Cornell College Football Camps
Coaching Staff

Josh Rife
Assistant Coach - Running Backs (4th Season)

Rife, a 1996 graduate of Mount Vernon High School, begins his fourth season on Cornell's football staff. He is the running backs coach in 2011 after coaching the offensive line for three years.

Rife was an all-district football performer at Mount Vernon and helped lead the Mustangs to Class 3A state football championships in 1993 and 1994. He was a four-year football letterwinner and three-year starter at St. Olaf College and earned all-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference recognition in football and track.

Rife, a National Merit Scholar, received a bachelor's degree in political science from St. Olaf in 2001. He has held previous positions at Mount Vernon as assistant football coach and assistant girls track and field coach.

Don Dicus
Assistant Coach - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (3rd season)

Dicus, a 1985 Cornell graduate, begins his third season on the Rams' staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Dicus coached and taught for 23 years at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was head coach at Cardinal Newman from 2004-08, guiding the Crusaders to three playoff appearances, one district championship and two district runner-up finishes. Dicus served as the school's defensive coordinator for 18 years prior to taking the head post in 2004.

During his tenure at Cardinal Newman, he coached 29 all-staters, 20 NCAA Division I players and three All-Americans. Eleven of his graduates currently play college football.

Dicus was an assistant baseball coach at Cardinal Newman for 16 years and held the title as Dean of Student five years. He also was head of the physical education department.

Dicus returns to his alma mater after a successful playing career with the Rams from 1981-85. A member of Cornell's All-Century Team, Dicus was a four-year football letterwinner and earned first team all-conference honors at defensive end in his junior and senior seasons. As a senior co-captain in 1984, he helped lead the 8-2 Rams to the Midwest Conference championship.

Dicus earned a bachelor's degree in education in May 1985. He also played baseball two years at Cornell.

Dicus and his wife, Tonya, have two daughters, Taylor, 18, and Delaney, 13. Taylor is a freshman at Cornell competing in volleyball and basketball.

Jay Davis
Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs (2nd Season)

Davis, who served 17 years as a former player and assistant under head coach Vince Brautigam, rejoined his running mate in 2010 and enters his second season as Cornell's defensive coordinator while also coaching the defensive backs.

Davis played for Brautigam at NAIA's Mount Senario College in Ladysmith, Wis., and then coached with him for 14 total years at Mount Senario and the University of Dubuque.

Davis, a native of New Auburn, Wis., spent the 2009 season at NCAA Division III Morrisville State (N.Y.) College, where he was defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.

Davis returns to the Iowa Conference after a successful eight-year run at Dubuque under Brautigam from 2001-08. He was assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator and coached defensive backs during his stay in Dubuque. Davis helped guide the Spartans to their first winning season in 19 years in 2006, followed by a 7-3 mark in 2007.

At Dubuque, Davis coached the nation's leading tackler in 2006 and was responsible for recruiting 16 of the program's 33 all-conference selections in eight seasons. The Spartans also landed their first Aztec Bowl selection under Davis' guidance.

Davis played for and coached with Brautigam at NAIA's Mount Senario in Ladysmith, Wis. He played three seasons for Mount Senario (1993-95), where he was a three-time Upper Midwest Athletic Conference performer and a two-time Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-American linebacker. Davis led the team in tackles all three years and played a key role in three consecutive UMAC championships.

Upon completion of his playing career, Davis stayed at Mount Senario and worked on Brautigam's coaching staff from 1995-2000. He was recruiting coordinator and had stints coaching defensive backs, linebackers and running backs. The Fighting Saints won five UMAC championships in Davis' six seasons there. Davis coached a first team all-America running back who led the NAIA in rushing two consecutive years.

Davis earned bachelor's degrees in 1995 from Mount Senario in history and business administration. He picked up his master's in business administration from Dubuque in 2005.

Aaron Brant
Assistant Coach - Offensive Line (2nd Season)

Brant, a former standout offensive lineman at Iowa State University and 2007 draft pick of the Chicago Bears, begins his second season on Cornell's staff in 2011 and will coach the offensive line.

