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Nic Cardwell enters his third season on the Cincinnati staff as the offensive line coach for head coach Scott Satterfield.
Cardwell coached the offensive line at Louisville in 2022 after two seasons as the offensive line coach at Appalachian State. He also coached tight ends for the Mountaineers.
He was a three-time FCS national champion and captain during his career as a tight end at Appalachian State.
Since 2020, he has mentored 13 all-conference offensive lineman at UC, Louisville and Appalachian State.
Cardwell coached right guard Luke Kandra to back-to-back All-America seasons in 2023 and 2024. Kandra and left tackle John Williams were invited to the NFL Combine in February. They are expected to be drafted by an NFL team in April.
In 2024, Cardwell’s offensive line unit paved the way for running back Corey Kiner to become just the fifth Bearcat to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Cincinnati averaged 420.6 total yards overall – 36th in the nation – and UC’s 184.1 rushing yards per game ranked sixth in the Big 12 – the nation’s best rushing conference.
Kandra collected All-Big 12 First Team accolades and several All-America honors following the season, wrapping up his career as one of the best offensive linemen in Cincinnati history.
In 2023, Cardwell’s offensive line unit proved to be one of the best in the Big 12 as it paved the way for the Bearcats to average 217.1 rushing yards per game – which ranked fifth in the nation. UC also ranked No. 33 in the country in total offense (426.1) and the offensive line blocked for Kiner, who recorded just the 20th 1,000-yard rushing season in school history.
Kandra earned Second Team All-America accolades from Walter Camp and Third Team honors from the Associated Press as well as First Team All-Big 12 from the AP. He finished with the third highest rating of any Power 5 guard (81.8) according to Pro Football Focus.
In addition to Kandra, center Gavin Gerhardt collected All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades as Cincinnati rushed for at least 200 yards in nine games.
In 2022, Cardwell’s offensive line paved the way for Louisville to rank second in the ACC and No. 22 nationally in rushing offense (200.6). He coached offensive linemen Caleb Chandler and Bryan Hudson to All-ACC honors.
In 2021, under his tutelage, App State’s offensive line was one of 13 semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, with Baer Hunter and Cooper Hodges both collecting All-Sun Belt First Team honors and Anderson Hardy also receiving All-Sun Belt recognition. The Mountaineers allowed an average of 1.21 sacks per game, which ranked 12th in the country and yielded just 4.2 tackles for loss per contest.
Cardwell helped the Mountaineers rank No. 7 nationally with 264.9 rushing yards per game during a 9-3 season in 2020 and in the top 15 in fewest sacks allowed during a 2021 season in which Chase Brice set the single-season program record for passing yards.
App State also finished with the Sun Belt’s rushing champion for the sixth straight year, with Nate Noel and Camerun Peoples ranking No. 2 and No. 3 in the league in rushing yards per game for an offense that averaged 34.5 points.
All five of the Mountaineers’ primary starters on the offensive line earned All-Sun Belt recognition from PFF College, which ranked App State’s line as high as No. 3 in the nation during the 2020 season. The Mountaineers rushed for at least 300 yards in five games and had a whopping 500 rushing yards with no sacks allowed in the 56-28 bowl win against North Texas.
Cardwell played for the Mountaineers from 2004-07 and worked seven years in various roles with App State’s football program, including the 2018 season as the tight ends coach, before following head coach Scott Satterfield to Louisville for one season as a quality control coach in 2019. He helped the Cardinals to a six-win improvement in Satterfield’s first season at UofL.
The previous year, while working on App State’s staff he guided Collin Reed to All-Sun Belt honors and Henry Pearson was ranked by PFF College as the nation’s fifth-best true freshman tight end.
Cardwell also served as the Mountaineers tight ends coach in 2012, was a graduate assistant from 2013 to 2014 and worked in a quality control role in 2017.
In between, he coached the offensive line at North Greeneville from 2015 to 2016.
A former walk-on, Cardwell arrived at App State in 2003 and overcame a career-threatening neck injury to play in all 56 games for the Mountaineers from 2004-07. Four of his nine career receptions went for touchdowns, including FCS playoff scores against Coastal Carolina (2006 first round) and Richmond (two TDs in a 2007 semifinal). He was a co-captain as a senior and won three FCS national championships.
A native of Kernersville, N.C., Cardwell graduated from App State in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He and his wife, Kira, have three children: Kai, Blakely and Brewer.
