Biography
Ronnie Pentz will enter his fourth season with the USD football coaching staff in 2016 where he will coach special teams and tight ends. The Torero special team's unit ranked 15th among all FCS programs in kickoff returns in 2015 with their 23.29 average. Jacob Arnell ranked No. 2 in FCS rankings with is 30.7 yards per kickoff return averge.
For the second straight season he played a key role in the development of TE Ross Dwelley (All-PFL Second Team, 2015 & 2014). In 2015 Dwelley was also named USD's Most Improved Offensive Player. He led all Torero receivers with 54 receptions for 580 yards (10.7 ave.) and 3 touchdowns.
Prior to USD, he spent four seasons on the staff at Southern Utah University, with the last three as special team's co-coordinator, and two seasons as tight ends coach.
In 2012, under Coach Pentz guidance, the Thunderbirds ranked seventh in the nation in net punting with a 38.51 yard average. Punter, Brock Miller finished 11th in the nation with 43.22 yard average. Place kicker, Colton Cook was an AP All-American, finishing 2nd in the nation in field goals made (19 for 22) and a perfect 14-14 inside 40 yards. SUU's tight end, Henna Brown earned All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention, catching 35 passes for 414 yards in 2012.
In 2011, under Coach Pentz guidance, the Thunderbirds ranked second in the nation in net punting, averaging 39.08 yards per punt and opponents averaged just 6.28 yards per punt return. In the kicking game Colton Cook ranked 20th in the nation with 1.27 field goals per game and was perfect in his point after touchdown percentage, hitting all 27 of his attemps. SUU's tight ends also prospered, as Abbel Aiono earned first-team all-Great West Conference honors from both the coaches and the media after catching 28 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns while also serving as a vital blocker.
In 2010, as coordinator of the kicking game, Coach Pentz oversaw a unit which ranked 14th in the nation in kickoff return yardage defense. He also coached redshirt freshman kicker Brock Miller, who showed steady progress throughout the season, moving from reserve to starter and eventually earning honorable mention all-Great West Conference honors after leading the team and ranking 35th in the nation in scoring with a 7.0 points per game average.
In addition to working with the Thunderbird special teams, Coach Pentz worked as an assistant on the defensive side of the ball, primarily with the T-Bird linebackers. In 2009 Coach Pentz worked with four-time all-Great West Conference 'backer Robert Takeno, who led the team with a 98 tackles. Along with Coach Justin Ena, he was also instrumental in the development of the other Thunderbird linebackers.
A 2008 graduate of the University of San Diego, Coach Pentz was a first-team all-America as a senior and a two-time first-team all-Pioneer Football League performer at linebacker for the Toreros. As a senior Pentz was second on the squad in tackles with 80, including 45 solo stops and 4.5 sacks. He tallied 26 tackles as a junior before an injury cut short his season, had 40 tackles as a sophomore and 47 as a redshirt freshman. Pentz also excelled in the classroom, earning academic all-PFL honors all four years he played for the Toreros.
Born in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Pentz prepped at El Toro High in Lake Forest, Calif., where he was a two-time all-league honoree.
