Troy Rothenbuhler
Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks Coach
Troy Rothenbuhler joined the Youngstown State football program in February for new Head Coach Doug Phillips. Rothenbuhler will serve as the Penguins' Offensive Coordinator and coach the quarterbacks.
Rothenbuhler has extensive play-calling experience, previously serving as the offensive coordinator at Bowling Green, Findlay, Heidelberg and Ohio Northern.
Prior to joining the YSU staff, Rothenbuhler spent the 2019 campaign at Eastern Kentucky. As the tight ends coach, he helped the Colonels to a 7-5 record. His tight ends group helped EKU lead the conference and finish 20th in the country in rushing.
Rothenbuhler spent the 2018 season with the Arizona Cardinals in the National Football League working with the quarterbacks in a quality control position.
He spent six successful seasons (2011-17) as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Findlay.
In 2017, he helped UF advance to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in program history. During that season, Findlay was the only NCAA team to average 250-plus yards rushing and passing per game. That season, UF ranked sixth in the nation in scoring (44.5 ppg), third in total offense (515.5 ypg), third in third down conversion percentage (52.4) and fifth in time of possession (34:26). The Oilers had 41 rushing touchdowns and 31 passing for the year en route to posting a 10-3 record.
As the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio Northern University for two seasons (2009-10), Rothenbuhler helped the team reach the second round of the 2010 NCAA Division III playoffs. In 2010, the Polar Bears averaged 32.9 points and 383.7 yards a contest. ONU had 29 rushing touchdowns and 19 passing TDs for the season posting a 10-2 overall mark and an 8-1 record in the OAC. In 2009, ONU averaged 35.7 points a contest and 366.8 yards a game. The offensive unit had 28 rushing scores and 16 passing touchdowns.
From 2003-08, Rothenbuhler served in a variety of roles at Bowling Green, including two seasons as assistant head coach and one as co-offensive coordinator. During his time with the Falcons, he also coached wide receivers, tight ends and defensive ends. He also served as the recruiting coordinator from 2003-07. BGSU played in three bowl games during that time.
In 2003, the Falcons went 11-3 overall and won the MAC West with a 7-1 record. They earned a final ranking of No. 23 in the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll following a win in the Motor City Bowl over Northwestern. In 2004, BGSU won the GMAC Bowl defeating Memphis and finished with a 9-3 overall record. The 2007 Falcons appeared in the GMAC Bowl and went 8-5 on the campaign.
He spent the 2002 season as offensive coordinator at Heidelberg College.
His first full-time coaching role came at Arkansas State. During his five-year tenure at ASU (1997-2001), he coached both the tight ends and receivers.
Rothenbuhler was a graduate assistant for the Buckeyes in 1995 and 1996 where he worked with the quarterbacks and tight ends. From 1992-94, he was a student assistant at OSU, assisting with the team’s wide receivers. The Buckeyes made an appearance in three Citrus Bowl's, a Holiday Bowl and a Rose Bowl.
He earned a bachelor’s of science in mathematical sciences from Ohio State in 1995.
He and his wife Amy have two children, Maddy and Jake.
Josh Sinagoga
Wide Receivers Coach
Josh Sinagoga is in his first year with the Youngstown State football program and Head Coach Doug Phillips. Sinagoga will coach the Penguins’ wide receivers and serve as co-recruiting coordinator.
Sinagoga spent the 2019 season as an offensive quality control coach. The Bearcats posted an 11-3 overall mark that was capped with an impressive 38-6 victory over Boston College in the Birmingham Bowl. UC played in its first-ever American Athletic Conference Championship Game against Memphis. The Bearcats were 7-1 in conference play and had a nine-game winning streak during the season.
Prior to moving into his role at UC, he was an offensive graduate assistant coach with the Iowa football program in 2017 and 2018.
Iowa won six of its first seven games in 2018 and closed the season with wins in the final three games, including the 27-22 Outback Bowl win over No. 18 Mississippi State. The Hawkeyes won three of four trophy games for the third time in four seasons. The four losses came by a total of 23 points and all were decided in the final minutes of play. Iowa’s 5-4 Big Ten record earned a tie for second place in the West Division.
The Iowa offense in 2018 set a school record for most points scored in road games. The Hawkeyes averaged 31.2 in all games, the ninth highest single-season total in school history.
Sinagoga joined the Iowa staff from Central Michigan, where he was a graduate assistant coach who worked with the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers during his two seasons (2016-17). He was a quality control assistant at Central Michigan in 2015 and a graduate assistant coach at Northwood University in Midland, Mich., in 2014.
