Recruiting Areas: NY Section V "Genesee Vally Rochester," Section XI "Suffolk County Long Island"
Holden Whitehead joins the Buffalo State football staff as its Defensive Coordinator for the upcoming 2022 season.
Whitehead comes to Buffalo State after beginning his coaching career with the Alfred University Saxons. Whitehead joined the Saxon coaching staff as a graduate linebackers coach in the 2016 season under then-defensive coordinator
Lazarus Morgan. His first year was a special one, as the team won a school-record 12 games, making a foray into the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals and earning the Lambert Cup trophy, which honors the best team in the Eastern Region. Since then, Whitehead quickly moved up the coaching ranks, earning the title as Special Teams Coordinator after the 2016 season, and junior varsity head coach in 2020, while also coaching the defensive line (2018-19) and defensive backs (2020-21) during his tenure.
His units have set program records over the past five seasons. Trevor Monk set the school record for points by a kicker (89) in 2016, while Kevin Bragaglia set a pair of records in 2018, longest punt return (92 yards vs. Cortland) and punt return yards per attempt (19.3) in a season. A Saxon has been in the top-3 in either kick or punt return average and/or field goal makes per game in each of the seasons under Whitehead's leadership. Whitehead also guided the development of two-time American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America linebacker A.J. Licata (2016, 2017) and AFCA All-America safety Raeqwon Greer (2019), and has coached a plethora of student-athletes to Empire 8 All-conference selections during his tenure.
While a student-athlete at Alfred University, Whitehead played four seasons (2012-15) as a linebacker, earning a starting role as a senior on a team that went 8-3 and won the ECAC Robert M. "Scotty" Whitelaw Bowl against Fitchburg State. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2016 and a master's degree in counseling in May 2020.
