• Mike Ekeler is in his second season as Indiana's co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. • Middle linebacker Jeff Thomas received honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition as he led the team with 80 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss in 2011. • Spent 2008-10 as linebackers coach at the University of Nebraska. Middle linebacker Lavonte David was 11th in the country with 152 tackles in 2010, which set a school record, and 11th in the nation with 85 solo stops. • David was the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year, runner-up for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Big 12 selection, a first team CBSSports.com and Rivals.com All-America honoree, and a second team Associated Press and SI.com All-America member. • In 2009, Phillip Dillard earned second team All-Big 12 accolades and both Will Compton and Sean Fisher collected All-Big 12 freshman team honors. Dillard was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. • Cody Glenn moved from running back to linebacker as a senior and was drafted in the fourth round by the Washington Redskins. • Served as an intern for the Louisiana State University football program in 2007, helping the Tigers win the SEC and national titles. He spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons as a graduate assistant coach, working with the Tigers defense. • The Tigers were a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, winning the 2005 Peach Bowl, the 2006 Sugar Bowl and the 2007 BCS National Championship Game. LSU closed the 2007 season 12-2 after posting records of 11-2 in each of the previous two seasons. • In each season assisting the defense, LSU finished third nationally in total defense. Tiger defenders Glenn Dorsey and LaRon Landry each earned first team All-America honors in 2006. • LSU finished in the top 10 nationally in 2005 in all four major defensive categories and allowed less than 270 total yards per contest. A pair of Tiger defensive tackles - Kyle Williams and Claude Wroten - each earned first team All-America accolades. • At LSU, linebackers Jacob Cutrera (Jacksonville), Perry Riley (Washington), Kelvin Sheppard (Buffalo), Ali Highsmith (Arizona) and Cameron Vaughn (Denver) moved on to the NFL. • Spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons as a defensive graduate assistant at the University of Oklahoma. The Sooners participated in the 2003 and 2004 national championship games and posted a combined record of 24-3. • A four-year letterman at Kansas State University, Ekeler was a linebacker and special teams standout for head coach Bill Snyder's teams, including the 1993 Copper Bowl and the 1994 Aloha Bowl squads. • Snyder appointed Ekeler as a captain in 1994, the only self-appointed captain during Snyder's tenure as Wildcats head coach. • Earned academic all-conference honors and graduated from Kansas State in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in social science. • Mike and his wife, Barbie, have one son, J.J. (11) and three daughters, Cameryn (10), Abigail (8) and Bella (4). |
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