John Candelas joined the Frostburg State football coaching staff in the spring of 2015 and enters his third season with the Bobcats this fall. He will again coach the tackles and tight ends after working with the running backs and special teams during the 2015 season.
Last fall, Frostburg allowed the fourth fewest number of sacks (19) in the NJAC and helped the Bobcat offense to 312.5 yards per game.
The Bobcat ground game racked up 1,546 yards with 13 rushing touchdowns behind a line that has over 60 career starts amongst the returners. Left tackle Jake Townsend started 11 games last fall and earned All-NJAC honors for the second-straight season.
In his first season in 2015, Candelas helped the Bobcat backfield to the NJAC’s fourth-best rushing attack after averaging 164.3 yards per contest. Frostburg finished with 1,643 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns and ran for 200 or more yards in five contests.
For two years prior to FSU, Candelas served as the offensive coordinator, offensive line and tight ends coach at Sante Fe High School in Sante Fe, Fla. He helped develop offensive game plans, assisted with team management, broke down film and developed defensive opponent scouting reports.
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From 2011-2013, he served as an offensive graduate assistant for Virginia Tech, assisting the tight ends coach and offensive coordinator. He was responsible for the defensive scout team, development of the scouting report for the offense and was responsible for game day opponent break down.
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Candelas played a role in recruiting student-athletes to Virginia Tech and assisted the strength and condition staff during offseason workouts. The Hokies won the 2011 ACC Coastal Division Championship and advanced to both the Sugar Bowl (2012) and Citrus Bowl (2012).
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Candelas also served as a video graduate assistant with Virginia Tech from 2009-10. He was responsible for opponent film break down and compiled weekly self scout reports and opponent reports for the offensive coordinator. Virginia Tech was the ACC Champion in 2010 and advanced to both the Chic-Fil-A-Bowl (2009) and the Orange Bowl (2010).
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Prior to coaching at Virginia Tech, Candelas was a four-year student-athlete for the Hokies, earning letters as both a tailback and special teams member. Virginia Tech won the ACC Championship in 2004 and earned ACC Coastal Championships in both 2004 and 2005. VT also appeared in four games during Candelas’ career, the Diamond Walnut Bowl (2002), InSight Bowl (2003), Sugar Bowl (2005) and Gator Bowl (2006).
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Candelas earned his bachelor’s degree in human nutrition, foods and exercise from Virginia Tech along with his master’s degree in health promotion. He is currently working on a second master’s degree in instructional technology.
