When Mike Sandy stepped onto the campus at Westminster College, he was ready for the next challenge of his young coaching career.

Little did the former Buckeye athlete know he was going to make a name for himself in a different area.

Buckeye High graduate Mike Sandy is the new defensive coordinator at Westminster College. (COURTESY PHOTO)

“I got hired here to coach the quarterbacks, but the defensive coordinator took another job and our head coach took over,” Sandy said. “He then told me, ‘I want to bring you over’ and all I was thinking was, ‘OK, this is going to be a little different.’”

After two seasons coaching linebackers at the Division III school in Western Pennsylvania, the 30-year-old was promoted to the program’s full-time defensive coordinator this week, taking the reins from head coach Jeff Hand.

“(Coach Hand) called the defense the last two years and I learned a lot from him,” Sandy said. “I think he set me up this role. I’m prepared and eager because we have a lot coming back.”

Sandy and the rest of the Titans coaching staff will have their work cut out from them. Westminster is coming off a 2-8 season — four of those losses coming by one possession — and 1-6 mark in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

The 1998 Buckeye graduate, who played both wide receiver and corner back for the Bucks, is ready for the challenge after coaching three of the top six tacklers in the PAC, including second-team all-league selection Tom Geragthy, who was the conference’s leading tackler and was ranked 18th nationally in D-III with 11.1 stops per game.

“We basically want to improve on last year and come out and be aggressive,” he said. “We have a lot of experience in our D-line and secondary coming back. The guys are eager and with my mentality, they’re chomping at the bit.”

Sandy joined the coaching ranks after a successful four-year career at Hiram College, where the wide receiver led the team in receptions as a junior and senior.

After his playing career was over, Sandy coached the Terrier receivers before accepting a teaching and coaching position at McDonough High School in Pomfret, Md.

In five years at McDonough, Sandy helped lead the team to a state championship game and coached three players who received scholarships from Division I schools. One reached the NFL.

Sandy never thought he would reach this point in his coaching career, but the trip to the state title game changed his mind forever.

“The head coach down there (Dave Bradshaw) taught me how to coach and the hard work and time that goes into it,” he said. “Coaching was always something I thought about, but I never thought I would get into it this deep.

“All I can remember is playing at (Baltimore) Ravens Stadium (in the state championship game) and walking out of that tunnel and thinking to myself, ‘Man, I want to do this.’”

Sandy, who resides in New Wilmington with his wife Kelly and son Cooper, is ready for the next step to return Westminster to its previous glory, which features six national titles and over 500 wins.

“They definitely know my expectations,” he said. “After teaching for five years at the high school level, I learned how to build a rapport, and they know what I expect and they’re ready to get it done.”

Contact Dan Brown at sports@medina-gazette.com.

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