Babers Building Impressive Staff

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The 2016 Syracuse football staff continues to take shape, as Orange head coach Dino Babers announced the addition of six new staff members on Friday, Feb. 19.

J.B. Gerald has joined the Orange as the football program's director of high school relations. Jeff LePak is the team's new operations and recruiting assistant. Vincent Marshall and John Pike have signed on as quality control coaches. Lanear Sampson will serve as a graduate assistant and Jose Rodriguez has come on board as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. In addition to the six new hires, Wayne Tuckson, who joined the Orange strength and conditioning staff in 2014, has been elevated to assistant strength and conditioning coach for football.

J.B. Gerald (Director of High School Relations)
As the Orange's director of high school relations, Gerald is responsible for gathering recommendations from high school coaches on prospects in Syracuse's primary recruiting areas. He also helps maintain the Orange's recruiting database, serves as the primary host for high school, junior college and prep school coaches, and assists in hosting prospective student-athletes and their families for official and unofficial visits, among other duties.

Prior to joining the Orange, Gerald was the head football coach and assistant basketball coach at Washington Jesuit Academy, a tuition-free middle school for boys in Washington, D.C., from 2010-15.

Gerald got his coaching start as a graduate assistant and quality control coach for Joe Paterno at Penn State from 2004-07. Gerald worked with the wide receivers in his first season and the team's running backs his last three years. During his time in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions won three bowls games, including a victory over Florida State in the 2006 Orange Bowl.

Gerald spent the 2008 season as an offensive quality control coach at Illinois under head coach Ron Zook. In 2009, he served as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at New Mexico.

Before entering the coaching ranks, Gerald was a standout receiver and kick returner at Colgate from 2000-03. He completed his 43-game career with 113 catches for 1,334 yards and nine touchdowns. As a senior in 2003, Gerald totaled 74 receptions for 832 yards and seven TDs to help lead the Raiders to a 15-1 record and an appearance in the Division I-AA (now FCS) national championship game. Gerald recorded another 1,710 yards in punt returns and kickoff returns during his career.

A Rhodes Scholar candidate, Gerald graduated from Colgate in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in educational studies and a minor in sociology. He earned a master's degree in educational leadership and administration from Penn State in 2006. Gerald finished his Ph.D. coursework two years later and lacks only the completion of his dissertation to receive a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Penn State.

Jeff LePak (Operations and Recruiting Assistant)
LePak assists in the management of team logistics and the daily operations of the Syracuse football program. He also performs various administrative duties for the recruiting department and assists in the coordination of official and unofficial visits for prospective student-athletes and their families.

LePak previously worked as a graduate assistant for Babers at Bowling Green in 2015. LePak mentored the Falcons tight ends and was part of a staff that led Bowling Green to the 2015 Mid-American Conference title and a berth in the GoDaddy Bowl.

A Belton, Texas native, LePak was a wide receiver at Baylor from 2010-12 before transferring to play tight end for Babers at Eastern Illinois. LePak caught 81 passes for more than 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns in two seasons with the Panthers, including 51 receptions and eight touchdowns in 2013, his only year in Babers' offensive system. A team captain as a senior, LePak was a two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team selection and earned FCS All-America honors in 2013 after helping the Panthers reach the FCS quarterfinals.

LePak graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Eastern Illinois in 2014.

Vincent Marshall (Quality Control Coach - Offense)
Marshall spent the previous two seasons at Bowling Green as an offensive graduate assistant under Babers. Marshall worked with the outside receivers in 2014 and the running backs in 2015. Bowling Green earned a pair of bowl berths in Marshall's time with the Falcons and won the 2015 Mid-American Conference Championship and 2014 MAC East title.

A two-time All-Conference USA receiver at the University of Houston, Marshall signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2007. After his release, Marshall played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League and helped the team capture the 2007 Grey Cup.

Marshall joined the Houston football team as a walk-on in 2002. The following year, he set the school bowl records for receptions (7) and receiving yards (157) versus Hawaii in the 2003 Hawaii Bowl. In 2005, Marshall earned All-Conference USA First Team honors and became just the seventh player in team history to surpass 2,000 career receiving yards.

