Air Force football hires two new assistants
2/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Air Force head football coach Troy Calhoun announced today the addition of two new assistant coaches. Steed Lobotzke and Derek Lewis have been added as offensive assistant coaches, according to Calhoun.
Steed Lobotzke
Lobotzke spent the 2014 season at Winston-Salem State where the Rams made a trip to the CIAA Championship. He spearheaded the Ram offense that recorded eight-straight 400-plus yard games and Winston-Salem State ended the year with a No. 10 national ranking.
Prior to WSSU, Lobotzke spent 13 years at Wake Forest, including 11 seasons as the Deacons' offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. He also coached the running backs, tight ends and fullbacks. During his tenure, the Wake Forest offense broke many school and ACC records.
In 2012, junior wide receiver Michael Campanaro caught 7.9 passes per game, which led the ACC and was the second-best mark in ACC history. His 79 receptions in 2012 were the fourth-highest single-season mark for a Wake Forest player and were achieved despite the fact that he missed almost three games with an injury. Campanaro's 16 catches against Boston College set an ACC single-game record.
The 2011 team came within a field goal of playing for the ACC championship and went to the Music City Bowl. The squad scored 338 points - third-best in Wake Forest history - and only had 12 turnovers, which was the lowest total in school history and the best in the ACC that season.
In 2006, Wake Forest won 11 games and the ACC Championship. The offense produced 4,298 yards, the third-highest total in school history and put up Wake Forest's fourth-best scoring season with 302 points. Wake Forest also ranked sixth in the nation in fewest turnovers. Freshman quarterback Riley Skinner was named ACC Rookie of the Year after leading the ACC in pass efficiency (139.6) and breaking the Wake Forest record for completion percentage (65.8 percent). On November 13, 2006, Lobotzke was chosen as the Master Football Coaches MCS Nike Offensive Coordinator of the Week after Wake Forest defeated Florida State 30-0 in Tallahassee.
Lobotzke went to Wake Forest along with head coach Jim Grobe after serving under Grobe the previous four years at Ohio University as the centers and guards coach. In his four seasons at Ohio, the offensive line paved the way for four of the top five rushing seasons in school history.
Lobotzke's ties with Grobe go back to their days at the Air Force Academy when Grobe personally recruited him. The Northern California native attended the Academy and lettered on the football team in 1990-1991, playing on the offensive line. As a player, Lobotzke helped lead Air Force to three Liberty Bowl appearances. He earned second-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors as a junior and was named to the first team as a senior before being invited to play in the East-West Shrine Football Classic.
After graduating from the Academy in 1992 with a degree in economics, Lobotzke began his coaching career at his alma mater. He served as a graduate assistant in the 1992 and 1993 season, helping lead the team to another Liberty Bowl berth in 1992. Following his tour of active military duty, Lobotzke joined the Ohio staff in 1997.
Lobotzke is married to the former Kristin Hazen of Warren, Ohio. The couple has two daughters: Capri and Gia.
THE LOBOTZKE FILE
Birth Place: Landstuhl, Germany
Alma Mater: Air Force Academy, 1992
Degree: B.S. in Economics
COACHING HISTORY
2014 Winston-Salem State (Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line)
2003-13 Wake Forest (Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line)
2001-02 Wake Forest (Assistant Coach)
1997-00 Ohio University (Assistant Coach)
1992-93 Air Force Academy (Graduate Assistant)
Derek Lewis
Lewis was the tight ends coach at Florida for three seasons prior to coming to the Academy. In 2012 at Florida, he coached all-Southeastern Conference selection Jordan Reed, who led the team with 45 catches for 559 yards. He also added three touchdowns. Reed ranked ninth nationally in catches by a tight end and13th in receiving yards by a tight end. Reed was a third-round pick by the Washington Redskins in 2013.
In 2011, Lewis' group of tight ends caught 47 passes for 584 yards (12.4 ypc) and three touchdowns. Reed finished second on the team with 28 catches and third on the team with 307 receiving yards.
Lewis coached tight ends at Minnesota from 2007-10. While at Minnesota, Lewis tutored Nick Tow-Arnett to an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection following the 2009 season after Tow-Arnett finished second on the team with 37 receptions for 505 yards and three touchdowns. As a group, Gopher tight ends in 2009 averaged over 13 yards per reception.
Prior to going to Minnesota, he was the defensive ends coach at North Texas. From 2005-06, Lewis worked at Texas as a graduate assistant, where he was part of the staff that captured the 2005 BCS National Title. He also coached TE David Thomas who owns UT career records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns by a tight end, in addition to the Texas single-game record for receptions by a tight end (10, 2006 Rose Bowl). Thomas was a third-round selection by the New England Patriots in 2006.
Lewis is a 1998 graduate of the University of Texas with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology. While with the Longhorns, Lewis was a solid four-year receiving tight end who started 16 career games. He played in three bowl games (1995 Sugar Bowl; 1997 Fiesta Bowl; 1999 Cotton Bowl) and was a member of two conference championship teams (1995 SWC; 1996 Big 12). Lewis was voted 1998 first-team All-Big 12 by conference coaches after being named third-team All-Big 12 in 1997. Lewis hauled in 18 catches for 236 yards and six touchdowns in a senior campaign that was highlighted by his 61-yard reception on fourth and inches that helped seal the 1996 Big 12 Championship game for Texas. He finished his career ranked third all-time at Texas in TDs by a tight end (8), ranked fifth in career receptions by a tight end (47), and ranked seventh on the school's chart for receiving yards by a tight end (551).
A native of New Orleans, La., Lewis spent two seasons as a member of the St. Louis Rams (1999-2000) and was part of the Super Bowl XXXIV championship team. Lewis and his wife, Adonis, have one son, Myles.
Personal Information
Hometown: New Orleans, La.
Alma Mater: University of Texas, 1998
Degree: kinesiology
Coaching Experience
2011-13 Florida (Tight Ends)
2007-10 Minnesota (Tight Ends/Assistant Special Teams)
2007 North Texas (Defensive Ends)
2005-06 Texas (Graduate Assistant)
