Dan Alderson, Defensive Backs
Dan Alderson is in his ninth season on
the Crusaders coaching staff and will coach the
secondary in 2008 after serving as linebackers coach for the previous two seasons.
Alderson, a former ROTC program instructor
for a joint program between Bloomsburg
University, Bucknell University, Lycoming College
and Penn College along with Susquehanna,
is a retired sergeant first class from the United
States Army who served in Saudi Arabia as part
of Operation Desert Storm. While in the military, Alderson played semi-professional football as a tailback in Fort Lewis, Wash. He also became a two-time European powerlifting champion in the 181-pound weight class.
Shane Arce, Split Ends
Shane Arce joins the Crusaders staff for 2008 to work with the split ends.
Arce graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2008 from NCAA Division III SUNY Cortland, where he played football for four years. He was a wide receiver for the Red Dragons.
Arce also has served as an assistant coach with Cortland State’s club ice hockey team and has extensive experience as an instructor in athletics clinics and as a student teacher.
Brad Fordyce, Defensive Coordinator
Brad Fordyce begins his second year as the Crusaders’ defensive coordinator in 2008 after serving in the same role at Division III McDaniel College since 2003.
Fordyce is also Susquehanna University’s strength & conditioning coach. He is a native of Churchville, Md., and is a 1997 graduate of Springfield College with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. After graduating, he was a strength & conditioning intern at the Division I U.S. Naval Academy for one year before moving on to McDaniel in 1998 as an assistant football coach (linebackers) and strength & conditioning coach.
After five seasons as linebackers coach at McDaniel, Fordyce was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2003 and helped the Green Terror rank 26th in Division III in scoring defense. In 2004, his unit ranked eighth in Division III in scoring defense and 13th in total defense while allowing a total of two passing touchdowns all season. During his time at McDaniel, Fordyce coached three All-Americans and two Centennial Conference Players of the Year.
In addition to his duties as defensive coordinator, Fordyce served as McDaniel’s recruiting coordinator from 2005 to 2006 and was the director of the Green Terror Football Camp from 2004 to 2006. He earned a master’s degree in education from McDaniel in 2001.
Fordyce resides in Selinsgrove, Pa., with his wife, Allison, son, Tate, and daughter, Graycie.
Bob Jazwinski, Defensive Line
Bob Jazwinski joined the staff in 2006 as a defensive line coach.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Jazwinski played offensive
tackle at NCAA Division III Washington & Jefferson College and was named to the all-Presidents' Athletic Conference
first team and an all-ECAC team during his career. He was also a Don Hansen's Football Gazette all-region first-teamer in both 2002 and
2003 and played in the 2003 Aztec Bowl.
Scott Knapp, Running Backs
Scott Knapp joins the Crusaders staff for 2008 to work with the running backs.
Knapp graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2008 from NCAA Division I Duquesne University, where he played football for four years. He was a two-time all-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference quarterback for the Dukes, the 2005 MAAC Offensive Rookie of the Year and a 2006 Don Hansen's Football Gazette Mid-Major Honorable Mention All-American.
Andy Kolak, Offensive Line
Andy Kolak joined the Crusaders coaching staff in 2006, working with the offensive line.
The older brother of former Susquehanna offensive lineman Chris Kolak ’07, Andy played offensive line at NCAA Division I Bucknell University during the 1997 and 1998 seasons before becoming a student assistant there.
After graduating from Bucknell in 2001 with a degree in history, Kolak coached at his alma mater, West Perry High School, in 2002.
Jack Lydic, Quarterbacks
Selinsgrove, Pa., native Jack Lydic is a 2008 addition to the coaching staff, focusing on quarterbacks.
After three years as the starting quarterback for Selinsgrove Area High School, Lydic continued his career at NCAA Division II Bloomsburg University where he also started for three years. During his time at Bloomsburg, the Huskies won four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division championships. As a senior team captain in 2005, Lydic led the Huskies to an undefeated regular season and an NCAA Division II playoffs appearance. He earned PSAC offensive player of the week honors multiple times and second-team all-PSAC honors in 2004 and 2005. He is currently ranked third on the all-time passing yards list at Bloomsburg.
Lydic coached quarterbacks and receivers at Selinsgrove High in 2006. Later that year, he was invited to play professionally for the Hamburg Blue Devils of the German Football League. He set Hamburg team records for touchdowns in a single game (six) and touchdown passes in a single season (35). He was also second in the league in total offense for the season.
Lydic is currently working towards his teaching certificate and completing his master's degree in elementary education.
Dan Mehleisen, Defensive Backs
Dan Mehleisen joined the Crusaders coaching staff in 2007 and works with the defensive backs.
Mehleisen was a four-year starter in both football and baseball at NCAA Division III Union College, serving as team captain for both sports during his senior year. He currently ranks seventh in Dutchmen history in career tackles.
He earned first-team all-Liberty League honors in football in 2002 and 2003 and was a first-team all-ECAC honoree in 2003. He was also named to the Don Hansen's Football Gazette's all-region second team in 2003.
An economics major at Union, Mehleisen graduated in 2004. He has served as an assistant baseball coach at his alma mater and at Susquehanna.
Nate Milne, Offensive Coordinator
Nate Milne joins the coaching staff in 2008 as the offensive coordinator. He comes from NCAA Division III SUNY Cortland, where he was an assistant football coach from 2004 to 2007.
Milne worked with Cortland State's offensive line for three years and running backs for one, coaching five all-New Jersey Athletic Conference offensive linemen and one all-NJAC running back during his tenure. In 2006 and 2007, Cortland ranked first in its conference in scoring offense and, in 2006, was also first in fewest sacks allowed.
In 2007, Milne was a guest coach with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League and spent their preseason working as an assistant offensive line coach. He also spent one year as an assistant coach at Division III Hamilton College, focusing on tight ends and offensive scouting.
A 2003 graduate of Division III Hobart College with a bachelor's degree in history, Milne was a four-year letterwinner with the Statesmen, earning first-team all-Liberty League honors as a senior and playing on Hobart's first two Division III playoffs teams.
Bob Pittello, Offensive Line
Now in his 17th season as an offensive line coach at SU, Bob Pittello has been active in 45 of the past 60
seasons of Susquehanna football. A starting guard for Amos Alonzo Stagg, Jr. and Sr. at Susquehanna from 1948 to 50, Pittello
began coaching under Stagg, Jr. in 1953.
Pittello was an assistant for five different coaches after that, non-successively. 2008 marks his 38th season as a Crusaders assistant football coach. He
was reunited with former SU head coach Jim Garrett at Columbia University in 1985 while serving as one of Garrett's assistants. Pittello also served three years under
legendary prep coach Joe “Jazz” Diminick at Pittello's high school alma mater -- Mount Carmel.
Pittello has been active with Crusaders football either as a player or coach longer than anyone and is the only player in program history to have his jersey number retired. The school retired his number 66 in a ceremony prior to
the 1998 Homecoming game against Allegheny College.
In 2001, the Crusaders locker room was formally named in his honor with a commemorative plaque posted outside of the room.
A member of the university's Sports Hall of Fame and a co-founder of the Susquehanna Football Alumni Association, Pittello
resides in Mount Carmel, Pa., and is a partner in the accounting firm of Pittello and Slaton.
John Salvatore, Linebackers
SU alumnus John Salvatore joined the Crusaders coaching staff in 2007 and works with the outside linebackers.
A three-year letterwinner on defense, Salvatore finished his Susquehanna playing career with 97 tackles -- 40 of them in 2006 -- and 4.5 sacks.
Salvatore lettered twice in football and track & field and once in tennis at Allentown Central Catholic High School.
