Nike Football Skills Development Camp at Eastern University

Elon was among the national leaders in turnover margin as the Phoenix had nine interceptions and eight fumble recoveries. Elon held No. 22 Richmond to one first-half touchdown in a 20-7 victory and then allowed just 214 yards against a strong New Hampshire squad in a 24-10 win. No. 25 Rhode Island was held to only 44 rushing yards in the season finale, a 43-28 Elon victory that likely kept the Rams out of the FCS playoffs. In total, Crocker’s defense held four opponents to 155 passing yards or fewer.

He began his career coaching running backs at the University at Albany but spent most of his coaching career at Villanova University.

He began his Villanova career as a defensive line coach under Hall of Fame mentor Andy Talley. While he was in that role, the Wildcats won an FCS National Title in 2009. He gained promotion to special teams coordinator in 2001 and took over as defensive coordinator in 2012. In his four of his five seasons as defensive coordinator, the Wildcat defense ranked in the top two in the CAA and his 2016 defense gave up on ly 15 points per game and were ranked first in the FCS in total defense.

Before going to Elon, he spent two seasons as a defensive coordinator in the FBS at the University of Connecticut.

Crocker and his wife Kristi are thrilled to move their family back to the main line and are looking forward to the challenge of building a new program. They have three children -- a son Ryan and twins Will and Bryn.

The Mechanicsburg, Pa. native played his collegiate football at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, where he started 22 straight games for the Marauders at defensive tackle, tallying 46 tackles, two interceptions, and two sacks.

Hinkle began his coaching career at his alma mater, serving in a variety of roles, including running backs coach, tight ends coach, and Head of Football Operations. Hinkle went on to serve as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at King’s College in the 2018 season, where he led the second-ranked rushing offense in the MAC.

At Widener, Hinkle coached eight All-MAC Conference players, one All-American, and one All-Region 1 player, while leading the No. 1 ranked offense in total offense, touchdowns scored, and sacks allowed in 2019.

Hinkle will join the Eastern staff immediately and will be actively involved in building Eastern’s recruiting network while also building the roster and coaching staff.

Tommy Gilmore comes to Eastern after several years as a successful assistant at King's College where he served as Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Backs coach for the 2024 MAC Champion Monarchs. Gilmore will serve in the same capacity at Eastern.

Gilmore played as a safety and served as a team captain at King's. He was selected as the team's MAC Sportsmanship team honoree in 2019. After graduation, he gained experience coaching all three levels of the defense.

He arrived at Eastern after serving in a variety of roles at FDU-Florham. In addition to serving as the the Recruiting Coordinator, he worked with safeties and special teams and also served as the team's strength and conditioning coordinator and was most recently offensive line coach.

Originally from New York, Scott was a three-year starter at St. Lawrence University. In his time in Canton, the Saints went 25-6 and amassed an 18-3 mark in Liberty League play. He played against Mount Union in the 2015 NCAA Playoffs.

After graduating with a BA in Government, he began his coaching career in Pennsylvania with a short stint at Susquehanna followed by a more extended stay at King's College. He began as an H-Back coach and then became the Offensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator. At King's, he worked with current Eastern Offensive Coordinator Nate Hinkle.

Scott had stints coaching offensive line at Methodist University in North Carolina and Maritime College in New York before returning to the MAC to work at FDU-Florham.

At Wilkes, Hess earned All-Landmark honors in each of his final two seasons. In helping the Colonels to a 7-4 finish in 2024, Hess finished with 54 tackles including eight and a half tackles for loss. He recorded five tackles and a sack in a rivalry game win at King's College, and he helped fuel a huge comeback win over St. John Fisher with a 54-yard interception return. The Colonels trailed 21-0 in that game before rallying to win 28-21.

Steele played in 42 games over his four-year career and finished with 219 tackles and 23 tackles for loss. The Whitehall, Pa. native will work under veteran Defensive Coordinator Kory David.

Steele will pursue a Masters in Education at Eastern.