University of Connecticut Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Tight Ends
In his first season with the Huskies, Verducci helped lead the team to an appearance in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Verducci has coached in a total of 14 postseason college football games, including a pair of Rose Bowls.
Verducci has developed three first round NFL Draft picks during his career, including Florida's D.J. Humphries, who was selected with the 22nd pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2015 Draft. Verducci was the run game coordinator and offensive line coach in 2011 at Florida and helped lead the Gators to a 24-17 win over Ohio State in the Gator Bowl.
Previously, Frank developed first round selections Ross Verba ('95 Green Bay Packers) at Iowa and Zac Martin ('14 Dallas Cowboys) at Notre Dame. Verba became the first rookie to start at left tackle in the Super Bowl, while Martin was voted to the Pro Bowl after his initial campaign. During Verducci's 10 seasons as a FBS offensive line coach, 36 of his offensive linemen were either drafted or signed with NFL franchises.
Verducci was the offensive line and run game coordinator at Notre Dame during the 2009 season as the Irish ranked eighth in the country in total offense at 451.75 yards per game. He coached six offensive linemen that made NFL rosters.
From 1999-2008, he spent ten years coaching in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals (1999-2001), Dallas Cowboys (2002), Buffalo Bills (2004-05) and the Cleveland Browns (2007-08).
Developing outstanding young linemen carried over to Verducci's 10 seasons in the NFL. He coached Pro Bowl left tackles Jason Peters (Buffalo Bills) and Joe Thomas (Cleveland Browns) during their first two seasons as professionals. Verducci also coached former Pro Bowl center Andre Gurode during his rookie season in Dallas.
Successful running attacks have been a common theme over the course of Verducci's collegiate coaching career. As Iowa's run game coordinator (1995-98), the Hawkeyes' single game (314), single season (1,691) and career (4,156) rushing records were eclipsed. The 1994 team set a record for fewest sacks allowed (10) in a season.
In 1997, running Tavian Banks set an NCAA record for fewest carries to reach 1,000 yards. During a five season span, the combination of Sedrick Shaw and Banks rushed to Iowa records for single game (4), single season ( 17) and career (33) rushing TDS. Both backs combined to rush for 66 TDs during that period.
During the 2014 season at Northern Iowa, the team set single season and career records for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns while reaching the second round of the FCS playoffs. That team was the only squad to defeat FCS National Champion North Dakota State, ending a 33 game winning streak in the process. Offensive tackle Jack Rummels was selected first team Walter Camp All-American and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In 10 NFL seasons, Verducci contributed to the NFL single game rushing record (Cincinnati Bengals Corey Dillon -- 276 yards vs. Denver in 2000) along with Emmitt Smith's march past Walter Payton to set the NFL career rushing title in Dallas during the 2002 season.
Verducci worked with future NFL Hall of Famers Smith and Larry Allen during his time with the Cowboys. Verducci helped produce 1,000 yard rushers at each stop in Cincinnati (Corey Dillon), Buffalo (Willis McGahee) and Cleveland (Jamaal Lewis).
Verducci's coaching heritage includes working with or under six Hall of Fame coaches: Maryland-Jerry Claiborne and Bobby Ross; Iowa- Hayden Fry, Bill Snyder and Barry Alvarez; and Cincinnati-Dick LeBeau) during his career.
A native of Glen Ridge N.J., Frank is a graduate of Seton Hall Preparatory School, where he played football for his father, Tony, a member of the New Jersey High School Sports Hall of Fame. Verducci played fullback and tight end at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. and received his bachelor's degree from Seton Hall in 1980. He received a post-graduate scholarship in exercise science to Colorado State.
Verducci and his wife Noel have two children -- Jack, a 2015 graduate and football letterman at Princeton University and Cammy, a senior at Regina High School in Iowa City. Verducci's brother, Tom, is the senior baseball writer at Sports Illustrated and an Emmy winning announcer for the MLB Network and Fox. His brother Tony, is the head football coach at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va.
Year-By-Year with Frank Verducci
| Year | School/Team | Position |
| 1980 | Colorado State | Graduate Assistant |
| 1981-83 | Maryland | Tight Ends |
| 1984 | Northern Illinois | Running Backs/Strength & Conditioning |
| 1985-86 | Iowa | Graduate Assistant |
| 1987-88 | Northwestern | Wide Receivers |
| 1989-91 | Iowa | Assistant Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator |
| 1992-94 | Iowa | Offensive Line |
| 1995-98 | Iowa | Offensive Line/Running Game Coordinator |
| 1999-2000 | Cincinnati Bengals | Tight Ends |
| 2001 | Cincinnati Bengals | Tight Ends/Assistant Offensive Line |
| 2002 | Dallas Cowboys | Offensive Line |
| 2004 | Buffalo Bills | Tight Ends/Assistant Offensive Line |
| 2005 | Buffalo Bills | Offensive Line |
| 2007-08 | Cleveland Browns | Offensive Assistant |
| 2009 | Notre Dame | Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator |
| 2010 | St. Louis Rams | Personnel/Advance Scout |
| 2011 | Florida | Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator |
| 2013 | Montreal Alouettes | Offensive Line |
| 2014 | Northern Iowa | Tight Ends/Offensive Tackles |
| 2015 | UConn | Offensive Coordinator, Running Backs |
| 2016 | UConn | Offensive Coordinator, Tight Ends |
Postseason Games As A Coach
| Year | Bowl/Game | School/Team | Result |
| 1982 | Aloha | Maryland | lost to Washington, 21-20 |
| 1983 | Citrus | Maryland | lost to Tennessee, 30-23 |
| 1985 | Rose | Iowa | lost to UCLA, 45-28 |
| 1986 | Holiday | Iowa | def. San Diego State, 39-38 |
| 1990 | Rose | Iowa | lost to Washington, 46-34 |
| 1991 | Holiday | Iowa | tied BYU, 13-13 |
| 1993 | Alamo | Iowa | lost to California, 37-3 |
| 1995 | Sun | Iowa | def. Washington, 38-18 |
| 1996 | Alamo | Iowa | def. Texas Tech, 27-0 |
| 1997 | Sun | Iowa | lost to Arizona State, 17-7 |
| 2011 | Gator | Florida | def. Ohio State, 24-17 |
| 2013 | CFL Division Semis | Montreal | lost to Hamilton, 19-16 |
| 2014 | FCS First Round | Northern Iowa | def. Stephen F. Austin 44-10 |
| FCS Second Round | Northern Iowa | lost to Illinois State, 41-21 | |
| 2015 | St. Petersburg Bowl | UConn | lost to Marshall, 16-10 |
