By Bud Denega
A familiar face is returning to the Ohio Northern football family. Former player Josh Colbert has been named an assistant and will coach wide receivers and special teams this fall.

"Obviously I wanted to get back to Ada since I left," Colbert said. "This is the perfect opportunity. This was an opportunity to focus in on one sport. The stars kind of aligned." 

Colbert spent the last three seasons at Mount Union. He was an assistant coach with the track and field team for three seasons and was an assistant football coach for two seasons.

Prior to his stop in Alliance, Colbert was an assistant track and field coach and an assistant football coach at Cornell (Iowa) in 2014-15.

In his playing days, Colbert enjoyed a high level of success in Ada as both a football player and a track athlete. He won a national championship in the long jump in 2014 to go alongside two Ohio Athletic Conference championships and eight All-OAC honors.

Colbert started at safety in both seasons for the Polar Bears' football team. He was named a senior captain and graduated with a degree in political science. 

Colbert hopes his experience as a student-athlete at ONU will help him be a better coach. 

"I know what these kids are going through. I've been there," Colbert said. "I hopefully can provide an example and tell (my players) when to turn left or when to turn right."

Colbert originally hails from Urbana and spent his first two collegiate football seasons at Wittenberg. 

Northern opens the season Sept. 7 at Denison.