Asst. Coach Mario Verduzco

When UNI head coach Mark Farley went looking for a quarterbacks coach, he could not have landed a better technician than Mario Verduzco.

Verduzco spent five years (1996-2000) working with the signal callers and as recruiting coordinator at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J., the last season as head quarterbacks coach. During his tenure at Rutgers, he developed what has been described as one of the best Quarterback Schools in the country, when young players from around the country spent four days learning the skills, both mentally and physically, of quarterbacking.

His prize pupil, Rutgers quarterback Mike McMahon, quarterbacked the Detroit Lions and is a former Quarterback School participant. In total, he has coached four quarterbacks who have gone on to play in the NFL. Added to the list is UNI's Tom Petrie, who signed a free agent contract with the Washington Redskins in April 2005.

Verduzco himself learned the trade from the best, working under head coach Terry Shea at San Jose State and at Rutgers. Shea has moved on to coach in the NFL.

Prior to being named at Rutgers, Verduzco was associate head coach, Offensive Coordinator, and quarterbacks and receivers coach at De Anza College in Cupertino, Calif., beginning in 1991, moving up to head coach from 1994-95. While coaching at De Anza, he spent time with arguably one of the best NFL coaches in history as both Bill Walsh and his mentor, Shea, conducted a private NFL quarterback camp at De Anza.

Verduzco began his coaching career at Soquel High School in 1977 before moving on to Gavilan College as Offensive Coordinator and quarterbacks and receivers coach in 1987. From 1990-91, he served as graduate coach at San Jose State before moving on to De Anza.

The cousin of former Illinois and British Columbia record-setting quarterback Jason Verduzco and uncle of former Yale quarterback Bobby Verduzco, he graduated from San Jose State in 1988 with a degree in Human Performance. He received his master's in Biomechanics and Exercise Physiology from SJSU in 1990. That's when he authored the book "Quarterbacks Born or Made? The Biomechanics of the quarterback position: An integrative approach."

Upon his appointment at UNI, Verduzco said, "I think (the Panther quarterbacks) have enjoyed having me come in. I don't know a lot of things, but I know three things - there is a God, I'm not God, and the best thing there is in the world is coaching quarterbacks."

Farley said, "Mario coaches quarterbacks like I coach linebackers. He's real detailed. He's in-depth about angles."

Verduzco's tutelage paid off big time in 2001. UNI true freshman quarterback Petrie was named the Gateway Conference's Freshman of the Year and to the league's All-Newcomer Team. He passed for over 2,300 yards in 2003 and was ranked No. 23 in the nation in efficiency. His 18 touchdowns with just seven interceptions helped UNI finish first in the Gateway in turnover margin. After Petrie sustained a season-ending injury in the team's fourth game of the year last season, redshirt freshman Eric Sanders took over the role and was named the league's Freshman of the Year when it all was over. He completed 95-of-150 passes for 1,307 yards, setting a school freshman record, and seven TDs.

Under the assistance of Verduzco, Sanders developed into one of the nation's best FCS quarterbacks. Sanders finished his Panther career ranked No. 1 all-time amongst FCS quarterbacks with a 69.59 percent completion percentage. Sanders completed his Panthers' career as the school's all-time leader in pass completions (714) and total offense yards (9,579). Sanders finished second in the 2007 Walter Payton Award balloting.

Verduzco was born on May 23 in Pittsburg, Calif. His wife's name is Cate and the couple has a 13-year-old son, Charles.

The Verduzco File

Coaching Experience