Lechtenberg Finalizes Coaching Staff
Blue Devils welcome four new faces to the sidelines for the 2023 campaign
CCSU Football head coach Adam Lechtenberg announced his 2023 coaching staff on Monday, with four new additions and five returning members. Lechtenberg was named the 15th head coach in Blue Devils program history in January.
"I am pleased to welcome some new faces to our coaching staff, while maintaining a veteran and experienced group of coaches that have been part of the program in the past," said Lechtenberg. "I am confident that the mix of experiences will benefit our student-athletes on and off of the field."
Lechtenberg announced the addition of Caleb Gelsomino, Keith Domino on the offensive side of the ball, and Michael Day and Joe Rankin on defense. That quartet joins Jeff Ambrosie, Abbott Burrell, Ron DiGravio, Jermetrius Troy and Charles Williams who all remain on the staff from last season.
Gelsomino joins the Blue Devils as the offensive coordinator, after holding that position last season at his alma mater, Bridgewater State. No stranger to the NEC, Gelsomino was the running backs coach for Sacred Heart during its 2014 NEC Championship season. He spent three seasons in Fairfield, before moving to multiple roles at Virginia Tech from 2017-22. Gelsomino played two seasons at Bridgewater State, helping the program to an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship
Domino will serve as the offensive recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach. He spent the 2022 season as the assistant offensive line coach and assistant recruiting coordinator at the University of Central Oklahoma. Domino played four seasons at Midwestern State University, serving as team captain in 2019.
Rankin will take over as the cornerbacks coach for the Blue Devils and has been coaching at Seneca Valley High School, including as head coach, since 2019. He played at Morgan State University from 2009-13, before stops with the Ravens and Browns in the NFL, and the Argonauts and Alouettes in the CFL.
Day will coach the Blue Devils outside linebackers and comes to New Britain after spending the 2022 season at the University of New Haven. He began his coaching career at SUNY Maritime College as the defensive backs coach in July 2017 and move to a role as corners coach and video coordinator at Nassau Community College in July 2019.
DiGravio has been on the CCSU staff since 2014 and has served as the defensive coordinator since 2019. He also coaches inside linebackers and was the special team's coordinator from 2016-18. DiGravio has experience at Harvard, New Haven and King's College on his resume.
Williams will move to coaching the defensive line for the 2023 season, after coaching outside linebackers since his arrival in New Britain for the 2021 campaign. He also serves as the defensive recruiting coordinator for the Blue Devils. Williams came to CCSU after coaching at AIC from 2019-21.
Troy will serve as the Blue Devils Special Teams Coordinator this season, while continuing in his role as the wide receiver coach. He came to New Britain for the 2019 season as the running backs coach, before taking over as the defensive backs coach, and then returned to the offensive side of the ball in 2022. Prior to CCSU, he coached at UMass and Mass-Maritime Academy.
Ambrosie has been at CCSU since 2018 and will continue to coach the Blue Devils offensive line. Prior to his time in New Britain, he spent 2012-17 coaching the O-line at the University of Maine. He has stops at Rochester, St. Francis University, and Pittsburgh on his coaching resume.
Burrell will coach the safeties in the 2023 season. He arrived in New Britain prior to the Blue Devils 2019 championship campaign, after more than two decades on the coaching staff at Brown. He has also coached at Wesleyan, Southern Connecticut and Bethune Cookman.
CCSU is in its second week, of five, for spring practice. The Blue Devils open the 2023 campaign, the first under Lechtenberg's leadership, on September 2nd at home versus AIC.