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University of Minnesota Athletics
PETERSEN NAMED QUARTERBACKS COACH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
2/22/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
A 1988 graduate of Marshall University where he charted a record-setting career of his own at quarterback for the Thundering Herd, the 32-year-old Petersen comes to the U of M after eight successful seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater where he helped develop one of the nation's most explosive offensive attacks.
Petersen, who served as the offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach in 1998 when Marshall captured its second straight Mid-American Conference title and defeated Louisville in the Motor City Bowl, coached some of the greatest players in Marshall football history. He was the Thundering Herd's quarterbacks coach for five seasons (1993-95, 1997-98) and his signal-callers collected first-team all-league honors four times. Headlining the list is current Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington, who prospered under Petersen's careful tutelage. Pennington, who earned first-team all-MAC honors in both 1997 and 1998, was a finalist in 1998 for the Davy O'Brien Award, which annually honors the finest quarterback in college football.
"Tony's track record at Marshall speaks for itself," Mason said. "He is an outstanding football coach who will be a fine addition to our staff."
"It was a difficult decision for me to leave Marshall because the school and the entire community have meant so much to me through the years," Petersen said. "But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to join Coach Mason's staff at Minnesota and coach in the Big Ten Conference. Coach Mason really has the Golden Gopher program heading in the right direction and I'm looking forward to being a part of that success."
Petersen's potent Marshall offense finished the 1998 season ranked 21st in the nation in total offense with an average of 434.3 yards per game and 16th in the country in passing offense with an average of 292 yards per game through the air. Pennington ranked 16th in the nation last fall with a sterling quarterback rating of 146.2. With Minnesota Vikings star receiver Randy Moss as his favorite target in 1997, Pennington broke the NCAA record for touchdown passes by a sophomore with 39 and set a Mid-American Conference record with 3,480 yards passing.
Prior to one season (1996) where he was Marshall's tight ends coach, Petersen also coached Pennington to Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 1995. Before that, he coached quarterback Todd Donnan to first-team all-Southern Conference honors in both 1993 and 1994. Donnan was also named Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 1994.
In 1992 Petersen handled Marshall's receivers where he worked with Troy Brown, now a member of the NFL's New England Patriots. Petersen, who began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kentucky in 1990, coached Marshall's running backs in 1991 where he worked with record-setting running back Orlando Hatchett.
During Petersen's eight-year tenure as an assistant coach at Marshall, the Thundering Herd made eight straight postseason appearances. Marshall captured NCAA Division I-AA national titles in 1992 and 1996, and finished second in 1991, 1993 and 1995. The Thundering Herd moved up to Division I-A in 1997 where they won back-to-back MAC crowns before playing in both the 1997 and 1998 Motor City Bowls.
A college teammate of current University of Minnesota defensive ends coach Mark Snyder, Petersen was named the 1988 Southern Conference Athlete of the Year and the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 1987, when Marshall dropped a heartbreaking 43-42 decision to Northeast Louisiana in the NCAA Division I- AA title game.
A free agent signee of the Vikings in 1989, Petersen holds 16 Southern Conference single-season and career records in passing and total offense, to go along with six Marshall single-season school marks. That includes a record 35 touchdown passes in 1987. His NCAA records for most passes in a game without an interception (68) and for most regular season games (11) with over 200 yards passing still stand today. Drafted out of high school by the Kansas City Royals, Petersen also played three seasons for the Thundering Herd baseball program. He went to Marshall after a stellar career at Delta Community College in Stockton, Calif.
A native of Lodi, Calif., Petersen earned his master's degree in athletic administration from Marshall in 1995. His grandfather, Ike Petersen, played for the NFL's Detroit Lions. Tony has one son, Andy, 5.
