| Dean Hood |
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Dean Hood enters his sixth season at Wake Forest as the Demon Deacons' defensive coordinator and fourth season as secondary coach.
Under Hood's direction, Wake Forest's defense has become known for creating turnovers and scoring touchdowns.
Since 2001, the Deacons have forced 120 turnovers, more than two per game.
Wake Forest has scored 13 defensive touchdowns in the last three years, including 10 by interception and three by fumble. That ranks second in the ACC during that time period.
Deacon defenders have earned All-ACC mention seven times. That list includes 2002 first team All-American defensive end Calvin Pace, a future first round NFL draft pick.
Last year, Hood led a young, but talented defense that featured only one senior starter to a successful season. Wake Forest stuffed opposing rushing attacks, holding them to just 133.5 yards per game. That equaled the fourth-best rushing defense in Wake Forest history.
Safety Josh Gattis tied for eighth nationally with five interceptions and was rewarded in the postseason with second team All-ACC honors.
After leading the Deacons in tackling for a second straight year, linebacker Jon Abbate was named honorable mention All-ACC.
Cornerback Alphonso Smith was selected by multiple sources as a first team Freshman All-American.
In 2004, Hood's defense limited opponents to just 157.9 yards rushing, the fewest since 2001 and at the time, the ninth-best mark in school history.
The Deacons forced 20 turnovers in 2004 including 11 interceptions and nine fumbles to rank third in the ACC and 18th nationally in turnover margin.
Individually, Eric King was named second team All-ACC and was a fifth-round NFL draft pick by the Buffalo Bills. Marcus McGruder returned three interceptions for touchdowns to set a new ACC single season record.
Abbate was runner-up for ACC Rookie of the Year after tallying 101 tackles. He earned ACC All-Freshman honors from The Sporting News.
The Deacon defense scored five touchdowns and on the flipside, led the ACC in red zone defense. Wake Forest allowed opponents to score just 69 percent of the time they reached the red zone.
Wake Forest led the ACC and ranked among the top 20 nationally in turnover margin in 2002 and 2003. Deacon defenders intercepted 13 passes in each of the first three seasons after Hood's arrival.
Under Hood's tutelage in 2002, Gattis earned ACC All-Freshman team honors from The Sporting News.
In 2002, Hood guided the Deacon defense to high national rankings in fumbles recovered (2nd) and turnovers gained (14th).
Hood came to Winston-Salem from Ohio University, where he served as the Bobcats' defensive backs coach for two years.
In Hood's first season in Athens, Ohio defenders grabbed 17 interceptions, the most in more than a decade. In 2000, the Ohio defense was one of only five units in Division I-A that did not allow more than 30 points in a game throughout the entire season, as the Bobcats ranked 20th nationally in scoring defense (18.9 ppg).
Hood joined Ohio's staff in 1999 after spending five seasons as an assistant football coach at Eastern Kentucky University. He served his final two seasons there as the Colonels' defensive coordinator and secondary coach, after spending the first three years as the secondary coach. Under his direction, Eastern Kentucky's defense was ranked nationally in scoring defense in each of his five seasons. The Colonels captured two Ohio Valley Conference championships along with a pair of second-place finishes in the OVC during Hood's tenure.
Before his stint at Eastern Kentucky, Hood coached four seasons at Glenville (WV) State College, the last three of which he served as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. In 1993, Glenville finished 10-3 and advanced to the NAIA Division-I Championship Game. Also in that season, Hood's defense led the nation in scoring defense (9.2 ppg), passing defense (118.0 ypg) and total defense (223.0 ypg).
Hood spent a year at Colgate University in 1989, serving as the junior varsity defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator and assistant varsity secondary coach. Hood entered the collegiate coaching ranks as an assistant at Fairmont (WV) State College, where he worked with the defensive backs during the 1987 and 1988 seasons. The 1988 team won the WVIAC championship and led the nation with 31 interceptions.
Hood was a three-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection during his playing days at Ohio Wesleyan University. He was also named first-team All-America as a defensive back during his senior year and served as team captain his final two seasons. He was inducted into the OWU Athletic Hall of Fame in October, 2001.
Hood graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1986 with a degree in biology. He went on to earn a master's in physical education from West Virginia University in 1989.
Hood is married to the former Crystal Ramsey of Richmond, Ky. The couple has three children -- son, Ralph Trey, and two daughters, Jada and Cordia.
