Great Expectations: Treadwell to make Red Birds Soar
Miami Ohio hired one of their former players and captains in late December of last year. Head Coach Don Treadwell is expected to do great things from his very first year. The athletic director says that Mr. Treadwell “is a man of integrity, enthusiasm, passion, intellect, competitiveness, loyalty, love and honor” which is exactly what Miami needs to elevate their game. Coach Treadwell has been the offensive coordinator for the Big Ten’s Michigan State the last four years. This experience on a big time stage should help him be successful out of the gate at Miami.
Miami Ohio already is loaded in their aerial assault department but should be much improved this year in big part because of Coach Treadwell. As the wide receivers coach at Michigan State, he helped a team go from the murky waters of being in the middle of the Big Ten to being a prominent force and tying for a Big Ten title. Perhaps the most excited player about the hire of coach Treadwell is rising star Nick Harwell. Harwell exploded last year, reeling in 64 balls totaling 871 yards. He also crossed the plane for six touchdowns. This year the offense is expected to be run through him and he is looking to have a breakout year. Coach Treadwell is a wide receiver guru and will improve the play of all the Red Hawks receivers, but Harwell will likely benefit the most.
Expectations are extremely high for a first year coach. Anything less than a share of the conference title will be widely considered a down year. Miami posted a 10-4 record last year and is expected to be better this season. Coach Treadwell immediately finds himself in a difficult situation amidst all the pressure to succeed. Miami Ohio does not have a starting quarterback. This competition is a good thing for Red Hawk fans however. It is not that the starting quarterback struggled last season leaving Miami searching for other options. It is quite the opposite. Both quarterbacks have proven that they can lead the team to the most important stat in football…wins. Last year starter, Zac Dysert went down with an injury. His backup, Austin Boucher filled in for the remainder of the season and had tremendous success. In fact he guided the Red Hawks to a victory in the GoDaddy.com bowl. Now that Dysert has recovered from injury, it is an open battle between two very talented signal callers. Red Hawk fans have no need to panic; the winner of this battle will have a great season.
It is not often that newly hired coaches are expected to immediately produce ten win seasons, bowl appearances and conference titles, but that is exactly what Head Coach Don Treadwell finds himself in. Of course that is not a bad situation to be in, as it means you have a lot of talent to work with. The Red Hawks will look to soar in 2011 under Coach Treadwell, and given his track record, as an assistant there is no reason to believe that they will not.
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