JCU hires Mentor grad as coach

Former Browns intern to guide receivers

Four seasons ago, Joe Kasper was doing all he could to help defeat the John Carroll football team as a Baldwin Wallace player.

Now, he will do everything in his power to help the Blue Streaks win each week as a wide receivers coach.

Kasper, a 2015 BW graduate, is the latest and last coach to join Coach Rick Finotti’s staff for the 2017 season.

Finotti announced Kasper’s hiring on June 29 via his Twitter account.

The hiring might raise a few eyebrows among the BW football family. Kasper played at the school for three seasons as a safety.

“Yeah, I’m waiting for all the texts to start rolling in,” Kasper said with a laugh.

“I’m sure it will be different being on the other side of one of the best rivalries in this conference.”

Kasper, 24, is rejoining the Ohio Athletic Conference at an interesting time. The league is as powerful as ever with perennial power Mount Union and John Carroll, which was 12-2 last season with an appearance in an NCAA Division III national semifinal.

“It’s all about OAC football,” said Kasper. “The talent in this conference is incredible.”

Kasper is also a Mentor graduate, and spent the last two seasons coaching the defensive backs on Steve Trivisonno’s staff.

The route Kasper has taken into the coaching profession hasn’t been conventional. When he began college, Kasper had no intentions of becoming a football coach. He holds a political science degree from BW, and the goal was to attend law school after graduating in 2015.

Then an NFL opportunity arose that he couldn’t pass.

As a junior for the Yellow Jackets in 2013, Kasper made a

“It’s all about OAC football. The talent in this conference is incredible.” — Joe Kasper, new John Carroll wide receivers coach

career-high 66 tackles. The following season as a senior, he opted not to play for BW because he had the chance to intern for the Browns under former Coach Rob Chudzinski.

“I loved playing football at BW, and I thought I was good player there, but I was looking for a career,” said Kasper, who lives in Mentor.

His role with the Browns as an intern was in player development and scouting. He watched and conducted hundreds of interviews helping the team prepare for the NFL Scouting Combine, the Senior Bowl and other all-star games.

By his second season with the Browns, he earned a paid position and worked closely with Chudzinski and running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery, whom he called his

coaching “mentor.”

Kasper described his two years with the Browns — from May 2013 to July 2015 — as an “incredible experience.”

It gave him valuable contacts and has led him to the D-III college ranks, where he will join JCU quarterbacks coach Nick Alexander.

Alexander, who joined the Blue Streaks staff in February, is also a former Mentor assistant.

The switch from coaching defense to offense shouldn’t be an issue, said Kasper.

“(Montgomery) motivated me to get into coaching,” he said. “He taught me offensive football.”

Still, Kasper said he has a lot to learn. He expects to hit the ground running as coaches report July 31 and the players a short time after that for preseason camp.

“I’ve got a taste of experience, but it’s not in depth in any one area,” said Kasper. “There’s a lot to learn.”

Kasper