TicketsFeb. 8, 2008
CINCINNATI -- University of Cincinnati Head Football Coach Brian Kelly addressed the vacancy on his coaching staff with the hiring of veteran assistant coach William Inge. Inge arrives at Cincinnati and becomes the team's linebackers coach; Tim Hinton simultaneously returns to the role as the running backs coach, a position he held at Cincinnati from 2004-06.
"The Bearcats are fortunate going into the 2008 season," stated Kelly. "We are adding a veteran coach to the linebackers unit and keeping a proven coach with the running backs group."
Inge, 34, comes to UC from San Diego State University, where he served the past two seasons as the linebackers coach. Prior to joining the Aztecs staff, he spent the 2005 campaign as defensive line coach at Colorado. In 2001, Inge was hired as a defensive assistant at the University of Northern Iowa. Where he eventually became the co-defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator before leaving after the 2004 campaign.
"William Inge is a proven coach who has worked at the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) level," Kelly said. "William enhances our staff with his experience as a defensive coordinator and has a reputation as an excellent recruiter."
Over the past two seasons at San Diego State, Inge mentored leading tackler Russell Allen to all-Mountain West Conference (MWC) honorable mention accolades. Allen amassed 119 tackles in 12 games in 2007, and led the league in tackles per MWC outing (10.6).
In 2005, as the Buffaloes' defensive line coach, Inge helped coach the Buffs won the Big 12 North Division, advanced to the Big 12 Championship Game. CU finished the season in the Champs Sports Bowl.
His one year in Boulder followed a four-year tenure at Northern Iowa, where he was the co-defensive and special teams coordinator in 2004. Inge also directed the Panthers' linebackers (2001-02) and defensive line (2003). His 2004 UNI defense allowed just 305 yards per game, to rank 15th in the nation, and was 12th nationally in scoring defense (18.0). That season, the Panthers finished ranked No. 25 in the final Division I-AA poll.
The hiring of Inge fills the void created when Ernest Jones returned to his alma mater, Alcorn State, to become the school's head coach.
Inge lettered four times at Iowa (1993-96), and spent one year in the National Football League with the Tennessee Titans. He returned to Iowa City in 1998, where he spent three years as the Hawkeyes' recruiting coordinator and briefly as a graduate assistant.
Inge earned his bachelor's degree in Sport, Health, Leisure, and Physical Studies in 1996, and took the opportunity after returning to Iowa to attain his master's in Athletic Administration in 1999. As a player, he was a team co-captain his senior year, when he was an honorable mention all-Big Ten performer and a first-team Academic All-Big Ten member.
For his Iowa career, Inge made 173 tackles, with 37 for losses and 24 sacks. In addition, he earned two special awards from the coaching staff: the Appreciation Award for defense as a senior and the Hustle Award as a junior. Iowa was
17-7 overall his junior and senior years, including the wins in the Sun and Alamo Bowls. He capped his collegiate career by playing in the 1997 Hula Bowl.
Kelly stated, "I asked Tim to move back to working with the running backs, because I need a veteran coach at that position. We have high expectations for the two young players returning and our three incoming freshmen. Tim has great relationships with all of the players on the team. He has proven himself within the program and deserves credit for the performance of the running backs he has guided. Having Tim overseeing the running backs makes that side of the ball better."
Under the tutelage of Hinton for their first three years, the graduating trio of Butler Benton, Bradley Glatthaar, and Greg Moore shared the load of the Bearcats' carries. They finished their careers with a combined 4,561 rushing yards (4.3 yards per attempt) and 38 rushing touchdowns.
Hinton struck success almost immediately as running backs coach after arriving at Cincinnati in 2004. In his first season, he helped develop Richard Hall into a 1,000-yard rusher and an all-league performer and tutored a ground attack that averaged 183.4 yards per contest.
In 2006, Hinton worked with a trio of Bearcats running backs who combined for 1,358 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
This past season, Hinton transitioned to the defensive side and helped lead a group that paced the country with 26 interceptions and shared the national lead with 42 takeaways. Cincinnati ranked 13th in scoring defense, allowing 18.8 points per game.
Before arriving at UC, Hinton spent 11 seasons as head coach at Marion Harding High School, where he directed teams to five conference titles and five appearances in the state playoffs. He had two teams advance to the regional finals and sent 13 players to the major college playing ranks. In 1995, he was named Ohio Division I Co-Coach of the Year.
Hinton has served as an assistant in the college ranks for 10 seasons. He spent three years at Ohio University, two as defensive line coach (1991-92) and one with the receivers (1990). He was a member of the Ohio State staff for two years (1985-86), helping the Buckeyes to a pair of bowls and a share of the 1986 Big Ten championship as a graduate assistant.