| Title: | Head Football Coach |
| Phone: | 323 259 2916 |
| Email: | semones@oxy.edu |
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Photo by Marc Campos |
Doug Semones, formerly an assistant head coach at Yale University, accepted Oxy's head football coaching job on Jan. 7, taking over for Bill Redell, who retired shortly after the 2012 season.
"It's a great opportunity and a great challenge to bring Oxy back to the tradition of excellence that they've had for a long time," Semones said. "That's the goal."
Semones spent three seasons at Yale from 2009-11 where he worked with the outside linebackers, coached the defensive line and recruited very similar types of academically gifted student-athletes that Oxy attracts.
"Doug comes highly recommended and has a proven track record of success at multiple levels," Occidental College athletic director Jaime Hoffman said. "He has a contagious enthusiasm, a passion for football and a great understanding of what it takes to be successful at Oxy. We're very excited to have him as our new head coach."
Before his stop in the Ivy League, Semones coached at various places around the country in high school, college and pro.
He won four OIA Championships and went 68-14-2 in seven seasons as the head coach (1989-95) at Kahuku HS in Hawaii and later had a three-year stint as the special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at the University of Hawaii from 1996-98. Shortly after his tenure with Hawaii, he was the defensive and special teams coordinator for the Hawaiian Islanders of the Arena Football League.
Semones was most recently the defensive coordinator at Hillhouse HS in New Haven, Conn. where he helped the team to a 2012 state championship.
"I've coached everything from Pop Warner to professional football where guys got paid so I love the game and it's similar on all levels," Semones said. "You've got to put the work in to be successful and have fun. We're going to have fun at Oxy."
Semones grew up in Mesa, Ariz. and then later played defensive back at Scottsdale Community College and Cal Lutheran, where he earned his BS in Physical Education in 1983. In 1994, he earned masters in special education at the University of Hawaii.
Doug lives in Pasadena with his wife Linda. He has two children that are collegiate student-athletes. His 22-year-old son Jake is a junior baseball player at Yale and his daughter C.J. is an 18-year-old freshman softball player at Georgetown.
| Title: | Offensive Coordinator |
| Phone: | 323-259-2722 |
| Email: | briansmith@oxy.edu |
Brian Smith is in his first year as the Occidental College football team’s offensive coordinator.
Smith played center at Hawaii from 1998-2001 and won a Western Athletic Conference championship in 1999. After graduating he was an assistant at Oregon St. and the offensive line coach at Portland St. before returning to coach his alma mater as the offensive line coach for a year and the running backs for three years (2008-11). Last year he was the offensive line coach at Cal Lutheran, helping the Kingsmen to a SCIAC championship and the second-best scoring offense in NCAA Division III. Three of Smith’s offensive lineman were named All-SCIAC and one earned All-Region honors.
Smith’s specialty as an offensive line guru will help an Oxy front line that has been thin in depth and stature in the past couple of seasons.
“I liked the fact that the offensive coordinator would be an offensive lineman,” Semones said. “He’s a bright offensive mind who’s ready for the opportunity to call plays and be a coordinator.”
He is married to his wife Liane and has a daughter Chloe.
| Title: | Quarterbacks |
| Phone: | 323 259 2719 |
| Email: | arceneaux@oxy.edu |
Arceneaux joins the Tigers this season as quarterbacks coach after a very successful high school coaching career in Hawaii. He began in 2003 as the head football coach of St. Louis HS in Honolulu where he led his team to a 9-2 record, an ILH championship and a 2nd place finish in the state finals. He then became the offensive coordinator at Mililani HS in 2006 and the head coach from 2007-2010. In 2010 he returned to St. Louis as the head coach and assistant athletic director and led his team to the State Championships and a 12-1 record in 2010 and earned Hawaii’s Coach of the Year awards from MaxPreps and the ILH. In 2012 he earned HS coach of the year from the NFL Pro Bowl.
Arceneaux played his collegiate ball at University of Utah from 1996-2000, where he was 11-2 as the team’s starting QB, a team captain in 1999 and 2000 and voted 4x Most Inspirational Offensive Player. In 1999, he led Utah to a victory in the Las Vegas Bowl over Fresno State. He graduated Utah with a B.S. in Sociology.
A Hawaii native, Arceneaux enjoyed a decorated high school career. In 1995, he was the Hawaii Athlete of the Year (Honolulu Quarterback Club), Hawaii Offensive Player of the Year, was the nation's 14th ranked quarterback, and was first-team all-state quarterback (an honor he also received in ’94). He was also all-state basketball player in 1995-96 and led St. Louis to three state prep bowl championships and two IHL basketball championships.
He is married to his wife Nicole and has three children, Chloe (20), Kekoa (13) and Elle (3).
| Title: | Recruiting Coordinator/Defensive Line/DFO |
| Phone: | 323-259-2910 |
| Email: | luthey@oxy.edu |
Justin Luthey is in his second season at Occidental. In 2012, Luthey worked as Defensive Line Coach and Director of Football Operations after serving as TE coach and recruiting and operations intern in 2011.
In his present position, in addition to coaching the defensive line, Luthey’s duties include coordinating all recruiting efforts of prospective players, planning all travel arrangements, overseeing pre-season camp operations, liaison to officials, on-campus scheduling, contacting opponents, and managing all day to day operations.