Sinagoga played quarterback at Northwood University, serving as team captain as a senior. He was voted a team leader for four years, was nominated to the 2013 Allstate Good Works Team, and earned conference All-Academic recognition for four years.
Sinagoga earned his bachelor’s degree in entertainment and sports promotion management from Northwood University in 2012, and his MBA from Central Michigan University in 2015.
John Peterson
Offensive Tackles/TEs
John Peterson is in his second year as a member of the Youngstown State coaching staff. Under first-year Head Coach Doug Phillips, Peterson will serve as the Penguins' Assistant Head Coach and work with the offensive tackles and tight ends.
Peterson has an impressive background which features nearly 30 years of coaching at the collegiate level.
In his first year at YSU in 2019, the unit had four players start all 12 games while another started the final 11 contests. Offensive tackles Devon Robinson and Dan Becker, center Matt Jones and guard Jacob Zinni started all 12 games while Myles Douglas was in the lineup for the final 11 games. The Penguins had a tremendously balanaced offense with 2,289 yards passing and 2,249 yards rushing for the campaign. For his efforts, Becker was named honorable-mention All-MVFC for the first time in his career.
As a unit, YSU had more than 377 yards of total offense and rushed for more than 173 yards on six occasions. The Penguins were also dominant with a time of possession of 32:13. YSU had a tremendously balanaced offense with 2,289 yards passing and 2,249 yards rushing for the campaign. Six players had at least three rushing touchdowns with the unit providing protection up front.
He has a vast coaching background, which includes spending seven seasons with former YSU Head Coach and current President Jim Tressel at Ohio State. He has strong Ohio ties with previous coaching stints at OSU, Akron, Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati.
Most recently he spent three seasons as the offensive line coach at Pittsburgh. The Panthers offensive line was one of the most consistent units of the team throughout his tenure with the program.
From 2015-17 he coached three NFL Draft Picks - Brian O’Neill (Minnesota), Dorian Johnson (Arizona Cardinals) and Adam Bisnowaty (New York Giants). Those three Panthers received four first-team All-ACC selections - O’Neill (2017), Bisnowaty (2015 and 2016), Johnson (2016).
O’Neill was drafted in the second round as the No. 62 overall pick in 2018. In 2017, Johnson was drafted in the fourth round as the 115th overall selection while Bisnowaty the No. 200 pick of the draft in round six. O’Neill became Pitt’s highest offensive line NFL Draft pick dating back to 2008.
Additionally, Alex Bookser (honorable mention in 2017 and 2016), Alex Officer (honorable mention in 2017), O’Neill (second team in 2016), Bisnowaty (second team in 2016 and 2015) and Johnson (second team in 2015) also received all-conference accolades in Peterson’s three seasons.
Peterson’s 2016 offensive front earned praise as one of the finest in school history. The acclaim was well desereved. The Panthers’ offensive line keyed an attack that produced a school-record 40.9 points per game, the 10th highest scoring average in the nation. The unit also provided air-tight pass protection, surrendering only 0.77 sacks per contest (10 total) to lead the ACC and rank third nationally. Their blocking paved the way for James Conner to rush for 1,092 yards and 16 touchdowns. Following the year he was drafted in the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Three members of Pitt’s offensive front were named All-ACC at season’s end: guard Dorian Johnson and tackles Adam Bisnowaty and Brian O’Neill. Moreover, Johnson became the first Pitt offensive lineman since 1994 to earn first-team All-America status.
Under Peterson’s influence, the Panthers were semifinalists in two of his seasons for the Joe Moore Award, which is presented to college football’s top offensive line and named after the legendary Pitt offensive line coach.
Prior to spending three years at Pitt, he served as the assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Akron under Terry Bowden in 2014.
Peterson had a highly successful eight-year tenure under Tressel at Ohio State (2004-11), when the Buckeyes won or shared six consecutive Big Ten titles. At OSU he was tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. Peterson would help the Buckeyes compile an eight-year record of 80-22 (.784) and make two appearances in the BCS Championship Game (2006 and 2007).
With Peterson overseeing the program’s recruiting efforts, Ohio State had seven classes rated among the nation’s top 15, including top 5 classes in 2008 and 2009. Peterson’s other coaching stop was at UAB for two seasons (2012-13). Under his watch, offensive tackle Chris Hubbard was a first-team All-Conference USA performer.
