New University of Cincinnati football coach Scott Satterfield added to his first Big 12 staff on Wednesday by hiring Josh Stepp as receivers coach and Greg Gasparato as linebackers coach.
Stepp comes from the Louisville staff of Satterfield where he coached tight ends and sat back to call plays in the Cardinals’ 24-7 win over Cincinnati in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. Prior to last season, Stepp was at Georgia State where he was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He also coached running backs and tight ends for the Panthers and is expected to coach UC receivers.
Stepp helped lead a Louisville offense that totaled more than 400 yards per game in 2022. He also coached junior redshirt tight end Marshon Ford to an All-ACC honorable mention. Stepp coached high school football for several years before joining the college coaching ranks. As a quarterback at Newberry (SC) College, he set program records for passing yards and touchdowns.
In 2019, the South Carolina native was part of the American Football Coaches Association 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute.
“I am delighted to welcome Josh to our attacking staff,” said Satterfield. “He will do an outstanding job teaching, recruiting and, most importantly, mentoring our student-athletes. Josh did a stellar job for our team at Louisville last year, and he’s been a coach who has impressed me for several years — from his time at Georgia State to when he coached in high school.
Gasparato also comes from Louisville where he coached outside linebackers and is expected to do the same for the Bearcats. He coached the Cardinal safeties in 2021. His prior experience was a year in the military and he had a few stints in Appalachia State where Satterfield coached before taking the job from Louisville.
Last fall, his linebackers were instrumental in Louisville’s 50-sack tally, which led the nation. Senior linebacker Yasir Abdullah led the ACC with 9.5 sacks en route to all-conference first-team honors.
“Greg is one of the best young defensive coaches in the country,” Satterfield said. “He was an integral part of our defensive staff in Louisville, coaching safeties and outside linebackers during his time there. Greg is an excellent teacher of the game. He loves football and his passion for the game makes him the kind of coach players want to play for.
Stepp and Gasparato are the latest former Louisville coaches to come north with Satterfield joining quarterback coach Pete Thomas, running backs coach De’Rail Sims, offensive line coach Nic Cardwell, linebackers coach Derek Nicholson and defensive coordinator Bryan Brown. The remnants of Luke Fickell’s staff are special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs who will also work with defensive backs and former Bearcat Walter Stewart who will work with the defensive line.
Palazeti leads the football sports performance team
Along with those hires, Bearcats director of athletic performance Niko Palazeti is from Ohio State and once played for former UC coach Mark Dantonio at Michigan State. He’s been to Mississippi State and Maryland before and had been with the Buckeyes since 2017 under Mickey Marotti, who was UC’s coach during the Rick Minter/Bob Huggins basketball days.
Palazeti was a three-year member of the Michigan State football team and a two-time Spartan Letter winner (2011 and 2012) before injuries caused him to retire from the sport in 2013.
The Buckeyes held a 67-9 record, won four Big 10 championships and qualified for three College Football Playoffs during Palazeti’s six years on the staff.
“Niko comes across to us as one of the most respected strength and conditioning coaches in the country,” Satterfield said. “His work on the Ohio State staff has been key to the team’s success. He has assembled a great team, and I look forward to seeing them interact with our student-athletes when we begin our off-season program in the coming weeks.
Joining Palazeti on UC’s football sports performance staff are:
- Christopher Friend, Associate Director of Football Sport Performance
- Brandon Garcia, Deputy Director of Sporting Performance of Football
- MyQuon Stout, assistant soccer sports performance coach
- Scott Ethington, Assistant Football Sports Performance Coach
Friend has spent the past five years on the Ohio State performance staff. In addition to working with football during his time with the Buckeyes, he oversaw all aspects of strength, conditioning and performance for the men’s and women’s ice hockey programs. The women’s ice hockey team won the 2022 NCAA National Championship.
Garcia most recently served as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for UNLV Football, beginning in 2020. He previously served as a Strength and Conditioning Coach/Sports Performance Assistant for Football at the University of Maryland in 2018.
Stout spent the previous four seasons as an assistant strength coach for Louisville’s football program. He ended his playing career in 2018, spending five seasons at Appalachian State under Satterfield. He started 38 of 39 games in his final three seasons at Appalachian State, totaling 82 tackles and earning All-Sun Belt Conference honorable mentions as a junior.
Ethington previously served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for Marshall, starting in January 2022. He worked with the football and softball programs. Prior to Marshall, he was a strength and conditioning intern at Ohio State (2020-2021) and University of Maryland Football (2019).
The Bearcats are expected to welcome several trade rookies this weekend. Additionally, official announcements about an offensive coordinator and other player personnel should be coming soon.