Jay Peterson

Title

Linebackers Coach

UPDATED 7-10-2020

Enters his second year at WSU in the fall of 2020
Spent the last 29 years (1991-2019) in the collegiate coaching ranks
Started coaching career with six years at Ohio high schools
Served as an assistant coach in the Mid-American Conference for 21 years

Jay Peterson joined the Wayne State University football coaching staff in April of 2019 and will serve as the linebackers coach again in 2020.

In his inaugural year with the Warriors in 2019, Peterson mentored five GLIAC All-Academic honorees, including two on the Excellence Team (Ryan Smith and Julius Wilkerson). Smith was also the squad's Ron Solack Award winner, which is given annually to the player who wore his Wayne State uniform with unmatched pride and played the game with enthusiasm, while Wilkerson was WSU's Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Senior Leon Eggleston was a First Team All-American (D2Football.com) and a Second Team All-American (AFCA) in 2019, along with receiving Wayne State's Defensive Most Valuable Player award. Eggleston was a First Team All-GLIAC selection, while Brandon Tuck-Hayden was voted to the All-GLIAC Second Team.

The Warrior special teams ranked fifth nationally in blocked punts (4) and seventh in blocked kicks (7), while the WSU defense was 13th in defensive touchdowns (4), 18th in sacks per game (3.0), 21st in third-down defense (30.6% - 44-of-144), and 23rd in red zone defense (69.2%). Wayne State led the GLIAC (for league games only) in sacks (29), while ranking third in scoring defense allowing just 21.9 points per contest.

Peterson came to WSU with 34 years of coaching experience at the professional, collegiate and high school levels. He made the trip down I-94 East to join the Warrior staff after spending the five previous seasons (2014-18) as the running backs coach at Eastern Michigan.

In 2018, his five-member contingent had 316 carries for 1,395 yards and 12 touchdowns with just one fumble lost.

The running game racked up 14 touchdowns and a total of 1,560 yards in 2017. Junior running back Ian Eriksen ran for a career-high 810 yards to go along with eight scores. Behind a rebuilt offensive line that gelled down the stretch, EMU racked up 815 yards on the ground with four 100-yard rushers during the final four games of the year.

EMU’s offense made a splash in 2016 en route to its first bowl appearance in 29 years, as the Eagles ranked 35th in the FBS in total offense at 455.2 yards per game. The team shattered the school record for total offense with 5,917 yards, breaking the previous record of 5,010. On the ground, Eriksen led the rushing attack with 771 yards on 184 carries and nine scores.

During the 2015 campaign, EMU finished the year with 39 touchdowns, a mark that tied for the fifth-most in a single-season during the squad’s 124-year history, while its 4,560 yards of total offense was also the fifth most. On the ground, EMU churned out the 14th-best single-season rushing total at 1,894 yards. Individually, Darius Jackson turned in one of the finest seasons in Eastern Michigan history in 2015, setting the school’s single-season record with 16 touchdowns. He also became the first EMU tailback since Bronson Hill in 2013 to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season and became the 13th player in program history to do so.

Prior to going to Ypsilanti, Peterson completed a three-year stretch (2011-13) as an assistant coach at Miami University, his alma mater. He served the final two seasons as the RedHawks’ defensive coordinator while also coaching the team’s linebackers.

Under his tutelage, six of Peterson’s defensive players earned All-MAC honors in his three seasons. That total includes three-time First Team All-MAC defensive back Dayonne Nunley, who finished this season with 88 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one interception and 13 pass break-ups.

Peterson joined the RedHawks after stops at Illinois State University (2009-10) and EMU (2004-08).

In his first season with the Redbirds, Peterson helped turn around a defensive unit that only totaled three interceptions and 11 quarterback sacks in 2008 and posted a turnover margin (-1.36) that ranked No. 115 nationally out of 118 FBS teams. The 2009 Redbird defense totaled 14 interceptions, the most for an ISU team since 2006 when the Redbirds picked off 17 passes, and recorded 25 sacks on the season.

In his first tour at EMU, he served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2004-08, while also holding the title of assistant head coach during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

In five seasons, the Eastern Michigan defense improved dramatically, from a high of 469.6 yards allowed per game in 2004 to a drop of almost 100 yards in 2006, at 388.3 yards per game.

Under Peterson’s guidance, EMU linebacker Daniel Holtzclaw was named to the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list and the 2008 Rotary Lombardi Award preliminary watch list. Holtzclaw was also named a freshman All-American in 2005 and a First Team All-MAC selection in 2007.

Prior to joining the Eastern Michigan staff, Peterson spent five years (1999-2003) at Big Ten Conference member Northwestern. While at Northwestern, Peterson served as the defensive line coach his last two seasons, after previously working with the Wildcat linebackers and special teams.

In 2001, Northwestern’s linebackers were rated among the best in the nation, with two players, Kevin Bentley and Billy Silva, both making the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list. He also coached Napoleon Harris, who was a first-round pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2002.

Prior to his Northwestern stint, Peterson was an assistant coach in charge of linebackers and helped with the special teams at Miami from 1991-98. During his career at Miami, Peterson coached several All-MAC linebackers, including two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year JoJuan Armour. Armour was named a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press. Another Peterson pupil, Dustin Cohen, was named Third Team All-America by The Football News, along with Armour.

He has also spent time coaching in the professional ranks, as he served three summers in the NFL Minority Coaching Internship program, serving various roles with the Indianapolis Colts (1995), Detroit Lions (1997) and Chicago Bears (2001). He was also an assistant football coach at three high schools in Ohio: Cadiz (1985-87), Cincinnati Anderson (1988-89) and Cincinnati Withrow (1990).

Peterson was a standout running back for the then-Redskins, where he earned four varsity letters from 1980-83 at Miami. His career total of 2,874 rushing yards ranks fifth on MU’s all-time career rushing list. He was a co-captain as a senior and a First Team All-MAC selection in 1982, a second team pick in 1983 and an honorable mention choice in 1981.

Peterson, who graduated from Miami University in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, and his wife, Freda, have a daughter, Jada.