From 1999-2003, Peterson oversaw the offensive line at Miami of Ohio and was appointed the RedHawks’ run game coordinator in 2001. In 2003, led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the RedHawks stormed to a 13-1 record, capturing the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship and defeating nationally-ranked Louisville in the GMAC Bowl to finish No. 10 in the Associated Press poll. Peterson’s offensive line was a vital part of an offense that averaged 501 yards and 43 points per contest.
Peterson earned his first full-time coaching post at Akron as offensive line coach from 1995-98. His 1997 unit fueled the country’s No. 11 rushing attack and surrendered just 10 sacks.
He was an offensive lineman for the Buckeyes from 1987-90 where he was a teammate of Head Coach Bo Pelini. Peterson played under a pair of College Hall of Fame coaches at Ohio State in Earle Bruce and John Cooper. As a senior starting guard, he helped pave the way for 1,000-yard rusher Robert Smith.
Following his 1991 graduation, Peterson served in a pair of graduate assistantships at Cincinnati (1991-92) and Ohio State (1993-94). In returning to the Buckeyes, he had the opportunity to work with offensive tackle Orlando Pace, a two-time winner of the prestigious Lombardi Award who went on to a decorated 13-year career in the NFL. Pace was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
Peterson and his wife, Michelle, have two sons, Austin and Cole. Cole is an undergraduate assistant on the football staff.
Devon Spaldin
Running Backs Coach
Devon Spalding is in his first season as a member of the Youngstown State coaching staff. Spalding coaches the running backs for first-year Head Coach Doug Phillips.
Spalding was a graduate assistant at Cincinnati in 2019. The Bearcats posted an 11-3 overall mark that was capped with an impressive 38-6 victory over Boston College in the Birmingham Bowl. UC played in its first-ever American Athletic Conference Championship Game against Memphis. The Bearcats were 7-1 in conference play and had a nine-game winning streak during the season.
Prior to going to UC, Spalding was a running back/wide receiver at Central Michigan from 2014-18. His best campaign was in 2016 when he made 10 starts at running back rushing for 765 yards on 138 carries and six touchdowns.
In 2018, he played wide receiver appearing in 10 games and making five starts for the Chippewas. He caught 27 passes for 231 yards and earned CMUs Dustin Preston Leadership Award. For his career, he played in 41 games at CMU. He rushed for 1,457 yards on 307 carries and scored 13 touchdowns.
A native of Canton, Mich., he earned Division 1-2 All-State honors as a senior at John Glenn High School. As a two-year starter, he rushed for 1,761 yards on 190 carries and scored a school-record 27 touchdowns in 2013. He had the third-highest rushing game in Michigan history, running for 491 yards.
Austen Bujnoch
Assistant Coach - Offensive Line
Austen Bujnoch joined the Youngstown State coaching staff in March under new Head Coach Doug Phillips. Bujnoch will serve as the Penguins' offensive line coach.
He spent the 2019 season as the offensive line coach at Ohio Dominican. The Panthers posted a 7-3 record and played in the America’s Crossroads Bowl against Truman. ODU had a pair of offensive linemen named second-team All-G-MAC for their efforts. The Panthers averaged 30.3 points and 347.3 yards per contest during the campaign.
A standout offensive lineman at Cincinnati, Bujnoch was an offensive graduate assistant for the Bearcats from 2015-18. He was a member of Luke Fickell's staff that helped UC finish with 11 wins in 2018. The Bearcats ranked 15th in the country in rushing offense, 27th in scoring offense and 11th in third-down conversions in 2018.
At UC, he assisted the offensive staff in all facets of the program’s day-to-day operation, including practice planning and management, working with the defensive scout team, and assisting with the offensive line.
He coached four current NFL offensive linemen and coached under Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, amongst others, during his time at UC.
Bujnoch made 35 career starts at right guard for the Bearcats, including a streak of 32-consecutive starts from 2011-13.
As a senior, he was a 2012 First-Team All-BIG EAST Conference honoree and was an American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team honoree in 2013 and an Academic All-BIG EAST selection in 2011 and 2012.
Following his senior campaign, he was recognized as the John Pease Best Lineman at UC. Additionally, he grew his hair out and donated it to Locks of Love, a charity organization that makes wigs for patients with cancer and other hair disorders.
Following his graduation, he spent time in NFL camps with the New York Jets and St. Louis Rams.
Bujnoch, who starred at Elder High School in Cincinnati, has a bachelor’s degree in history from UC and earned his master’s degree in health education.
His father Glenn played in the NFL from 1976-84 with the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
