Former Ashland University quarterback Taylor Housewright is returning to AU’s football program in 2016 to work on the coaching staff as a graduate assistant and wide receivers coach.

Housewright was a three-year starter for AU and finished fifth in the Harlon Hill Trophy (NCAA Division II Player of the Year) voting during his senior campaign.

He was also a first-team American Football Coaches Association All-American and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

After graduating in 2012, he coached for two years (2013-14) at Miami (Ohio), where he was a graduate assistant and coached quarterbacks and defensive backs.

He also coached wide receivers for one year at Wittenberg (2015).

He quickly learned at Miami that coaching requires a lot of time and dedication.

“It’s a lot of work,” said Housewright. “I think you always want to get into coaching, but don’t really realize how much work it is. Once you accept it and understand how detailed things need to be, I think you learn a little bit from everybody.”

Miami and Wittenberg each taught him different things about what it takes to coach football.

“At Miami I learned a ton about recruiting, being detailed, no wasted reps at practice, and how important that stuff is and how it carries over in competing,” said Housewright. “At Wittenberg, I learned the toughness of football. The mindset that guys have to have to be prepared to play.”

The Eagles return a core group of receivers in 2016, and Housewright feels that his playing experience as a quarterback and his defensive coaching experience at Miami will help the receivers see the game from a wider view.

“I think I can give them (receivers) a different perspective,” said Housewright. “I can have a better feel for the overall offense and what’s going on on defense. I worked on defense at Miami for about a year and a half when I was there, and I feel like I can give them a different perspective from what they’ve heard. I’ve been around good receivers. I think giving a little bit of that quarterback mindset to them will help them become overall better players.”

He is also excited about getting to work under his former coach Lee Owens.

“I think it will be neat (to coach under Owens),” said Housewright. “Obviously it’s different when you’re a coach. Now I work under him. So what he says goes. When you are under him as a player, he is trying to make you the best player you can be. So I’ll see a different side of him than I would as a player. I think I’ll learn more. Why he’s doing things. How he started the program from where it was to now. That’s what I am more interested in. The day-to-day operational things.”

The ultimate goal for him is to one day become a head coach.

“I want to be a head coach eventually,” said Housewright. “I think it just depends on opportunity and where I am at that time.”