercise physiology from the WVU School of Medicine.


 

McLaughlin arrives on Grymes Hill after serving as an assistant at the University of New Haven, where he helped lead the Chargers to a 7-4 record and a third-place finish in the Northeast-10 Conference in 2016.

Prior to his stint at New Haven, McLaughlin served as defensive backs coach at SUNY-Buffalo State where he helped lead the Bengals to consecutive bowl berths in 2014 and 2015, including the program's first bowl win in 15 years. His football background also includes a stint with the U.S. U14 National Football Team as well as serving as a student assistant coach and video intern at his alma mater, Syracuse.

In 2012, McLaughlin earned a B.S. in Sport Management with a minor in coaching.


 

Fitzgerald arrives at Wagner following a stint at Georgia Southern University where he served as quality control coach, while assisting with the running back, in 2016.  His college coaching resume also includes a five-year tenure on the staff at his alma mater, the University of Central Florida.

After serving five years as the Knights' equipment manager, he worked his way to offensive quality control coach where his responsibilities including the execution of all defensive film input/breakdowns and weekly opponent reports. In this role, Fitzgerald also handled all weekly self-scout input and duties, helped aid with the offensive game-planning, in addition to working with the wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks.

In 2012, Fitzgerald earned a B.S. in General Business Management at UCF before going on to earn a master of science degree in Communications in 2013.

"I'm excited about all three of our new position coaches," said Houghtaling. "They all bring something different to the table, having come from diverse backgrounds, but the one thing Doug, Garrett, and Sean have in common is their work ethic. Each of them are extremely driven individuals who have worked with some great people and I think all three have bright coaching futures."

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