A lifelong Pasadena native, Luthey began his coaching career as a varsity assistant at La Cañada High School from 2008-2011, working with the offensive and defensive line. He was a two-sport student-athlete at St. Olaf College in Minnesota where he played offensive line and was a three-year starter at heavyweight for the wrestling team.
He graduated from St. Olaf College with double majors in Economics and Ancient Studies. In 2013, he received his M.A. in Sport Management from California State University, Long Beach.
| Title: | Defensive Backs/Video Coordinator |
| Phone: | 323 259 2718 |
| Email: | hartenfels@oxy.edu |
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Rob Hartenfels enters his second season at Occidental as defensive backs coach. Previously, he was the special teams coordinator, secondary coach and director of football operations at Oaks Christian HS with OXY great, Bill Redell.
Coach Hartenfels played defensive back at East Stroudsburg University, in Pennsylvania where he was a team captain before leaving early to pursue his coaching career in Southern California. He later graduated from Ashford University with a B.A in Sports Management.
Hartenfels was born in Northeastern Pennsylvania where he attended East Stroudsburg High School and now resides in downtown Los Angeles.
| Title: | Linebackers/Strength and Conditioning |
| Phone: | 323 259 2716 |
| Email: | mayk@oxy.edu |
Kevin May enters his second season as an assistant coach with the Occidental football team. In 2012, May coached the safeties and was the video coordinator after completing four years as a starting defensive back and linebacker with the Tigers from 2008-2011.
May, who was one of the team's captains during his senior year, will head the strength and conditioning program and coach the linebackers.
In 2011, May graduated with a degree in economics and a minor in kinesiology. His athletic highlights at Oxy included the Captains Award for Leadership and the Overall Monster Award in 2011, for his commitment to the team's strength and conditioning program. He was also a part of the 2008 undefeated season.
May was born in Encino and grew up in Ventura County where he attended Calabasas High School. With the Coyotes, he was a three-year starter on both sides of the ball, playing quarterback and defensive back. He was named the team's MVP and Andy Block Memorial Award winner.
| Title: | Strength & Conditioning |
| Phone: | 323 259 2718 |
| Email: | mandersen@oxy.edu |
| Hometown: | Sacramento, CA |
| College: | Occidental College '08 |
Andersen started his coaching career in 2008 as running backs coach and strength and conditioning coordinator for the Tigers. He now moves to the defensive side of the ball to coach the outside linebackers.
Matt was a four-year letter winner for Oxy under the leadership of legendary Coach Widolff. Among his accolades on the gridiron are: being a part of a 32-game regular season Oxy win-streak (04-07), First Team All-SCIAC RB (2007) and team captain (2007). In 2006, Anderson ranked 2nd in Division 3 individual scoring. As a sophomore in 2005, while earning All-SCIAC honors at running back , Andersen helped lead the Tigers to a 9-0 regular season before losing to National Champion Linfield in NCAA Division III playoffs. As a freshman, Andersen was part of the 2004 team that won two post-season games for the first time in school history and finished 8th in the AFCA Poll.
Additionally, Andersen played four-years of baseball at Occidental, captaining the team in 2008 and earning all SCIAC honors at centerfield and shortstop in 2007 and 2005 respectively. In 2007, his junior year, Matt won First Team All-SCIAC honors in both football and baseball, marking the first time that feat had been accomplished at Oxy since Tom Bonetto (1989).
A 2008 graduate of Occidental College, Matt majored in Art History/Visual Arts with a Minor in Education.
Born and raised in Sacramento, Calif. Matt aspires to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Don Brown, who went on to become a legendary high school football coach in Sacramento following a successful football (running back) and baseball (second base) career at the University of the Pacific between 1947-49.
| Title: | Running Backs |
| Phone: | 323-259-2551 |
| College: | Tabor College |
Don Nelson Jr is in his first season on the OXY staff. A Los Angeles native, he attended high school at St. John Bosco & Dorsey High School, where he played football and baseball. He played football at Cerritos Community College for 2 years and then transferred to Tabor College in Hillsboro Kansas. At Tabor (NAIA), he played RB, FB and TE and graduated with a B.A. in Sports Studies. In 2012, he coached tight ends and was the assistant offensive line coach at his alma mater where the team posted an 8-2 record.
| Title: | Receivers |
| Phone: | 323 259 2551 |
| College: | Western Illinois |
Coach Brown began his coaching career at Calabasas High school in 2011, where he coached the football, and track teams. He also served as the assistant speed and agility coach. In addition to coaching at the high school level, Richard has experiences in training a variety of sports in football, basketball and baseball from the youth, collegiate and pro level athletes.
Prior to coaching, Coach Brown attended Los Angeles Valley Community College from 2002-2003 where he was a two year defensive captain in football. In 2002, he was named Iron Man of the Year and All-Valley Defensive Back. In 2003, Richard was awarded a full football scholarship to Division I-AA Western Illinois University where he played for the Leathernecks from 2004-2006. In 2012 Richard graduated from Western Illinois where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in General Studies with a minor in Marketing. After college Richard has had tryouts for various NFL and CFL work outs football teams at Wide receiver and defensive back. 2007-2009, Richard played arena football for the Kansas City Brigade, the Texas copperheads, and the Iowa Barnstormers.
Richard a Los Angeles native went to high school at el Camino real high school; and is currently married to his wife Jeannine.
