Linguist Adds Two More Assistant Coaches
5/28/2021 5:39:00 PM | Football
BUFFALO, NY – University at Buffalo football head coach Maurice Linguist announced the addition of two more assistant coaches. Matt Stansfield has been hired as offensive line coach and Cedric Douglas will coach the defensive line.
Stansfield comes to Buffalo after spending five seasons as run game coordinator and offensive line/tight ends coach at Duquesne. A former player and coach at Duquesne, he returned to his alma mater after serving as offensive coordinator at Waynesburg for four seasons.
Duquesne, which ranked among the Top 50 nationally in rushing offense in each of the past five seasons, has seen five backs combine to post 33 100-yard games.
In 2021, running back A.J. Hines capped his standout career becoming the program's all-time leading rusher with 4,629 career rushing yards. The running back earned his fourth consecutive All-NEC award, sharing the backfield with fellow All-NEC selection Mark Allen. The pair became the first two running backs to garner All-NEC honors in the same season since the Dukes joined the conference in 2008.
A big part of the Duquesne duo's success running the ball was the Dukes' offensive line, keyed by All-NEC picks Sterling Jenkins and Gabe Spurlock. Stansfield and the Duquesne O-line ranked 26th in the country with the fewest sacks allowed at 1.55 per game.
In 2018, Stansfield and the Dukes' running game enjoyed a standout campaign which saw Duquesne claim its fifth NEC crown, as the Dukes earned their second Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoff berth and won their first FCS Playoff contest in program history.
Running back A.J. Hines garnered NEC Offensive Player of the Year honors and was recognized as a finalist for the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award for the top offensive player at the FCS level. He closed out the season third in the country in rushing yards and sixth in the nation in rushing touchdowns, tallying a program-record six-straight 100-yard rushing performances during a six-game winning streak for Duquesne.
Hines - who has earned three straight First Team All-NEC nods with three 1,000-yard seasons in a row - enters his senior season in 2019 as the FCS active leader in career rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Stansfield also coached a pair of All-NEC performers on the offensive line in Alex Conley and Matt Fitzpatrick, who helped pave the way for Hines' 20 100-yard rushing games over the last three seasons.
Additionally under Stansfield's guidance, tight end Stew Allen finished with five touchdown receptions on the season.
In 2017, the Dukes paced the NEC in rushing offense (198.5 ypg.) keyed by Hines, who posted his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.
In 2016, Hines ran for 100 yards seven times on his way to winning the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award.
Prior to returning to Duquesne, Stansfield guided Waynesburg's offense to new heights, as the team averaged over 400 yards per game in 2014. In 2013, Waynesburg averaged 387.3 yards per game, including a 283.8 ypg. through the air. The 2012 offense featured a physical running attack that averaged a conference-best 201.9 yards per game while allowing just five quarterback sacks all season.
Prior to his appointment at Waynesburg, Stansfield was Duquesne's running backs coach and run game coordinator from 2009-11.
In 2011, Duquesne (9-2) rushed for an average of 212.8 yards per game - a mark that led the NEC and ranked 15th nationally. Then-junior Larry McCoy spearheaded the ground game with 1,381 yards. McCoy's 117.4 yards rushing per game ranked 11th nationally.
Prior to his stint at Duquesne, Stansfield spent one year (2008) at Howard University, where he worked with the school's defensive line.
Douglas most recently spent two seasons as defensive line coach at Massachusetts. Douglas joined the program following time spent coaching at the scholastic and collegiate levels over the prior seven years.Douglas worked with the youthful defensive line throughout the 2019 season, that featured 13 different starters throughout the season due to injuries. In total, the defensive line accounted for 215 tackles on the year, including 22.0 TFLs.
Prior to coaching at UMass, Douglas helped Arkansas State reach back-to-back bowl games in 2017 and 2018, during which he was a graduate assistant working with the defensive line. His efforts in guiding the defensive line led to a pair of major awards for Red Wolves standouts as Ja'Von Rolland-Jones won 2017 Sun Belt Player of the Year and Ronheen Bingham followed as the 2018 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. Both also won All-Sun Belt First Team during their respective seasons.
The 2018 Arkansas State team went 8-5 overall, including five wins in the Sun Belt and earned a berth in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. The defensive line featured prominently into the team's success as the Red Wolves' overall defense ranked among the nation's leaders in tackles for loss (No. 13), total defense (No. 17), first down defense (No. 21) and red zone defense (No. 27).
Arkansas State finished Douglas' first year with the team sporting a 7-5 overall record, a 6-2 mark in the Sun Belt and an appearance in the Camellia Bowl. The defense again ranked among the nation's most prolific, including a spot in the top-10 with 8.8 tackles for loss per game (No. 6).
Douglas spent 2016 as defensive line coach and academic liaison at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. During his lone season at Hutchinson, the Blue Dragons defense ranked No. 12 in the nation in scoring defense (18.0 ppg), No. 10 in total defense (242.0 ypg) and No. 13 in rushing defense (91.0 ypg).
Hutchinson's defense at Hutchinson led the conference and ranked 14th nationally in sacks with 44, and the defensive line accounted for 24.5 of those to go along with 74.5 tackles for loss.
Douglas tutored two All-Region VI First Team selections, including Ronheen Bingham and J.J. Holmes. He also coached second team all-conference pick Tayland Humphrey, the No. 1 JUCO defensive tackle in the nation for his signing class.
Douglas went to Hutchinson after serving as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas during 2015. The Red Ravens posted an 8-3 record, while their offense ranked No. 5 in the nation in scoring (over 50 ppg) and No. 8 in total offense (over 480 ypg). He coached Second Team All-Jayhawk Conference selection Trevor Neloms as well.
The 2013 and 2014 seasons saw Douglas coach at Ave Maria University in Florida in multiple roles.
Working as the running backs and return specialist coach in 2013, Douglas was part of the staff that achieved the program's first winning season while also being recognized as the NAIA Independent Conference champions. The Ave Maria staff was selected to coach the NAIA All-Star Team in the NAIA vs. Division II All-Star game.
During 2013, Douglas tutored USCAA All-America running back Scott Jones, who led the team with 12 rushing touchdowns, while the kick return unit averaged 23.2 yards per attempt. Ave Maria went 8-2 overall on the year, the most wins in a single season in the history of the program.
Douglas was promoted to recruiting coordinator in 2014 and also moved from running backs coach to wide receivers coach. The 2014 season saw his receiving corps post over 2,200 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns, both of which led the conference. He coached Travis Makauskas, who led the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns and was selected for the 2014 NAIA vs. D2 All-Star Game.
Douglas began his coaching career at Lincoln High School in the fall of 2012, operating as the varsity outside linebackers and running backs coach. He helped lead the team to a 6-3 record, and the squad produced three all-conference players.
