Nick Benedetto - Defensive Coordinator - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Nick Benedetto

Title:
Defensive Coordinator
Phone:
559-278-3015

THE BENEDETTO FILE

PERSONAL INFORMATION
Hometown: Crystal Lake, Ill.
High School: Crystal Lake South High School
Family
- Wife: Kelsey
- Children: Rocco, Ace, Amara

EDUCATION
University of Sioux Falls
- Bachelors in Mathematics (2009)
South Dakota
- Masters in Sports Management (2011)

COACHING HISTORY
Northern Illinois
2022-24: Defensive coordinator/Safeties
Samford University
2020-22: Defensive coordinator
University of Sioux Falls
2017-19: Defensive coordinator
West Virginia State
2013-16: Defensive coordinator/defensive backs/
recruiting coordinator
Grand View University
2012: Special teams coordinator/defensive backs
University of South Dakota
2010-11: Graduate Assistant

PLAYING EXPERIENCE
University of Sioux Falls
Defensive back
2005-08

2008 NAIA National Champions
team captain

Nick Benedetto was hired as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator on December 28, 2024. Benedetto will also coach the safeties at Fresno State.

Benedetto joins the staff from Northern Illinois where he was the Huskies' defensive coordinator and safeties coach for the past three seasons. The 2024 season for NIU saw the only FBS team in the country to not allow 400 yards of offense in a game to its opponent. NIU's defense also did not allow a 100-yard rusher all season, and only allowed two players to get above 90 yards. Benedetto was twice named Defensive Coordinator of the Week by On3Sports in 2024.

Under his leadership of the defense, NIU held 21 of its last 26 opponents to 25 points or less, including 12 of its last 13 with Fresno State being one in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

NIU's defense finished the 2024 regular season ranked in the Top 30 in the FBS in third down conversion percentage defense, passing defense, total defense, first down defense, scoring defense, team passing efficiency defense, sacks, rushing defense and red zone conversion percentage defense.

Benedetto earned the Graphite Award for the Mid-American Conference Defensive Play Caller of the Year in 2024. Benedetto had the nation's highest play call efficiency rating at 87.52 percent while at Northern Illinois. The NIU defense ranked fourth in the FBS in total defense. The Graphite Award recognizes the most efficient offensive and defensive play callers in each Division I college football conference.

When Benedetto arrived at NIU, he inherited and turned around a defense that ranked no higher than No. 84 in the FBS in the above categories. In his first season as defensive coordinator, NIU almost doubled its turnovers forced from 2021 with 20 in 12 games in 2022. The Huskies went from a -6 turnover margin in 2021 to a +4.

NIU's defense held its opponents to an average fewer than 288 yards of total offense for the first time since 1972.

Prior to his time at NIU, Benedetto spent two seasons at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., where he served as defensive coordinator in 2020 and 2021, overseeing a defense that improved in nine of 12 statistical categories in his first season.

At Samford, Benedetto's 2020 defense saw improvement in nine of 12 defensive categories and ranked first in the league in turnovers and opponents' third down percentage, as well as third in quarterback sacks. During his tenure at Samford, five defensive players earned All Southern Conference honors and one – safety Chris Edmonds – was named a first team All-American.

Prior to his time in Birmingham, Benedetto spent three seasons (2017-19) as the defensive coordinator at Sioux Falls, his alma mater, which went 24-11 during that time. His 2019 defense ranked fourth nationally in total defense while the Cougars' 2017 defense was second in the nation. During his three seasons as defensive coordinator, opponents averaged just 15.6 points per game.

During his time as defensive coordinator at the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) for three seasons, the Cougars ranked in the Top 15 in eight NCAA Division II defensive statistical categories and twice advanced to the playoffs.

He recruited and coached Arizona Cardinals linebacker Dennis Gardeck and saw two players earn All-America honors while 25 were named to the all-conference team.

A native of Crystal Lake, Illinois, Benedetto spent the 2013-16 seasons as defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator at NCAA Division II West Virginia State University. The defense made improvements across the board throughout his tenure and the team finished the 2015 season with its best record in seven years. In 2015, Benedetto was named one of the "Top 30 under 30" coaches in the country by the American Football Coaches Association and the NCAA. He was one of two Division II coaches named to the list.

He began his coaching career at the University of South Dakota during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, where he worked with the safeties as a graduate assistant and spent the 2012 season as defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator at Grand View University prior to going to WVSU.

A standout defensive back who went to Sioux Falls after graduating from Crystal Lake South High School, Benedetto captained the 2008 National Champion team and was an all-conference in 2008 and 2007, when the Cougars were 13-1, losing only in the title game. The Cougars won 52-of-55 games during his playing career. Benedetto was coached by former Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer while at Sioux Falls.

He graduated from Sioux Falls in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and earned a master's degree in sports management from South Dakota in 2011. Benedetto and his wife, Kelsey, have two sons, Rocco and Ace, and a daughter, Amara.