Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Head Football Coach Ron English Announces Staff
1/15/2009 4:28:12 PM | Football, E-Gridiron Group
Nine assistant coaches join first-year coaches’ staff
Click Here for Complete Bios.
YPSILANTI, Mich. — New Eastern Michigan University Head Football Coach Ron English has completed his coaching staff with the announcement that eight new assistants and one assistant from last year's staff have been hired.
Kurt Anderson, an assistant coach on the EMU staff in 2008, will remain as an assistant, moving from tight ends coach to serving as the offensive line coach. The eight new additions and their assignments are: Tom Burpee (Tight ends/Special Teams), Antonio Carter (Wide receivers), Tim Carter (Defensive backs), Casey Creehan (Defensive line), Ken Karcher (Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks), Eric Lewis (Defensive coordinator/Defensive backs), Tyrone Wheatley (Running backs) and Kevin Wolthausen (Associate Head Coach/Defense).
KURT ANDERSON (30) joined the EMU staff in April 2008 and coached during spring practices and the entire 2008 regular season. Prior to being hired last spring, Anderson was a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan for two seasons. While on the Michigan football staff, Anderson spent the 2007 season as a graduate assistant coach for the offensive line, working with line coach Andy Moeller, now with the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL. Anderson helped develop All-American offensive tackle and overall No. 1 NFL draft selection Jake Long along with All-Big Ten Conference offensive lineman Adam Kraus. In 2006, Anderson was a defensive quality control graduate assistant coach and worked with defensive line coach Steve Stripling. While on that side of the football, Anderson helped develop current NFL players Lamar Woodley and Alan Branch. Anderson was a Big Ten honorable mention selection by the conference coaches following the 2001 season. He is the brother of former Wolverine All-American and Butkus Award winning linebacker Erick Anderson.
TOM BURPEE (26) was a graduate assistant football coach at the University of Louisville in 2008. A 2005 graduate of the University of Michigan, Burpee served the U-M football team as a student manager in 2002, an undergraduate assistant coach from 2003-04, a volunteer assistant in 2005-06, and finally as a defensive quality control coach in 2007.
ANTONIO CARTER (28) was the wide receivers coach at Appalachian State University in 2008. He is a 2004 graduate of the University of Alabama where he was an outstanding wide receiver for the Crimson Tide, rolling up 106 career receptions for 2,396 yards and five touchdowns in three years (1999-2001) as a letterman. He redshirted in 2002 and 2003 after suffering a leg injury and received a sixth year of eligibility because of the injury. The 1999 Alabama squad was the Southeastern Conference champion and earned a spot in the Orange Bowl game.
Carter began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at UTEP for the 2005 and 2006 seasons under veteran Head Coach Mike Price. He then returned to his alma mater, Alabama, as a graduate assistant under Head Coach Nick Saban before becoming a full-time assistant football coach at Appalachian State last season.
TIM CARTER (30), the brother of Antonio, joins the EMU staff after spending the previous three seasons as a graduate assistant football coach at East Carolina University. A native of Tallahassee, Fla., Carter was a four-year letterman at Tulane University where he played on the football and track teams. He was a two-year football captain during his collegiate career and earned All-Conference honors in track and field twice.
Upon the completion of his four-year Tulane career, Carter signed a free-agent contract with the New Orleans Saints and spent most of the 2001 season on the practice roster before being activated for the final two games.
He followed his stint in New Orleans by recording 58 total tackles, three pass breakups and a pair of interceptions in two seasons with the Berlin Thunder in NFL Europe as a member of the secondary and special teams squad. In 2002, he helped rally the Thunder to a 7-4 record and World Bowl Championship after a 26-20 win over the Rhein Fire. Carter also played professional football in the CFL for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
CASEY CREEHAN (31) was an assistant coach with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League last year and helped the team make it to the Grey Cup championship game. Prior to his stint with Montreal, Creehan was an assistant coach for four seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, from 2004-07, and was part of three CFL playoff appearances.
