Craig Candeto (born March 6, 1982) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and former player. He currently serves as the running backs coach at Austin Peay State University. Candeto served as the head football coach at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, from 2013 to 2015. Candeto was a college quarterback at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in Annapolis, Maryland, under head coach Paul Johnson. He eventually worked under Johnson at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

as quarterbacks coach.

Early life

Candeto attended

DeLand High School DeLand High School is a public high school in DeLand, Florida, established in 1922, with an enrollment of 3,616 students, a student/teacher ratio of 16.5, and a graduation rate above 90%. Special programs International Baccalaureate DeLand Hig ...

, where he was an all-state football and baseball player. As the football team's quarterback, he thrived in the

option offense An option offense is an American football offensive system in which a key player (usually the quarterback) has several "options" of how each play will proceed based upon the actions of the defense. Traditionally, option-based offenses rely on ru ...

as he was named Class 5A Player of the Year during his senior season.

College career

US Navy 031206-N-9693M-504 Navy quarterback Craig Candeto looks for a receiver downfield during the 104th Army Navy Game

After high school, Candeto was recruited by Paul Johnson at Georgia Southern, but chose to attend the United States Naval Academy. Although military service was initially not attractive for Candeto, the concept eventually appealed to him, while his uncle was also a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

veteran who served in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

also expressed interest in him, but did not want him to play baseball. At the Naval Academy, Candeto played football and baseball, serving as a left fielder in the latter; the Midshipmen won the 2001 Patriot League baseball championship. In football, he started the 2001 opener against

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, where he threw two touchdown passes as Navy lost 45–26. As Navy struggled to a winless 0–10 season, including a 70–7 defeat by Georgia Tech, he eventually spent the year as the backup quarterback behind Brian Madden. Johnson was hired in 2002 and installed the flexbone

triple option The triple option is an American football play used to offer several ways to move the football forward on the field of play. The triple option is based on the option run, but uses three players who might run with the ball instead of the two used i ...

, a system that Candeto quickly adapted to. In that year's Army–Navy Game, he recorded 103 rushing yards and six touchdowns as Navy won 58–12. He ended the year with 775 rushing yards and a school single-season record 16 rushing touchdowns, along with 51 of 103 passes completed for 843 yards and five touchdowns. During Candeto's senior year in 2003, he recorded 2,252 total yards (1,140 passing, 1,112 rushing) and 23 touchdowns (seven passing, 16 rushing). After graduating from the Naval Academy in 2004, Candeto became a lieutenant in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. During his five-year service, he was a fighter pilot, with his last assignment being with Strike Fighter Squadron 106.

Coaching career

Candeto began coaching in 2009 as a graduate assistant for Austin Peay. The following year, he reunited with Johnson at Georgia Tech in the same capacity before moving to

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...

in 2011 as the quarterbacks and B-backs coach. From 2013 to 2015, he served as head coach at Capital University. In 2016, he rejoined Johnson at Georgia Tech as the quarterbacks coach. In 2019, Candeto returned to Austin Peay as running backs coach, working under ex-Navy coach Mark Hudspeth.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Austin Peay profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candeto, Craig 1982 births Living people American football quarterbacks Austin Peay Governors football coaches Capital Comets football coaches Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches Navy Midshipmen baseball players Navy Midshipmen football players The Citadel Bulldogs football coaches People from DeLand, Florida Players of American football from Volusia County, Florida People from Orange City, Florida Coaches of American football from Florida