ADA – New East Central University Head Football Coach Al Johnson has announced his staff for the 2018 season.  Johnson has added seven new members of the Tiger family, with a wide variety of experience.

"I am very happy to announce the 2018 ECU coaching staff, with a few additions expected in the coming weeks, said Johnson.  "There are many important decisions as a head coach I must make, picking the right staff is near the top of the list.  As I told the team 'if I mess up our first meeting you will forget that in a few days, if I hire the wrong coach you we be reminded every day.'"  

"The two most important factors I looked for were a good man and a good teacher. Our staff cares about our players as much off the field as on. They are also great teachers and mentors who enjoy being around our players and know this game is about helping them.  I am very thankful they have joined our family here at East Central and you can be proud to call them your coaches."

2018 ECU Football Staff
Al Johnson - Head Coach
Jeff Duckworth - Offensive Coordinator/Receivers Coach
Antonio Fenelus - Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach
Eric Eisenberg - Inside Linebackers Coach
John Litrenta - Outside Linebackers Coach
Kris McCullough - Quarterbacks Coach
Joe Foster - Running Backs Coach
Garret Johnson - Offensive Line/Tight Ends Coach

Prior to joining the Tigers, Duckworth spent two seasons coach with Al Johnson at the University of Wisconsin as a graduate assistant wide receivers coach.  He returned to his alma mater after serving as a graduate assistant wide receivers coach at Kent State.

Duckworth was a four-year letterwinner for the Badgers (2010-13) and played a key role in Wisconsin's 2011 Big Ten championship, catching a critical fourth-down pass from Russell Wilson in the fourth quarter of the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game.

A Cincinnati, Ohio, native, Duckworth graduated from Wisconsin with a bachelor's degree in life sciences communication in 2013 and earned a master's degree in educational leadership policy analysis in 2018.
Fenelus has also served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater (Wisconsin) for the last three years.  While with the Badgers he worked with the defensive backs.

A four-year letterwinner at Wisconsin, Fenelus shined in the Badgers secondary as a senior in 2011. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in a season that saw him start all 14 games, recording 51 tackles, 3.0 TFLs, four interceptions and nine pass breakups. He also earned first-team All-Big Ten laurels from league media as a junior, when he finished with 56 tackles, four picks and seven pass breakups. 

Wisconsin claimed the Big Ten title in 2010 and 2011, including a win in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game in 2011.

Following his collegiate career, Fenelus signed as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts before stints with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League and the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League.

A native of Boca Raton, Fla., Fenelus was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and graduated from Wisconsin with a bachelor's degree in community and nonprofit leadership in 2013 and earned a master's degree in educational leadership policy analysis in 2018.

Eisenberg spent the previous season as a member of the Humboldt State football coaching staff as an assistant defensive backs coach.  He also spent the two previous years as a defensive graduate assistant and linebackers coach at the University of Central Missouri. Eisenberg served as a defensive assistant and coach defensive backs.

At Central Missouri, Eisenberg was responsible for compiling weekly scouting reports and coaching the inside linebacker unit. During his two-year stint with the Mules he coached All-MIAA linebackers Sam Smith, Austin Miller and Alex Lackey.

Before joining Central Missouri, Eisenberg spent one year as a defensive quality control and advanced scouting director at Florida Atlantic University.

The Delray Beach, Fla., native, Eisenberg received a bachelor's degree in sports and exercise science with a concentration in human performance from the University of Central Florida in 2014 and received his master of science in kinesiology from Central Missouri in 2016.

Litrenta was an assistant coach for the University of South Dakota from March of 2016 through the end of the 2017 season as the defensive quality control coach. He assisted the defensive coordinator in safety meetings and on-field evaluations, work on the defensive side of the team's video editing system and recruited junior college players and scouted high school.
 
Prior to his stint at South Dakota, Litrenta was the defensive backs coach at College of DuPage (Illinois) for the 2015 season.  He helped lead the Chaparrals to an 8-2 record and a No. 9 national ranking. DuPage's secondary produced 18 interceptions, eighth-most in the nation.

Litrenta was a three-year starter at linebacker at Olivet Nazarene, where he recorded 212 tackles and three interceptions in his career.
 
A native of Orland Park, Ill., Litrenta earned a bachelor's degree in recreation and sport fitness at Olivet Nazarene in 2015 and earned his master's degree at South Dakota in sports management in the summer of 2017.
McCullough spent the last season as the running backs coach at Fairmont State. He will also assisted with special teams and serve as video coordinator for the Falcons.
 
Prior to  his time at Fairmont State, he spent the previous spring as a quality control coach at Old Dominion. 

McCullough is no stranger to the Great American Conference as he served on the Henderson State coaching staff starting in January 2015. He was on the Reddies offensive coaching staff and played a vital role in recruiting and game film breakdown.
 
A native of Pine Bluff, Ark., McCullough earned a bachelor's of Integrated Studies degree from Henderson State with a 3.74 GPA in integrated studies and is currently working toward a master's degree in sports administration at Arkansas State University.
 
McCullough is engaged to Hannah Wahls of Arkadelphia, Ark. The couple plans to get married in June of 2018.

Foster has been around the ECU Football program for the past three seasons, moving from an equipment manager to a coaching with the Tigers for the 2016 season.  He coached the tight ends and then moved to running backs coach for the 2017 season.
 
In his first seasons working with the running backs, Foster helped to develop freshman Ontario Douglas.  Douglas was honored as a 2017 D2CCA All-Super Region 3 Second Team Offense selection and an All-Great American Conference First Team honoree.  He became the first ECU player to record more than 1,000 rushing yards in a season since 2005, ending his first season with 1,097 yards rushing on 205 attempts and scored eight touchdowns.
 
Foster came to the Tigers from Pauls Valley where he helped the team to the state playoffs in 2011 and 2012.  During his senior season he tallied 2,100 passing yards and 20 touchdowns and claimed all-district honors for his efforts.
 
The Pauls Valley, Okla., native is currently working on a bachelor's degree in kinesiology.
 
Johnson is the latest in in a line of ECU players to end their playing careers by moving into a coaching position for the Tigers, as he was in charge of the offensive line starting in 2016 and will move to coach the offensive line and tight ends in 2018.
 
Johnson spent two seasons on the offensive line for the Tigers and earned All-Great American Conference Second Team honors in 2015.
 
He came to the Tigers after spending the first two seasons at Bakersfield College.  The second team all-conference honoree, helped the Renegades to the Western State Bowl title in 2014.
 
As a prep, Johnson played at Wasco High School where he was a two-time all-league selection, two-time all-area pick and helped the Tigers to a Division 4 Central Section title as a senior.
 
The Wasco, Calif., native graduated from ECU in May 2016 with a degree in kinesiology and is currently pursuing a master's degree in sports administration.