Creehan began his college college career at Lehigh University as a defensive assistant on the 1999 team that won the Patriot League championship. He moved to to Southern Illinois University in 2000, to Clarion University in 2001-02, and from there was on the James Madison University staff for the 2003 and 2004 season where he was the defensive ends and special teams coach.
KEN KARCHER (45), the quarterbacks coach at the University of Toledo in 2008, has a distinguished coaching and playing career in college, professional and high school football. He was the head football coach at Liberty University from 2000-05. In addition to his coaching experience, Karcher also played collegiately at Notre Dame and Tulane and also in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.
A native of Glenshaw, Pa., Karcher was a Parade All-America quarterback at Shaler H.S. He started his collegiate playing career at the University of Notre Dame before transferring to Tulane University and completing his college playing career.
After earning his bachelor's degree at Tulane in 1986, Karcher went on to play in the NFL from 1987-89 as a backup quarterback for the Denver Broncos.
Once his playing career ended, Karcher began his coaching career at North Texas State University in 1991 as the quarterbacks and receivers coach. From North Texas, Karcher moved on to become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Orlando Thunder of the World League in 1992.
From there it was back to the college ranks as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh (1993-96) followed by three seasons back in professional football as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe.
ERIC LEWIS (33), joins the EMU staff after serving as the defensive cornerbacks coach at the University of Louisville in 2008. Prior to his year on the Louisville staff, Lewis was an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers of the NFL where he served as an assistant to defensive coaches Lionel Washington and Kurt Schottenheimer.
Lewis also spent three years as an assistant coach in the Mid-American Conference, serving as the secondary coach at Ball State University from 2003-05. He was also an assistant coach at Bucknell (2002) and a graduate assistant coach at Michigan State (2001).
A native of Lansing, Mich., Lewis is the son of Michigan State University all-time great Sherman Lewis, a 22-year NFL coaching veteran. Eric went on to grow up in Sunnyvale, Calif. where he graduated from St. Francis High School in 1994 before attending San Diego State.
TYRONE WHEATLEY (37) joins the EMU football staff after turning in an outstanding college playing career at the University of Michigan followed by a 10-yard professional career as a running back for the NFL's Oakland Raiders and the New York Giants.
As a Wolverine, Wheatley was named the Most Valuable Player in the 1994 Rose Bowl and also earned All-Big Ten honors three times, 1992, 1993 and 1994. In addition he was an All-Big Ten pick in track and field from 1993-95. He completed his bachelor's degree at U-M in 2008.
Wheatley was the 17th overall pick in the 1995 NFL draft by the New York Giants and stayed with that team from 1995-98 before joining Oakland in 1999. He completed his pro career with the Raiders in 2004.
Since that time, Wheatley has been involved with a number of coaching opportunities, including serving a football coaching internship at Ohio Northern University in 2008. He was also the head football and boys track coach at Dearborn Heights Robichaud H.S. in 2006 and 2007.
Wheatley has also worked with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a minority coaching fellowship, served as an evaluator at the Rising Stars Football Camp at Southern Cal, assisted with the formation of Team Michigan in the All-American Football League and owned and operated B.L.A.S.T., a company that was designed to work with athletes on balance, speed and training techniques.
KEVIN WOLTHAUSEN (51) is familiar with the Eastern Michigan University football after serving as an assistant football coach in 2002. He re-joins the staff with a wealth of experience as a professional and college football assistant.
Wolthausen was most recently an assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. Prior to coaching the defensive line for the Falcons, Wolthausen was an assistant coach at the University of Louisville from 2003-06. He joined the Louisville staff as a linebackers coach in 2003, became defensive line coach in 2004-05 and was the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2006.
Before joining the Louisville staff, Wolthausen spent the 2002 season on the EMU staff as the outside linebackers coach. Prior to his EMU stint, he spent one season as an assistant coach with the Arizona Rattlers in the Arena League, working with fullbacks and linebackers.
Wolthausen has also been an assistant football coach at the University of Arizona (1985-86), the University of Southern California (1987-1992), the University of Oklahoma (1993-94), and Arizona State University (1995-2000).
