Bradley Watkins begins his first season as the Director of Football Operations and Special Teams & Run Game Coordinator at Nichols College in 2018.
Watkins comes to Nichols after spending the last two seasons as the defensive line and special teams coach, as well as the strength & conditioning coordinator at Wilmington College in Ohio. During that time, Watkins was responsible for all aspects of team travel as well as alumni relations, the team’s golf outing, and team meals. Watkins held weekly academic meetings with student-athletes, developed a strength & conditioning program for the team, and helped develop game plans. Watkins – whose recruiting territories included Ohio and parts of both Kentucky and Indiana – served as the interim head coach of the Quakers from November, 2016 to December, 2016.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining head coach Dale Olmsted’s staff at Nichols,” said Watkins. “I’m looking forward to working with the staff and continuing to build on the success of the program both on and off the field.”
Watkins spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons at Ohio Northern University, where he first coached the defensive tackles and served as the punt coordinator (2013) before coaching the running backs and serving as the JV head coach and offensive coordinator (2014). He coordinated official visits and tours, held weekly academic meetings, assisted with weekly study of opponent’s punt return and development of an attack plan, and uploaded practice and game video to Hudl. Watkins recruiting areas included parts of Ohio as well as New York, Chicago, Florida, and New England.
“We are excited to welcome Bradley Watkins to the Nichols football family,” said Colvin. “Bradley brings a wealth of experience in several key areas that were important to us in this search: administrative/operations, strength and conditioning, and special teams. I am confident that he will provide great support to coach Olmsted and help elevate the Nichols football program.”
Watkins earned his Bachelor of Science from Ohio Northern University in 2007 before scoring his Masters of Education from Old Dominion University in 2011. He began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at ODU (2010-12), executing daily practices and evaluating the running backs while assisting with opponent video study and breakdown. He also created weekly special teams reports for all six phases, broke down practice video for special teams, and assisted with winter and summer workout programs.
In 2013, Watkins was promoted to running backs coach and assistant special teams coordinator for the Monarchs. In his new role, he continued to work with the running backs, executing daily practices and leading position meetings. He also held weekly academic meetings, studied opponent video, made personnel adjustments on gameday, and assisted with official visits and tours. Watkins primary recruiting territories for the Monarchs included parts of Virginia as well as Ohio and all junior college recruiting.
