Football
- Title:
- Offensive Line
- Phone:
- 205-348-3600
Eric Wolford joined Alabama head coach Nick Saban's staff in January of 2022 to coach the Crimson Tide's offensive line and returns for his second year on staff in 2023.
Wolford's efforts across the Alabama offensive front were quickly evident as the Alabama offensive line opened holes for an additional 45.5 rushing yards per game and surrendered 20 fewer sacks than the season prior. Senior guard Emil Ekiyor Jr. earned first team All-SEC recognition while both Javion Cohen and Tyler Steen garnered second-team accolades. Tyler Booker was named a Freshman All-America honoree from 247Sports as well as SEC All-Freshman plaudits.
Wolford spent the 2021 season at Kentucky rebuilding a Wildcats' offensive front that lost three starters into a unit that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. The Wildcats averaged 5.23 yards per carry last year while 53.1 percent of their rush attempts went for four yards or more to lead the nation.
A highly regarded recruiter, he arrived in Tuscaloosa with 26 years of coaching experience, including two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers in 2015 and 2016. Prior to Kentucky, Wolford spend four seasons on Will Muschamp's staff at South Carolina.
In 2020 at South Carolina, Wolford's unit helped pave the way for running back Kevin Harris to lead the SEC in rushing with 1,138 yards, becoming just the ninth player in SC history to rush for over 1,000 yards. In 2019, the offensive line helped five different running backs rush for more than 100 yards in a game.
During his first year in Columbia in 2017, Carolina's number of sacks allowed dipped from 41 in 2016, the year prior to Wolford's arrival, to 29 in 2017 and to 23 in 2018, the fewest since the 2013 season. Even more impressive, in SEC play the sacks allowed number dropped from 31 in 2016, to 18 in 2017, to just 12 in 2018.
Off the field, Wolford was named a top-25 recruiter by Rivals.com once the signatures were in for the 2018 signing class.
Wolford spent five seasons (2010-14) in his hometown as the head coach at Youngstown State. After a 3-8 mark in his first season, the Penguins compiled a 28-18 mark over his final four campaigns. His teams were ranked in the top-10 three times and broke 32 school records during his tenure.
Highlights included a 2012 win over Pitt - the first win over a BCS team in school history - and a 2011 win over top-ranked North Dakota State, while overseeing the squad's highest GPA on record for four consecutive seasons.
Prior to his first head coaching job, Wolford served as South Carolina's run game coordinator and offensive line coach in 2009 under head coach Steve Spurrier after a two-year stint at Illinois where he held a similar post.
Under Wolford's tutelage, the Illini, who played in the 2008 Rose Bowl game, led the Big Ten in rushing (2007) and passing (2008), while topping the 5,000-yard mark in total offense for just the third and fourth times in school history. Wolford was a Rivals Top-20 National Recruiter in 2008.
Wolford spent three seasons (2004-06) at Arizona as the offensive line coach, where he was on the same staff as Mark Stoops. UA led the league in fewest sacks allowed in 2004 and was second in 2005. He was also an integral part of back-to-back top-25 recruiting classes.
Wolford spent the 2003 season at North Texas, where his offensive line paved the way for tailback Patrick Cobbs who earned the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year award. Wolford also helped lead UNT to its third consecutive bid in the New Orleans Bowl.
Before joining North Texas, Wolford enjoyed three-year stints at both Houston and South Florida. While at Houston, he coached a number of positions, spanning offense, defense and special teams, while coaching five all-conference players. He had the unique experience of coaching in the first three seasons of the USF football program, helping to lead the Bulls to a pair of winning seasons.
Wolford began his coaching career at his alma mater, Kansas State, where he worked as a graduate assistant with the offensive line under John Latina. He then spent two years as the offensive line and strength coach at Emporia State.
A four-year starter as an offensive guard at K-State under Bill Snyder, Wolford started 34 games in his career. During his senior year, the Wildcats won the school's first bowl game in the 1993 Copper Bowl. After college, Wolford signed a free-agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals before returning to Manhattan to embark on his coaching career.
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A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Wolford attended Ursuline High School where he was enshrined into the school's athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. He received his bachelor's degree in social sciences with a focus on monetary policy and banking from Kansas State in 1994. He and his wife, Melinda, have two children, Stone and Marlee.
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Eric and Melinda started a non-profit organization, inspired by their son, Stone, who was diagnosed with Cardiofaciocutaneous Syndrome (CFC Syndrome) as a baby. Their foundation is called the No Stone Unturned Foundation and is dedicated to embracing, engaging, and empowering children with special needs and their families, with a major focus on any child with any disability. For more information on the No Stone Unturned Foundation, visit the website NSUF.org.
