Brad Cornelsen was hired in January 2012 to serve as the quarterbacks coach for the Tigers. Cornelsen coached five seasons at Illinois State (2003-07), where Fuente served as an assistant from 2001-06. This Tiger offensive group will be very familiar with each other as Fuente, Holman Wiggins (2006-10 at ISU) and Cornelsen were all on staff together in 2006 at Illinois State. Offensive line coach Vance Vice also was on staff at ISU from 2000-04. Cornelsen joined the Tigers from Northeastern State, a Division II program located in Tahlequah, Okla. He served the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at NSU. In 2011, NSU ranked 13th nationally in passing offense, averaging 291 yards per game. The squad was also 22nd nationally in total offense with a clip of 440 yards per game, and the RiverHawks participated in the Mineral Water Bowl - the team's first bowl appearance since 2000. NSU finished the 2011 season with a 7-5 record, which was also the most wins for the program since 2000. With Cornelsen's guidance, quarterback Johnny Deaton passed for 2,520 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2011. In addition, receiver Trey McVay was named a first-team All-American after logging 82 receptions for 1,533 yards. McVay ranked second in NCAA Division II in receiving yards per game. A native of Texhoma, Okla., Cornelsen spent the 2008 season at Oklahoma State, where he worked with quarterbacks and the special teams unit. The Cowboys finished the regular season 9-3 and earned a berth in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. Cornelsen also spent the 2001-02 seasons as a graduate assistant coach at OSU where he worked with quarterbacks and wide receivers. In his first four seasons at Illinois State, Cornelsen guided the receiving corps. He mentored Laurent Robinson, who was selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. In 2005, the All-American rewrote the school and conference record books with 86 receptions for 1,465 yards. In the final game of the 2005 season, Robinson totaled 292 yards on 14 catches against Indiana State. The single-game yardage total set both league and school marks. Robinson went on to claim the conference's Offensive Player of the Year Award and was a consensus All-American. In 2004, Cornelsen had three receivers post 30 or more catches each for the year - the most by a Redbird trio since 1996. And in 2003, Cornelsen was instrumental in the success of first-team All-Gateway receiver Dwayne Smith. Smith led the league in both receptions and receiving yards per game, while the Redbird offense as a whole ranked as the best in the conference with 420 yards of total offense per outing. In 2007, Cornelsen moved to coaching quarterbacks and helped Luke Drone to an All-Conference senior season with 2,222 yards and 18 touchdowns. Cornelsen graduated from Missouri Southern State with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 2000. With the Lions, Cornelsen became the first quarterback in the history of NCAA Division II to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 2,000 yards for a career. After graduation, Cornelsen served a one-year term as a student assistant with his alma mater and at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. He worked as a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State (2001) and OSU prior to landing an assistant coaching position at ISU in 2003. He and wife, Jaimi, were married during the summer of 2011. |
Memphis Tigers
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