ATHENS, Ohio-- As sophomore safety Giovonni Scales (Columbus, Ohio) took an interception down the sideline and into the end zone during team drills in Ohio football's spring football practice on Thursday, the whole defensive sideline erupted.

That's exactly what new defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky wants from his defense.

"You have to have passion in this game; you have to enjoy it," Nowinsky said. "We talk all the time about how we finish plays and it's relentless efforts, competing, getting to the ball, but when you get there and make a play we want to enjoy it."

Nowinsky joins the Bobcats in his 20^th season as a full-time college football coach. He started his career as a graduate assistant with Wisconsin in 1999. He also coached at Idaho, Minnesota State, Illinois State and most recently Miami as a co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

He didn't even think he'd be a college coach.

"I always thought I'd be a high school coach, and so I started out there," Nowinsky said. "I did that for four years, and then I became a GA at the University of Wisconsin. It was one of those things where every stop along the way has been very enjoyable."

One of the biggest challenges facing Nowinsky at Ohio is stopping the run. Luckily the former Minnesota State defensive lineman is well equipped for that challenge. At every job he's had, he's been able to improve the defense, specifically against the run.

At Illinois State, he lowered the team's average yards per game by nearly 40 yards in just one season. In 2017, the Redbirds had the 14^th best rushing defense in the nation, allowing just 108.4 yards per game on the ground.

For Nowinsky, the key to stopping the run begins with the defensive line.

"You have to be physical, you have to be dominant," he said. "When you can do that, you can do well stopping the run and then get off the field on third down. It starts up front."

The defensive coordinator and ends coach will have some added help, with redshirt sophomore transfer from Purdue, Dontay Hunter II joining the team. The Bobcats will also have graduate student Kai Caesar (Cache, Okla.) and redshirt senior Bryce Dugan (Milford, Ohio) to bolster the defensive line.

When Nowinsky isn't coaching football, he spends time with two sons, Tommy and Jack, who are 10 and 12. His kids are both playing hockey and baseball on travel teams. Nowinsky says that having them around the team is great to show them how to compete the right way.

"Them being around the fine young men we have on our team, there's no better mentorship for them," he said. "Watching somebody execute something on the field, watching them play hard and do things the right way and handle adversity the right way."

Nowinsky is a coach who loves football. He says he understands that it's not the profession that will make him rich, but he does it because he enjoys it every day, and he enjoys it with his family. As he starts his latest opportunity at Ohio, he is sure of one thing.

"I'm really happy and really excited to be here and be a Bobcat right now."

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