Not every branch of a legendary coaching tree reaches the same heights. Some of Jim Tressel’s former assistants have become household names. Mark Dantonio, Luke Fickell, Mel Tucker, and P.J. Fleck are all established figures in college football and the pros. However, the defensive coordinator from his 2002 national title team is just now starting a new journey at the D2 level.

Former Ohio State DC Mark Snyder is set to become the next head coach at Ohio’s Shawnee State, an NAIA-level basketball powerhouse that won the 2021 national title. Since that basketball glory, the program has accepted an invitation to Division II’s Mountain East Conference. That includes a commitment to add a football program by 2028.

Snyder now has a tall task: building the program from scratch. Right from recruitment to transfers to hirings, everything needs to happen flawlessly. Shawnee State has the perfect man for the job, given Snyder’s extensive SEC, Big 10, ACC, Pro, and G5 experience.

He started as a student assistant at Marshall in 1988 and went on to take up the LBs coaching job at UCF in 1989. That was followed by a gig in Minnesota before his eventual arrival in Columbus in 2001. In Snyder’s four years in Columbus, the Buckeyes compiled a 40-11 record and developed All-Americans Matt Wilhelm, Cie Grant, and A.J. Hawk. He also helped guide the team to the 2002 national championship.

That natty run started when OSU beat Michigan in 2001, and Snyder was a big part of it. “Tress walked in that whole week to the defensive room, three times a day, and would say, ‘Did I tell you guys I really like Field Cover 8?'” Snyder said about Tressel’s philosophy ahead of the iconic Michigan game in 2001. When the Buckeyes went into the game, tempers flared, and an unranked OSU beat Michigan 26-20 in Ann Arbor. “You could just feel it on the sideline; we were in our mojo,” Snyder said.

The OSU LBs coach learned from such games and Tressel, finally getting a promotion and charting an illustrious coaching trajectory. In the next season, Snyder helped the team win the national title, and when DC Mark Dantonio left, Tressel saw no further than Snyder.

“I am humbled by this opportunity and by the confidence that Coach Tressel has shown in me,” Snyder said when Tressel promoted him to DC from LBs coach. The South Point, Ohio, native eventually left Ohio State in 2005 when Marshall came calling with a head coaching opportunity.

Mark Snyder opens up on his learnings from Jim Tressel

Though his 22-37 head coaching record at Marshall had its setbacks, Snyder proved his ability to develop talent, mentoring future Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year Albert McClella and two-time All-C-USA running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who went on to win two Super Bowls with the Giants. That player development, leading programs in transition, and experience at bluebloods like OSU will stand out for Snyder at Shawnee State.

The Ohio native had coaching stints with teams like Texas A&M as DC, Michigan State as LBs coach, and FSU in the same capacity. Yet, for Snyder, what he learned at Ohio State still tops it all.

“I know we didn’t have to do much,” Snyder said about working for Jim Tressel. “There was no need to get them fired up. There were no pregame talks. They knew what was in front of them. They didn’t want to be that team that was going to lose two times in a row to that team up north.”

Snyder, tracing his own successful days at OSU, even offered advice to Ryan Day regarding his struggles against Michigan. It still serves as a powerful reminder of how big a part Tressel played after going down 0-2 against Michigan. Drawing on the lessons learned under Tressel, Snyder now faces the challenge of building a Division II program from the ground up at Shawnee State.