Oberlin, Ohio - Oberlin College Head Football Coach John Pont has nearly completed his coaching staff for the upcoming 2023 season with new five additions and three returning coaches from the 2022 season. 

"We are really excited about the quality of people we have added to our staff and the Oberlin community as a whole," Pont said. "Each one of them brings something different to the table with diverse coaching styles and backgrounds that will impact our players on the field, in the classroom, and in life."

Ben Hammer - Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers Coach 
Before coming to Oberlin, Hammer spent the previous four seasons (2019-22) as a graduate assistant defensive line coach at Northwestern University, helping the Wildcats earn the Big Ten West Division Championship in 2020. During that season, the Wildcats led the Big Ten in scoring defense (15.9 ppg) and passing defense (195.9 ypg). 

Prior to his time in Evanston, Illinois, Hammer was a graduate assistant coach at the University of Texas at El Paso where he worked with the team's linebackers and special teams for the 2017 season. 

From 2013-17 he held various coaching positions at Western New Mexico University (NCAA-DII), eventually holding the roles of assistant head coach, special teams coordinator, linebackers coach, and video coordinator at the time of his departure. 

Hammer has additional international experience, coaching for numerous clubs in Germany with his last overseas stop being the head coach, defensive coordinator, and special teams coordinator of the Kirchdorf Wildcats from September 2011 through May of 2012.

"I have known Coach Hammer and his family for a long time and am excited to be able to finally work alongside him as he coordinates our defense," Pont said. "Ben is a tireless worker and recruiter who undoubtedly makes us better."

Ulysses D. Hall - Defensive Line Coach and Director of Player Personnel
Hall arrived in Oberlin after spending the 2022 season as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at nearby John Carroll University. Hall helped the Blue Streaks go 8-2 in 2022 and instructed a defensive unit that finished 13th in the nation with 8.3 tackles-for-loss per game. With Hall on staff, JCU also increased its sack total from 26 in 2021 to 32 in 2022. 

Hall spent the 2021 season at Division II Alderson Broaddus University serving as the defensive line coach and camp coordinator. In 2020 he mentored first-team All-American Rob Robinson at Briar Cliff University and in 2019 he instructed the defensive line at Trinity International University. 

No stranger to the North Coast Athletic Conference, Hall spent two seasons (2017-2018) as the defensive line coach and assistant director of football operations at Ohio Wesleyan University. 

Selected as an American Football Coaches Association 30-under-30 participant in 2014, Hall was invited to the NFL/NCAA Coaches Academy in 2018 and 2023.

"Coach Hall brings a lot of energy and passion to everything that we do," Pont noted. "His familiarity with coaching high-level Division III football will certainly be an asset to our staff."

Ashley Cornwell - Offensive Line Coach
A 2022 graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Ashley Cornwell was a student assistant coach with the Badgers from 2019-2022. Cornwell worked with all three phases including offensive line/tight ends, defensive line, and special teams in addition to assisting with recruiting.

From January through April of this year, Cornwell was immersed in the NFL's International Player Pathway Program, coaching four international offensive linemen and aiding two of these athletes in being allocated to NFL teams this season. 

"I am very blessed and excited to be joining Oberlin as the Offensive Line Coach," Cornwell said. "Oberlin has a dynamic and ambitious community that I am excited to join and contribute to. I am grateful to Coach Pont for giving me the opportunity to help this program and its athletes become better on and off the field."

A two-time participant of the NFL Women's Forum, Cornwell has also been a Bill Walsh Fellow with the Tennessee Titans. 

"I couldn't be more proud and happy for Ashley for earning this opportunity at Oberlin College," Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel said. "Ashley is a relentless worker who will recruit with passion and coach her players hard. She has a bright future in the game of football and I am excited to see her excel in her role. Oberlin definitely got a good one."

"We are thrilled to have Coach Cornwell become a part of our staff," Coach Pont said. "Her knowledge, experience, and passion for teaching the game of football shines through in all that does and she will help us get better day in and day out. Her ability to bring new ideas to the table and her detail-oriented mindset will be a great asset to our program."

Deland McCullough II - Defensive Backs Coach
A recent graduate of the University Indiana, McCullough played in 10 games for the Hooisers in 2021 after transferring from Miami University (OH). However, an injury made him forgo his senior season on the field but he stayed with the program as a student assistant. 

McCullough II comes from a strong coaching background as his father, Deland Sr., is the current running backs coach at the University of Notre Dame and won a Super Bowl as a coach with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020. His grandfather, Sherman Smith, played in the NFL for eight seasons and went to coach in the league with the Titans, Commanders, and Sehawks from 1995-2017. 

"While I was at Indiana, I directly witnessed his attention to detail in preparation and film study, as well as his love for the game," Coach Pont said in regards to McCullough II. "Deland pairs great football experience with an outstanding coaching lineage.  His father and grandfather are two of the best coaches I have known, and Deland is more than ready to follow in their footsteps and blaze a coaching trail of his own."

Patrick Nicely - Quarterbacks Coach
A three-year starter at the University of Akron, Nicely threw for 3,358  yards and 18 touchdowns while with the Zips before transferring to Lake Erie College where he earned a degree in marketing.

Nicely, who works full time in the banking industry, will provide instruction to the Yeomen's quarterbacks. 

"I had the opportunity to get to know the type of person Patrick is during my time at the University of Akron and to have him around our program even in a limited capacity will certainly be a benefit," Pont said. 

The three coaches remaining on staff from last year are running backs coach and director of football operations Roseanna Smith, super backs coach Cade O'Connell, and assistant offensive line coach Mike Smith.

Oberlin will open its 2023 season on September 2 at Kalamazoo College.