College coaching veteran Mark DeBastiani returned to the App State football staff in January 2020 as a coach of the Mountaineers’ safeties, then coached a prolific group of outside linebackers for the next two seasons.
Nick Hampton (selected for the Reese's Senior Bowl after appearing in nine games) and Jalen McLeod (who also received all-conference recognition) combined 13 sacks as App State's outside linebackers totaled 20.5 sacks. Young players Caden Sullivan and Donovan Spellman each had multiple sacks.
Contributing to a 10-win regular season in 2021, DeBastiani coached a group led by Hampton, who earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors from PFF College thanks to a 2021 season that included 17.5 tackles for loss and 11.0 sacks — the highest total by an App State defender in the FBS era.
Hampton was one of only five players nationally in 2021 with more than 10 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 65 tackles, while TD Roof had 68 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and two interceptions while sharing time at the other starting spot with Brendan Harrington (3.0 sacks, 5.0 tackles for loss, 31 tackles). McLeod had one sack among his 26 tackles, and Tim Frizzell had one sack before adding an interception before missing most of the season with an injury.
App State ranked No. 5 nationally with 112 tackles for loss and No. 14 with 15 interceptions.
In 2020, App State’s three primary safeties combined for 144 tackles and accounted for six of the team’s 15 interceptions. A first-time starter that season, Kaiden Smith posted 77 tackles and intercepted two passes on the way to All-Sun Belt third-team honors, while Ryan Huff picked off three passes and Nicholas Ross added one interception.
The Mountaineers led the nation in passes defended (74, counting the 15 interceptions) and lowest completion percentage allowed (48.0) in 2020.
DeBastiani coached the defensive tackles at App State from 1995-96, when now-head coach Shawn Clark was an All-American offensive lineman. In 1995, App State went undefeated in the regular season, won the Southern Conference championship and advanced to the FCS quarterfinals.
DeBastiani coached linebackers at Central Michigan in 2019, helping the Chippewas to the second-biggest turnaround in college football with a seven-win improvement from the previous year. CMU finished 8-6 after earning berths to the MAC championship game and the New Mexico Bowl. CMU's rushing defense ranked top 25 in the country, and the Chippewas led the MAC and were eighth-best in the nation with 7.9 tackles for loss per outing. DeBastiani coached linebacker Troy Brown to first-team All-MAC honors and Michael Oliver to second-team accolades, with Brown topping all MAC players with 18 tackles for loss.
In 2018, DeBastiani served as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Alabama A&M, leading a unit that ranked second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in points allowed and third in total yardage, continuing a long-running trend of solid defense wherever he has coached.
DeBastiani was a defensive quality control coach at Florida from 2015-17, specifically helping coach the linebackers. He helped lead the Gators to the SEC East division championship and the Citrus Bowl in 2015.
DeBastiani-led defenses at Norfolk State annually ranked in the top 10 in total defense among FCS schools during his 10-year tenure from 2005-14. He was a finalist for the 2014 Coordinator of the Year Award when Norfolk State finished No. 2 nationally in total defense. His unit was also No. 2 among all FCS teams during the team's MEAC championship run in 2011 and No. 3 in 2012.
DeBastiani was the defensive line coach and video coordinator at Bethune-Cookman for eight seasons prior to the move to Norfolk State. There, he helped turn the Bethune-Cookman defense into a force. The Wildcats' 3-4 ball-hawking defense was a key to the team's ascent to the top of the MEAC. The Wildcats ranked 13th and eighth, respectively, in FCS total defense during their two national playoff seasons in 2002 and 2003. BCU ranked second in the conference in 2004 in scoring defense and total defense. He also helped tutor one All-American, defensive lineman Damion Cook, from 1997-2000.
DeBastiani coached the offensive and defensive lines at his alma mater, Division II Shepherd (W. Va.) College, in 1993 and 1994, helping the Rams to the 1994 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship.
DeBastiani earned his bachelor's degree in health from Shepherd in 1993. He lettered three years for the football team and started two years at center. During his career there, he was a member of back-to-back WVIAC championship teams (1991-92).
A native of Arthurdale, W. Va., DeBastiani was born May 26, 1970. He has two children, Ben and Maria.
Coaching Experience
1993-94: Shepherd (Graduate assistant)
1995-96: App State (Defensive line)
1997-2004: Bethune-Cookman (Defensive line/Video coordinator)
2005-14: Norfolk State (Defensive coordinator/Linebackers)
2015-17: Florida (Defensive quality control/Linebackers)
2019: Alabama A&M (Defensive coordinator/Linebackers)
2020: App State (Safeties)
2021-present: App State (Outside linebackers)
Playing Experience
1990-93: Shepherd (Offensive Lineman)
Alma Mater: Shepherd, 1994
Hometown: Arthurdale, W. Va.
Birthdate: May 26, 1970
Children: Ben, Maria
Twitter: @CoachDeBastiani
