Miami University head football coach Chuck Martin has announced that Scott Booker will serve as wide receiver’s coach. Booker becomes Miami’s 10th assistant coach, which was recently approved by the NCAA for all football programs. Martin also announced that Bill Brechin (previous wide receiver coach) will coach safeties, Joe Palcic (previous safeties coach) has been named special teams coordinator and Israel Woolfork (previous running back coach) will coach running backs/slot wide receivers.
“During the past four years our staff has had exceptional continuity that is not often seen in college football,” said Martin. I’m extremely excited about the new alignment of the staff. The addition of coach Booker, along with the modifications to the other members of the staff will strengthen our offense, defense and special teams. I’m excited about what these changes can do for Miami football.”
For a complete list of Miami’s football staff, click HERE.
Booker brings 15 years of coaching experience to Miami, most recently as an assistant coach for Nebraska, working with the Husker safeties and special teams.
Prior to joining Nebraska, Booker worked at Notre Dame as the tight ends and special teams coordinator from 2012 to 2016, after previously spending two seasons as an intern on the Notre Dame staff. During his time in South Bend, Notre Dame participated in six bowl games including the 2012 BCS National Championship Game and 2015 Fiesta Bowl.
The play of Booker's position groups was a key factor in the Fighting Irish's undefeated 2012 regular season. Tight end Tyler Eifert won the John Mackey Award that season and was a consensus first-team All-American. Eifert finished his Notre Dame career ranked first in Notre Dame history in both career receptions (140) and career receiving yards (1,840) by a tight end.
In addition to Eifert, Booker coached Irish tight ends Ben Koyack (2014) and Troy Niklas (2013), who each were Mackey Award semifinalists. All three tight ends were taken in the NFL Draft and were on active rosters in 2017. Eifert was a first-round selection of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2013, and was a Pro Bowl selection in 2015.
Record-setting kicker Kyle Brindza was also a part of the Fighting Irish success. Brindza made a Notre Dame single-season record 23 field goals in 2012, and in his career he set Irish records for field goals (57), field-goal attempts (81) and 50-yard field goals (4). He also holds the top three single-season point totals by a kicker in Irish history.
In the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the Fighting Irish scored six touchdowns on special teams, including four in 2015, which was the most by a Notre Dame team since 2000. Freshman place-kicker Justin Yoon ranked sixth in the FBS in field-goal percentage (.882, 15-of-17) in 2015, the best of any freshman in the country. Freshman C.J. Sanders returned both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown in 2015, one of only seven players in the FBS ranks to accomplish that feat. The previous year in 2014, Notre Dame led the nation in blocked kicks.
Booker spent his first two seasons at Notre Dame as an offensive intern. In 2011, the Irish offense gained more than 500 yards in five games and scored better than 45 points three times.
Booker coached the secondary at Western Kentucky in 2009. He served as the defensive backs coach at Kent State, his alma mater, from 2005 to 2008. In that time, he developed a pair of NFL Draft picks in Jack Williams and Usama Young. Booker helped Kent State rank first or second in the MAC in pass efficiency defense, pass defense and interceptions in 2006.
Booker began his coaching career at Kent State as a graduate assistant in 2003 and 2004. He was a four-year letterwinner for the Golden Flashes from 1999 to 2002, and was named to the MAC all-academic team in 2001.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Booker earned his bachelor's in business administration from Kent State in 2003, and his master's in sport studies in 2006.
Booker Coaching Career
2003-04—Kent State, Graduate Assistant
2005-08—Kent State, Assistant Coach/Defensive Backs
2009—Western Kentucky, Assistant Coach/Secondary
2010-11—Notre Dame, Offensive Intern
2012-16—Notre Dame, Assistant Coach/Tight Ends and Special Teams Coordinator
2017—Nebraska, Assistant Coach/Safeties and Special Teams