Cardwell coached the offensive line at Louisville in 2022 after two seasons as the offensive line coach at Appalachian State. He also coached tight ends for the Mountaineers.
He was a three-time FCS national champion and captain during his career as a tight end at Appalachian State.
Since 2020, he has mentored 13 all-conference offensive lineman at UC, Louisville and Appalachian State.
Cardwell coached right guard Luke Kandra to back-to-back All-America seasons in 2023 and 2024. Kandra and left tackle John Williams were invited to the NFL Combine in February. They are expected to be drafted by an NFL team in April.
In 2024, Cardwell’s offensive line unit paved the way for running back Corey Kiner to become just the fifth Bearcat to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Cincinnati averaged 420.6 total yards overall – 36th in the nation – and UC’s 184.1 rushing yards per game ranked sixth in the Big 12 – the nation’s best rushing conference.
Kandra collected All-Big 12 First Team accolades and several All-America honors following the season, wrapping up his career as one of the best offensive linemen in Cincinnati history.
In 2023, Cardwell’s offensive line unit proved to be one of the best in the Big 12 as it paved the way for the Bearcats to average 217.1 rushing yards per game – which ranked fifth in the nation. UC also ranked No. 33 in the country in total offense (426.1) and the offensive line blocked for Kiner, who recorded just the 20th 1,000-yard rushing season in school history.
Kandra earned Second Team All-America accolades from Walter Camp and Third Team honors from the Associated Press as well as First Team All-Big 12 from the AP. He finished with the third highest rating of any Power 5 guard (81.8) according to Pro Football Focus.
In addition to Kandra, center Gavin Gerhardt collected All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades as Cincinnati rushed for at least 200 yards in nine games.
In 2022, Cardwell’s offensive line paved the way for Louisville to rank second in the ACC and No. 22 nationally in rushing offense (200.6). He coached offensive linemen Caleb Chandler and Bryan Hudson to All-ACC honors.
In 2021, under his tutelage, App State’s offensive line was one of 13 semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, with Baer Hunter and Cooper Hodges both collecting All-Sun Belt First Team honors and Anderson Hardy also receiving All-Sun Belt recognition. The Mountaineers allowed an average of 1.21 sacks per game, which ranked 12th in the country and yielded just 4.2 tackles for loss per contest.
Cardwell helped the Mountaineers rank No. 7 nationally with 264.9 rushing yards per game during a 9-3 season in 2020 and in the top 15 in fewest sacks allowed during a 2021 season in which Chase Brice set the single-season program record for passing yards.
App State also finished with the Sun Belt’s rushing champion for the sixth straight year, with Nate Noel and Camerun Peoples ranking No. 2 and No. 3 in the league in rushing yards per game for an offense that averaged 34.5 points.
All five of the Mountaineers’ primary starters on the offensive line earned All-Sun Belt recognition from PFF College, which ranked App State’s line as high as No. 3 in the nation during the 2020 season. The Mountaineers rushed for at least 300 yards in five games and had a whopping 500 rushing yards with no sacks allowed in the 56-28 bowl win against North Texas.
Cardwell played for the Mountaineers from 2004-07 and worked seven years in various roles with App State’s football program, including the 2018 season as the tight ends coach, before following head coach Scott Satterfield to Louisville for one season as a quality control coach in 2019. He helped the Cardinals to a six-win improvement in Satterfield’s first season at UofL.
The previous year, while working on App State’s staff he guided Collin Reed to All-Sun Belt honors and Henry Pearson was ranked by PFF College as the nation’s fifth-best true freshman tight end.
Cardwell also served as the Mountaineers tight ends coach in 2012, was a graduate assistant from 2013 to 2014 and worked in a quality control role in 2017.
In between, he coached the offensive line at North Greeneville from 2015 to 2016.
A former walk-on, Cardwell arrived at App State in 2003 and overcame a career-threatening neck injury to play in all 56 games for the Mountaineers from 2004-07. Four of his nine career receptions went for touchdowns, including FCS playoff scores against Coastal Carolina (2006 first round) and Richmond (two TDs in a 2007 semifinal). He was a co-captain as a senior and won three FCS national championships.
A native of Kernersville, N.C., Cardwell graduated from App State in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He and his wife, Kira, have three children: Kai, Blakely and Brewer.