Marshall entered the coaching ranks in 2012, serving as an assistant coach at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas. He worked as the secondary coach at Seguin High School in Texas the following year.

A 2007 graduate of Houston with a bachelor's degree in sociology, Marshall earned his master's degree in secondary education from Southwestern Assemblies of Gold University in 2012.

John Pike (Quality Control Coach - Defense)
Pike worked as a defensive graduate assistant for Babers in 2015 at Bowling Green. He helped coach the Falcons linebackers and was a member of the staff that led Bowling Green to the 2015 Mid-American Conference Championship and a berth in the GoDaddy Bowl.

A native of Chandler, Ariz., Pike played collegiately at San Diego Mesa College in California and at North Dakota State. He graduated from North Dakota State in 2013 with a degree in health, nutrition and exercise sciences.

Pike was a defensive back for San Diego Mesa in 2008 and 2009. He was named team MVP in 2009 after setting the school record with 10 interceptions. He also won the program's Golden Helmet Award for maintaining the team's highest GPA. Pike played his final two college seasons for North Dakota State and helped the Bison capture their first national championship as a senior in 2011.

After his collegiate playing career, Pike spent two seasons with the Stuttgart Scorpions of the German Football League. He received his first coaching job in 2014 when the College of Idaho revived its football program. Pike mentored the cornerbacks and served as the assistant strength coach for the Coyotes, helping the NAIA program to four wins in its first football season in more than 30 years.

Jose Rodriguez (Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach)
Rodriguez was a member of Baylor's athletic performance staff in 2014 and 2015, working with the baseball, volleyball, cross country and equestrian teams. He tutored student-athletes on the appropriate training and exercise techniques, as well as educated them on proper dietary requirements and nutrition.

Prior to his stint in Waco, Rodriguez worked as a strength and conditioning intern at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Rodriguez earned his bachelor's degree in exercise science and sports studies from Rutgers in 2013. While completing his undergraduate coursework, Rodriguez was a student athletic trainer for the Scarlet Knights football team. He also previously served as a strength and conditioning intern at Princeton, working primarily with football and baseball.

A native of Perth Amboy, N.J., Rodriguez is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). He holds a master's degree in pedagogy from Baylor in addition to his undergraduate degree.

Lanear Sampson (Graduate Assistant - Offense)
Sampson was four-year starter (2009-12) at wide receiver for Baylor, playing three years for Babers when Babers was the Bears receivers coach.

A member of the senior class that turned around the Baylor program, Sampson helped the Bears reach three consecutive bowl games. Baylor appeared in the 2010 Texas Bowl and recorded back-to-back wins against Washington in the 2011 Alamo Bowl and UCLA in the 2012 Holiday Bowl with Sampson on the roster.

Sampson finished his career fifth on Baylor's all-time receptions list (165) and 10th in career receiving yards (1,905). He caught a pass in 43 straight games from 2010-12 and earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors a senior. Sampson had 52 receptions for 646 yards and six touchdowns in final collegiate campaign to earn a spot in the 2013 Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Game.

Following his college career, Sampson spent time in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2015, he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.

A two-time Academic All-Big 12 selection, Sampson graduated from Baylor in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in speech communication.

Wayne Tuckson (Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach)
Tuckson joined the Orange strength and conditioning staff in 2014. He's worked with multiple Olympic sports at Syracuse, while also assisting with football.

Before arriving in Central New York, Tuckson served as an athletic performance graduate assistant at the University of Wisconsin- River Falls. In that role, he aided in creating workout programs for various Falcons athletic teams and helped manage the school's athletic performance center.

A native of Louisville, Ky., Tuckson played linebacker from 2009-12 at Division III Elmhurst College in Illinois. He was a three-year starter for the Bluejays and led the team in tackles as a junior and senior. Tuckson finished his career with 284 tackles, including 114 as a senior in 212. He was named to the All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Second Team in 2011 and was an All-CCIW First Team selection in 2012.

In 2013, Tuckson worked as a defensive intern and outside linebackers coach for the Bluejays. He was also a volunteer assistant for the Elmhurst strength and conditioning staff.

Tuckson was a four-time CCIW All-Academic Team selection and received dual bachelor's degrees in criminal justice and philosophy from Elmhurst in 2013.

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