New RB/Spec Teams Coach: Justin Lustig

[OrangeXtreme]

Syracuse: Edinboro (D-II – PA) head coach Justin Lustig plans to accept the special teams coordinator / running backs job at Syracuse, source tells FootballScoop. Prior to taking over as head coach at Edinboro, Lustig had served as special teams coordinator at Ball State. Lustig took over an 0-11 team and went 9-2 in his one season as head coach at Edinboro and was subsequently named D2Football’s coach of the year.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Edinboro Athletics

Lustig has also served as an assistant at three other Division I institutions. After beginning his coaching career as an assistant coach at NCAA Division III Christopher Newport in 2001-02, he moved on to Villanova in 2003, overseeing the cornerbacks. The Wildcats had the number one defense in the conference in pass efficiency defense and total defense. They were ranked as high as fourth in Football Championship Series rankings.

He returned to Christopher Newport for the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He served as the special teams coordinator/recruiting coordinator/defensive backs coach. During that period his special teams units broke numerous school records while blocking 11 kicks and returning three for touchdowns. In addition, the Captains returned three kickoffs for touchdowns. His four-year tenure at Christopher Newport included a USA South Atlantic Conference co-championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

He took over as the special teams coordinator/running backs coach at Eastern Illinois from 2006-08. The Panthers played in the NCAA FCS playoffs in 2006 and 2007, finishing with an 8-5 record in 2006 and 8-4 in 2007. He coached three different all-conference and 1,000-yard rushers. His 2008 special teams units led the conference in three out of four categories.

In 2009, Lustig moved on to Louisiana-Lafayette as the special teams coordinator/running backs and H back coach. He was a member of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ coaching staff for two seasons. In 2009, Louisiana-Lafayette was 6-6, including a 17-15 win over Kansas State. His 2010 punt return team ranked number one in the Sun Belt.

Most recently, Lustig was an assistant coach at Ball State since 2011, serving as the special teams coordinator/running backs coach since 2011, along with earning the title of assistant head coach prior to the 2015 season.

 

[Alsacs]

 

[Trueblue25]

Ok!

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

Eastern Illinois and MAC connections. Makes sense.

 

[CuseLegacy]

 

[Trueblue25]

Keep adding trail blazers to the staff, I love it.

 

[Toga]

Northwest PA
Lustig is no stranger to football in northwestern Pennsylvania. He played his high school football at Cathedral Prep, graduating in 1996. He would go on to play at Bucknell, earning his bachelor’s degree in English & History in 2000.

 

[TheCusian]

Love this hire. D2 coach of the year, PA connections, HC experience.

 

[tipphill]

love this hire

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[IthacaBarrel]

That's a nice hire

 

[UnknownOrange]

God syracuse dot com headline/tweet writers infuriate me

 

[rocklloyd]

special teams focus. awesome!

 

[Alsacs]

God syracuse dot com headline/tweet writers infuriate me

It's got Paul Anka's guarantee

 

[Trueblue25]

Would love to be able to challenge PSU and match Pitt's recruitment in PA. We're a ways off but this is a great step.

 

[CuseCrew08]

Really like this hire. Think he can be a great recruiter in PA

 

[phil77]

I can get behind this hire...Well done

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Welcome to the cult, coach.

 

[RF2044]

special teams focus. awesome!

Was just about to post the same thing.

Impressive to see that this wasn't just a one year thing, where maybe he had some good players that led to exceptional ST results. Looks like everywhere he went, his ST units excelled. We need that -- have neglected that dimension of the game for too long.

 

[omg_cuse_rules]

Good choice Dino, keep up the good work

 

[PhatOrange]

I really like that he's from Western PA. Hopefully it translates. People talk about NJ but it’s PA that’s always been more important. We need to do MUCH better there.

 

[chakka3421]

Awesome! HCDB just killed 4 birds with one stone - experienced RB coach, experienced ST coach, strong recruiter in areas of need and proven winner with HC experience!!!

And it's great to be back on the FB side of the forum!!!

 

[BillSU]

More about Lustig, Great Get by Dino!

Football 1/26/2017 2:56:00 PM Bob Shreve, Sports Information Director

Justin Lustig Named D2Football.com Coach of the Year

LIBERTY, Mo. – Edinboro University first-year head coach Justin Lustig collected another award today as the D2Football.com Division II All-American Team was released. Lustig was selected the D2Football.com Division II Coach of the Year.

This marks the latest of several awards Lustig has received after leading Edinboro to the largest turnaround in Division II history. He was previously selected the Don Hansen Football Gazette Super Region One Co-Coach of the Year, along with being honored as the PSAC West Coach of the Year.

"I'm very honored to receive the award," noted Lustig. "However, this award isn't just about me. This is a tribute to our entire staff, who did tremendous job in a short period of time. It also honors our players, who bought into what we wanted to do and believed in our system."

Lustig was the architect of a record-breaking turnaround in 2016. Hired in January, the former Ball State assistant took an 0-11 team in 2015 that was picked to finish eighth in the Western Division coaches' preseason poll, and led it to a 9-2 finish. The nine wins tied the school record for wins in a season.

The Fighting Scots appeared in the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll for the first time since 2011, and finished seventh in the final Super Region One rankings. Edinboro upset PSAC East preseason favorite West Chester, 54-51 in overtime. That was one of five wins in which the Fighting Scots rallied in the fourth quarter or overtime. The lone losses came to NCAA playoff entrants Indiana(Pa.) and California(Pa.).

Lustig relied on a high-powered offense that scored 40-or-more points in a school-record seven games, with two games of 60-or-more points, along with an opportunistic defense. Edinboro averaged 41.5 ppg., good for third in the PSAC and 12th in Division II.


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[tep624]

I really like this hire. Good regional fit, successful coaching history. Good fit for our recruiting areas.

This is the kind of guy you want to bring in at your entry level assistant positions because he knows what it takes to be successful and he's going to own his responsibilities.