Mike O'Cain Position: Offensive Coordinator Experience: 4th year at Clemson

Mike O'Cain is entering his fourth year as a full-time Clemson football coach. He has already been a part of three bowl teams, including the 2003 squad that finished with a 9-4 record and a top-25 final ranking. A 1977 Clemson graduate (one of two Clemson alums on Tommy Bowden's staff), he has a number of family and personal ties to the area that date back many years. He brings 26 years of coaching experience to the Clemson offense in general and the quarterback position in particular.

In 2004, he will serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2003, he was a big reason Charlie Whitehurst established 33 school records, including the passing yardage and completion records for a season. Whitehurst is just the second quarterback in ACC history to surpass 5,000 yards passing by the end of his sophomore year.

As a team, Clemson had more passing yards (3,687), completions (300), and 300-yard passing games (6) than any other in school history in 2003.

O'Cain's tenure as the quarterbacks coach got off to an impressive start, as he coached quarterback Woodrow Dantzler into the Clemson, ACC, and NCAA record books. In 2001, Dantzler became the first player in NCAA history to gain at least 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in the same year. He set school records for touchdown passes, passing yardage, total offense, and pass efficiency.

O'Cain hails from Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he attended Orangeburg-Wilkinson High, the same school that produced Dantzler. O'Cain quarterbacked Orangeburg-Wilkinson to a 13-0 record, a state 4A title, and a #12-national ranking his senior season. His high school coach was Dick Sheridan, who was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.

Upon graduation from high school, O'Cain decided to further his academic and athletic career at Clemson. A four-year letterwinner, he was the most valuable player of Clemson's 1976 team, working as both the punter and quarterback. He completed 91-182 passes for 1,291 yards and six touchdowns during his career. He still ranks 16th in Clemson history in passing efficiency. Also a gifted runner, he held the single-game quarterback rushing record until 1994 with 140 yards against N.C. State in 1976.

He received his bachelor's degree in recreation parks administration in 1977 from Clemson. Three years later, he married his high-school sweetheart (Nancy Farnum).

O'Cain began his coaching career at Clemson in 1977 as a graduate assistant. He was on the practice field and on the sidelines learning the game from some veteran coaches at the time and realized the thrill of victory, as the Tigers had an 8-3-1 season that culminated with a trip to the Gator Bowl, Clemson's first bowl appearance in 18 years.

O'Cain then coached the offensive backfield at The Citadel for the 1978-80 seasons. In 1981, he moved to Murray State, where he was an assistant under current Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer. He remained at Murray State through the 1984 season. After one year as the assistant head coach at East Carolina, he joined Sheridan as quarterbacks coach at N.C. State. O'Cain served as a top assistant under Sheridan from 1986-92 and was a part of a staff that coached the Wolfpack in six bowl games.

In 1993, Sheridan decided to retire just five weeks prior to the start of August practice and O'Cain was promoted to head coach. This short period of time for preparation did not inhibit O'Cain and the Wolfpack. He took N.C. State to a 7-4 regular-season record and an invitation to the Hall of Fame Bowl. He was the only rookie coach in the nation that year to lead a team to a bowl game.

The next year, O'Cain guided the Wolfpack to a second-place ACC finish with an 8-3 record. One of the victories was over Clemson in Death Valley, as O'Cain became the first Clemson graduate to gain victory against his alma mater in Death Valley. Overall, he had a 2-2 record in Death Valley. He completed his season with a victory over Mississippi State in the Peach Bowl. O'Cain became the second coach in N.C. State history to take a team to a bowl in his first two seasons with the program.

In 1998, he opened the season with a win at Texas, then won over #1 Florida State. It was one of just two losses in ACC play for the Seminoles in the team's first nine years in the ACC. He coached the Wolfpack to their third bowl trip in his tenure, against Miami (FL) in the Micron PC bowl. One of the stars on that team was Tory Holt, a first-round draft pick who has gone on to fame with the Rams.

After the 1999 season, O'Cain joined the North Carolina football staff as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He helped the Tar Heels to a winning season in 2000, then moved to Clemson in December to replace Rich Rodriguez as quarterbacks coach. He served in an advisory capacity for the Gator Bowl, then took over the quarterback coaching reins in the spring.

O'Cain and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters, Jenny (19) and Lizzi (17). O'Cain is an active member of the Tiger Brotherhood Organization, FCA, and the Clemson Community.