Cornell University Football

Dan Swanstrom is The Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football. He spent five seasons as head coach at Ithaca College, compiling a 32-11 record and winning at least eight games in all four seasons, with three Liberty League titles. Prior to that, he served as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania (2014-16), where he was part of 2015 and 2016 Ivy League championship teams and mentored Alek Torgersen to All-Ivy honors and an NFL career. He returned to Penn as offensive coordinator (2022-23), helping the Quakers improve significantly in total offense. From 2008-13, Swanstrom was associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins, helping the team to five conference titles and compiling a 48-10 record while breaking nearly every offensive team record. He began his coaching career at Stratford High School in Texas, mentoring future NFL No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Luck, then served as a graduate assistant at the University of Redlands. As a player, Swanstrom was a quarterback at Rhodes College, finishing as the Lynx's all-time leader in career total offense (8,347 yards) and was a Gagliardi Award finalist as a senior. He was inducted into Rhodes College's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019 and later played professionally in the German Football League with the Darmstadt Diamonds.

Alex Peffley, who has spent time at both Florida A&M and Ithaca College as well internships in the AFL and NFL, joined the Cornell football coaching staff as a defensive intern in 2017, became the assistant to the head coach in 2018 and transitioned into the director of football operations in 2019. In 2024, Peffley was promoted to Senior Director of Player Personnel. Peffley was a graduate assistant coach at Florida A&M, serving as defensive quality control and assistant defensive backs coach. He coached three all-league defensive backs, including first-team selection Jacques Bryant. The Rattlers ranked fifth in the FCS in pass defense, sixth in takeaways, eighth in fumble recoveries, 19th in red zone defense and 22nd in interceptions. He previously spent two years as a volunteer assistant on the offensive side at Ithaca College, coordinating offensive quality control and assisting with the offensive line, tight ends, running backs, fullbacks and wide receivers. The Bombers won a pair of Empire 8 championships and appeared in the Division III playoffs both seasons. A 2013 graduate of Saint Vincent College with a degree in marketing, Peffley was a four-year member of the football team. He received the 2012 Saint Vincent Football Bearcat Coaches Award and was a two-time academic honor roll selection. He later earned a master's in sport management from Cortland in 2015.

Andrew Dees Title Assistant Coach/Tight Ends Coach Email ad825@cornell.edu Recruiting Areas New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New England Prep Schools Twitter @CoachAnDees

Franklin came to the Big Red in January 2024. He joins the Big Red as cornerbacks coach after four seasons in the same role at the University of Pennsylvania. This past season, Franklin's cornerbacks helped Penn's defense finish in the top half of the FCS in several categories, including total defense (304 yards per game, 13th), passing efficiency (115.9, 19th) and scoring defense (21.7 points per game, 26th). Two of Penn's defensive backs -- Shiloh Means and Kendren Smith -- earned All-Ivy League honors. Means finished tied for third in the league with three interceptions, and Smith led Penn with 58 passes defended. In 2022, Franklin spent time working with the Baltimore Ravens during their preseason training camp as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. Before his stint at Penn, Franklin spent two seasons as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Washington & Lee University. The Generals were first in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in scoring defense and second in rushing defense and total defense in 2018. Franklin spent the 2017 season coaching wide receivers at Johns Hopkins University. Two of his receivers were first-team All-Centennial Conference selections that year. Franklin began his coaching career as a varsity and junior varsity assistant at Archbishop Curley High School (2013-15). He entered the collegiate ranks in 2015 as a graduate assistant/video coordinator at Wagner College. Franklin was a four-year letter winner at the Unive

Dittman joins the Cornell coaching staff after spending the last eight seasons at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He held a variety of roles, including special teams coordinator/defensive backs coach (2016-17), recruiting coordinator (2018-2023) and defensive coordinator (2018-2023). From Pleasantville, N.Y., Dittman spent four seasons at the University of Albany as the special teams coordinator and director of football operations. Dittman began his coaching career at St. Lawrence University before taking his first stint at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as special teams coordinator/defensive line coach/run game coordinator. Dittman played collegiately at Hartwick College.

Julien Deumaga joined the Cornell football staff in April of 2024 as Football Operations and Content Coordinator. Deumaga has worked in various avenues within sports, but most often in the creative content sector. He most recently assisted the Cornell Athletics Communications Department in content capture and generation, including supplying video of the 2024 NCAA Wrestling National Championships, where the Big Red finished second. Before joining the athletics side of Cornell, he assisted the university's School of Human Ecology by capturing events, b-roll, and interviews for the school's website and social media pages. Deumaga spent the summer between his senior season and grad year working with the Cortland Crush as a Creative Content/Social Media Manager, creating content for the team's social pages. He also has experience in events, assisting the Ithaca College staff in the off-season during his undergrad. Deumaga played his collegiate years at Ithaca College as a wide receiver. A three-time Liberty League All-Academic Team honoree, Deumaga totaled 47 receptions in his career, totaling 656 yards and eight touchdowns. The Gloversville, N.Y. native was known for trick plays during his final season, completing three passes in the 2023 season, each for a touchdown, including a career-long 37-yard pass against Buffalo State. In the 2022 season, he made his SportsCenter Top-10 debut with a touchdown against Cortland in the Cortaca Jug game at Yankee Stadium.

