J.B. Gerald - Football Coach - Syracuse University Athletics

J.B. Gerald

Title:
Director of High School Relations
Email:
jbgerald@syr.edu
Phone:
1417

J.B. Gerald was named the Orange’s director of high school relations in February 2016 and serves as the program’s liaison with high school, junior college and prep school coaches.

Gerald is responsible for gathering recommendations from coaches on prospects in Syracuse’s primary recruiting areas. He helps maintain the Orange’s recruiting database 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 bowl 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. In 43 games, he totaled 113 catches for 1,334 yards and nine touchdowns. As a senior in 2003, Gerald had 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.

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. Two years later, Gerald finished his Ph.D. coursework and lacks only the completion of his dissertation to receive his doctorate in educational leadership, also from Penn State.