Brant, a native of Kieler, Wis., was a four-year starter and three-time all-Big 12 selection at Iowa State. He played in all 48 games - including 46 starts - during his career with the Cyclones from 2003-06. Brant started at right guard his true freshman season before shifting to right tackle his final three years. He was twice voted the Cyclones' Lineman of the Year. Iowa State won the 2004 Independence Bowl during Brant's sophomore season, and the following year appeared in the Houston Bowl.

Brant was a starter in the annual North-South All-Star game recognizing the nation's top collegiate seniors. He was then picked in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, although his professional career was cut short due to knee injuries.

Brant earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Iowa State in December 2007. He received a master's in business administration from the University of Dubuque in May 2010. At Dubuque, Brant was a graduate assistant - coaching the offensive line and running backs - under head coach Vince Brautigam during the 2008 season.

Brant, a 2003 graduate of Dubuque Wahlert High School, was named Iowa's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2002. A three-year starter at Wahlert, Brant was a two-year all-conference selection and an elite all-state performer his senior season, after which he was invited to play in the Iowa Shrine Bowl.

Brant also excelled in track and field at Wahlert, where he still holds the school record in the discus. He was a state placewinner in the discus and shot put. Brant was a Drake Relays placewinner in the discus.

Stacy Griffis
Assistant Coach - Wide Receivers/Tight Ends (2nd Season)

Griffis, the offensive coordinator at Wilton High School from 2006-09, begins his second season on Cornell's staff as wide receivers and tight ends coach.

Griffis was a varsity assistant the past five years at Wilton, where he played a hand in four consecutive state playoff appearances (2005-08) and three district championships. Wilton went through the 2005 regular season undefeated in Griffis' first year as special teams coordinator.

Griffis was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2006 and helped the Beavers set multiple school passing and rushing records over the next four seasons. He coached three all-state offensive players, all of which participated in Iowa's annual Senior Shrine Bowl.

Griffis is a native of Denver, Colo., and a 1991 graduate of Iowa City High School. He is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Phoenix.

Griffis and his wife, Melissa, reside in Wilton with their son Blayze, 12, and daughter Haley, 9.

Adam Burken
Assistant Coach - Strength & Conditioning/Tight Ends (1st Season)

Burken, who has served as Cornell College's head strength and conditioning coach since October 2010, is in his first season on the Rams' football staff as tight ends coach.

Burken is a 2009 graduate of the University of Dubuque. He was a four-year football letterwinner and two-time all-conference tight end for the Spartans. Burken played all four seasons for Vince Brautigam, now head football coach at Cornell.

Burken was on Dubuque's sports medicine staff for two years. He earned a bachelor's degree in science and is pursuing his master's.

Burken served as a personal trainer for Quad Cities Acceleration during the past year. He worked with multiple semi-professional teams in the Quad Cities, including arena football's Quad City Steamwheelers. Burken also assisted with club hockey, Augustana College volleyball and St. Ambrose University football, among others.

Burken is a certified CPR/First Aid instructor. He graduated from Camanche High School in 2003 and currently resides in Clinton.

Will Snyder
Assistant Coach - Outside Linebackers (1st Season)

Matt Turner
Assistant Coach - Inside Linebackers (1st Season)

Turner, a 2002 Cornell graduate and four-year starter on the Rams' offensive line, returns to his alma mater for his first season as inside linebackers coach in 2011.

Turner, an all-Iowa Conference offensive guard and team captain his senior season, helped lead the 2001 squad to a 7-3 overall finish. The Rams recorded their best mark in IIAC play that season at 6-3. He was a three-year recipient of the team's Coaches Award.

A native of Los Angeles, Calif., Turner received a bachelor's degree from Cornell in physical education.
Turner coached and taught at Lawndale (Calif.) High School from 2006-11. He served as the football team's offensive coordinator and strength and conditioning coach. Turner helped build a new football program there that qualified for the playoffs in 2009.