Hatcher coached under Cornell head coach Dan Swanstrom at Ithaca College, where he held several roles on the Bombers' staff, including wide receivers coach (2020-2022), associate head coach (2022-23), and offensive coordinator (2023). He served as Ithaca's interim head coach for six weeks in 2022 after Swanstrom left for Penn. Hatcher helped the Bombers win three Liberty League titles and reach the NCAA Division III playoffs twice (2022 and 2023). His offense in 2023 averaged 352.8 yards and 25.5 points per game. Running back Jalen Leonard-Osbourne was named Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year. From 2012-20, Hatcher served as Misericordia University's offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. His quarterback in 2018 -- Brady Williams -- threw for nearly 2,000 yards with 18 touchdowns and rushed for 13 scores en route to being named MAC Offensive Player of the Year. Hatcher began his coaching career at Ithaca College in 2007 as a graduate assistant. He was the Bombers' wide receivers coach/assistant quarterbacks coach from 2008-09 and offensive line coach from 2010-12. Hatcher played wide receiver at Rhodes College from 2003-07. He was a three-time Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference all-star.

Toerper arrives on East Hill after compiling a 35-10 record (23-2 Liberty League) during his four-year tenure with the Bombers as head coach, leading Ithaca to back-to-back Liberty League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. He guided one of the nation's elite defensive programs, producing consistent top-tier results. The Bombers allowed just 14.9 points per game in 2025 and ranked among the top 50 nationally in rushing defense and total defense. Toerper's 2022 season was historic, as Ithaca finished 12-1 and reached the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals. The Bombers posted their first undefeated regular season since 1986 and defeated Cortland before a crowd of 40,232 at Yankee Stadium in the Cortaca Jug. Toerper earned AFCA Region 1 Coach of the Year, D3football.com Region 2 Coach of the Year and Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors. In 2023, Ithaca repeated as Liberty League champions with a 6-0 conference record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship. Prior to becoming head coach, Toerper served as Ithaca's defensive coordinator from 2017-19, developing three All-Americans. Toerper spent the 2020-21 seasons as safeties coach at Holy Cross, helping build one of the top defenses in the Football Championship Subdivision. Toerper spent seven years at Johns Hopkins (2010-16), serving as wide receivers coach and later as special teams coordinator, defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator. The Blue Jays won Centennial Conference cham

Satyen Bhakta Title Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Email sb993@cornell.edu Recruiting Areas Texas, Colorado, Arizona Twitter @CoachSatBhakta

Reeder comes to Cornell after spending the 2023 season as the tight ends coach at Penn. He spent six years coaching at Ithaca College as the Bombers' offensive line coach (2017-2021) and offensive coordinator (2022). Under Reeder's direction in 2022, Ithaca's offense averaged 37 points and almost 200 yards per game. Quarterback A.J. Wingfield won Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy. Reeder coached 27 first- or second-team All-Liberty League selections over his six seasons at Ithaca College. As an offensive line coach, he coached two-time Division III All-American Jake Villanueva. His unit in 2019 paved the way for an offense averaging 37.6 points and 447.8 yards per game. Before Ithaca, Reeder spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Wayne State College and one season at California Lutheran University as tight ends coach, beginning his coaching career at Agoura High School. Reeder was an offensive lineman at Johns Hopkins University from 2009-2012. The California native won two state championships at Saint Bonaventure High School.

Ursin, who's held coaching positions across various levels of football, joined the Cornell staff in January 2024 as running backs coach. Ursin has ties with Cornell head coach Dan Swanstrom that go back to Swanstrom's playing days at Rhodes College. Ursin coached in a multitude of roles there, including special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach during the 2005 season when Swanstrom was named a Gagliardi finalist. He also served as the team's strength and conditioning coach. Ursin played at Rhodes College and landed his first coaching opportunity with the program in 1997 as defensive line coach. He then made stops at Munford High School (Tennessee) and Kirby High School (Tennessee). After his second stint at Rhodes College, Ursin coached at Holmes Community College (Mississippi), LaGrange College (Georgia) and Jesuit High School (Louisiana). He has extensive experience assisting with special teams.