Eastern Michigan University Athletics

Entering his second year at EMU is Jerone Steckel, who came to Ypsilanti after spending the past four years with Southeast Missouri State University. Steckel will serve as EMU’s defensive tackles coach.

Steckel has college coaching experience at SEMO, Missouri State University as well as Central Michigan University. During his playing career as a defensive lineman for Eastern Illinois University, he played in 23 career games with 52 tackles and 4.5 TFLs. He started his collegiate playing career at Ellsworth Community College.

In his first season with Eastern Steckel developed a strong interior defensive line. Most notably, Peyton Price churned out a career season with 47 tackles, including 12 solo and 35 assisted, along with 4.5 TFLs for 29 yards lost and 4.0 sacks for 28 yards. Price also tallied seven quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery as well. The then junior was selected to wear the 0 jersey prior to facing Minnesota, Sept. 9 and recorded at least one tackle in all 13 games and a TFL in six. 
    
Alex Merritt also churned out a solid season, highlighted by his MAC West Defensive Player of the Week honor, after corralling eight tackles, three of which were for a loss, and one quarterback hurry. Merritt totaled 27 tackles, 4.5 TFLs for a loss of seven yards, and three QB hurries in nine games in the 2023 campaign. 

The St. Louis, Mo. native helped Southeast Missouri State to a magical 2022 season that saw the Redhawks go 9-3 overall and undefeated (5-0) in Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) play. The Redhawks advanced to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs for the third time in five years and posted their fourth nine-win season in program history.

SEMO went 9-1 against FCS opponents and knocked off then-No. 17 Southern Illinoi, 34-31. The Redhawks, who went undefeated in conference play at 5-0, put together its fifth-straight winning conference season (program record). SEMO went 26-8 over that span. Prior to that run, the Redhawks did not have a winning OVC record since 2010 and did not have back-to-back winning OVC campaigns since 2002.
 
Nationally, SEMO ranked third in tackles for loss allowed (3.91 per game). Defensive tackle Steven Lewis garnered Second Team All-OVC with 33 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and three pass breakups.

In 2020 and 2021, Steckel coached his first All-OVC performer in Bryson Donnell. A first-team selection, Donnell made five starts on the defensive line and was SEMO’s fourth-leading tackler with 41 stops. He added three tackles for loss, a sack and four quarterback hurries. Donnell also blocked a kick, forced a fumble and had one fumble recovery.

Steckel got his first full-time position in 2018 as the defensive tackles coach at Missouri State. Coincidentally, he was on the staff with current EMU assistant coaches Sean Coughlin and Munir Prince.

The 2028 Bears defense compiled 24 sacks and helped upset No.  9 Illinois State University, 24-21, and No. 20 Northern Arizona University, 40-8.

Steckel was on Head Coach Dave Steckel’s inaugural staff at Missouri State as a quality control assistant on the defensive side from January 2015 until July 2017. He also worked with the Bears’ defensive linemen during his first tenure in Springfield.  

Steckel then spent the 2017 season at Central Michigan University as a graduate assistant, where he worked with the defensive tackles.

Steckel attended Oakville High School where he was a Suburban West all-conference pick his senior season. He then played two seasons at Ellsworth (Iowa) Community College where he was part of an 8-3 squad that ranked No. 14 in the NJCAA poll and played in the Graphic Edge Bowl.

He finished his career at Eastern Illinois, which captured the 2012 OVC championship. The then-Williams played in 12 games as a senior for the Panthers and brought down 38 ball carriers that year. He was also roommates with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, now with the San Francisco 49ers.

Steckel was selected for one of the National Football League’s Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship Coaching positions in the summer of 2020. He worked with the Los Angeles Rams during OTAs and Training Camp.

Steckel earned his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Sports Studies from EIU in 2014.

Of note, former MSU Head Coach Dave Steckel and his wife, Mary Beth, officially adopted Steckel in 2021 which led to his last name changing from Williams.

 Jerone and his wife, Katlyn, have a son, Tatum.