Toledo Hires Ohio State Assistant As New Cornerbacks Coach

Perry Eliano is set to become the new cornerbacks coach at Toledo

Nov 4, 2023; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safeties coach Perry Eliano yells from the sideline during the NCAA football game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Ohio State won 35-16. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

On Thursday, ESPN's Pete Thamel broke the news that Ohio State assistant Perry Eliano will join the Toledo Rockets as their next cornerbacks coach.

Sources: Toledo is hiring Perry Eliano as the school’s new corners coach. He’s a former assistant at Ohio State, Cincinnati and New Mexico. He also coached Sauce Gardner for two years at Cincinnati. pic.twitter.com/Dlm8lUqCU3

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 6, 2024

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Prior to joining the Rockets, he had stops at Ohio State, Cincinnati and New Mexico. With Cincinnati, he was the cornerbacks coach, playing a major role in the development of current New York Jets cornerback former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner.

Last season, Ohio State went 11-2 and 8-1 in the Big Ten conference. The Buckeyes' defense was in the middle of the league in regards to overall defense. Ohio State was second to last in interceptions, but third in the Big Ten in passes defended.

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In 2023, the Toledo Rockets had an 11-3 overall record and a perfect 8-0 conference record. They fell to Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl by a final score of 16-15.

Toledo has had it's own success with cornerbacks in the NFL Draft, sending Quinyon Mitchell to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Amongst the MAC, the Toledo defense had the fourth-most interceptions and were the sixth-best defense in a tough conference to play in. Despite that, the Rockets still made the league title game.

The Rockets will kick-off their season in the Glass City against Duquesne on August 29th at 7:30 PM on ESPN+.