Honors & Accomplishments
• Developed first-year starter Jay Edward Keating into a second-team All-Ivy center in his first year coaching the offensive line.
• Worked at five BCS schools, including Penn State, Northwestern and Iowa State.
• Mentored first-team All-Ivy League running back Chris Walker and a renewed running game.
Recruiting Areas
• Alaska, Illinois, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington
Coaching Experience
• Assistant Coach, Cornell University (2016-present)
• Director of Scouting, Iowa State University (2016)
• Director of High School Relations, University of Toledo (2014-15)
• Director of Football Operations and Defensive Assistant, University of Toledo (2014-15)
• Director of Player Personnel and On-Campus Recruiting Coordinator, Western Michigan University (2013)
• Offensive Graduate Assistant, Northwestern University (2012-13)
• Director of Offensive Quality Control, Northwestern University (2011)
• Offensive and Special Teams Quality Control Intern, Northwestern University (2010)
• Student Assistant Coach, Penn State University (2006-09)
Education
• B.A., Finance, Penn State University (2009)
At Cornell
In his first two seasons, John Kuceyeski has made a sizable impact on the Big Red rushing attack, first as running backs coach and now on the offensive line. After nearly a decade primarily behind the scenes at some of the nation’s top programs, Kuceyeski joined the Cornell football staff in August 2016.
Kuceyeski made an immediate impact in the running game in 2016, helping guide first-team All-Ivy League selection Chris Walker and his teammates to the most rushing touchdowns in a season since 2013. Walker led the Ivy League in yards per carry and posted three 100-yard games, including a 178-yard, three-touchdown effort in a win over Columbia that was the most yards by a Big Red player in 20 years.
In his first year as offensive line coach in 2017, Kuceyeski led a rejuvenated offensive line that helped increase the team's rushing average 25.0 yards per game over the previous season. The group allowed just 10 sacks as a unit over the team's final seven games while posting 163.7 rushing yards per game over that same span. The Big Red's 14 rushing touchdowns were the most by a Big Red team in a single season since 2007.
Prior to Cornell
Kuceyeski previously served as Director of Scouting at Iowa State after working in football operations and high school relations at Toledo (2013-15), all under head coach Matt Campbell.
Toledo was 25-11 with a pair of MAC West division titles and two bowl appearances in Kuceyeski’s three seasons with the program. He spent his first season as Director of Football Operations and as a defensive assistant, then moved into the role of director of high school operations in his last two years there. Along with creating and maintaining the program’s recruiting database, he was in charge of charting opponent defensive and special teams schemes in game. He directed all summer camps and created the opponent personnel advanced scout in 2015.
He had a brief stint as the director of player personnel and on-campus recruiting coordinator at Western Michigan before joining the Rockets in 2013.
Kuceyeski served as the offensive and special teams quality control intern at Northwestern during the 2010 season and moved to the director of offensive quality control in 2011. He became the offensive graduate assistant for the Wildcats in March of 2012, working with the wide receivers in the spring before moving back to the offensive line for fall camp. Kuceyeski also worked with all four phases of special teams during the 2012 season. He helped the Wildcats to a 10-win season in 2012, culminating in the program's first bowl win since 1949. He assisted in all phases of the program at Northwestern, including scouting, self-scouting, video breakdown, strength and conditioning, and recruiting.
Kuceyeski began his career as a student assistant coach at Penn State (2006-09), helping with the defensive linemen. During that period, five Penn State defensive linemen were first round NFL Draft picks and the Nittany Lions won the 2008 Big Ten championship.
Personal
Kuceyeski resides in Ithaca. He graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in finance.
* Updated June 2018
