@Coach_AL_DiMike
After being away from the program in 2015,
Alex DiMichele returns to his alma mater for what will be his fifth overall season on the Colonial staff and second consectuive. He will instruct the team's linebackers, the position at which he earned NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
In 2016, DiMichele worked closely with first-year starters Adam Wollet and Joseph Uhatafe at inside linebacker. The duo finished as the top two tacklers on the squad, combining for 170 stops, 4.0 sacks, four forced fumbles and 10.5 tackles for loss. He also played a part in the development of freshman Gee Stanley, the NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year after registering an RMU freshman record 8.5 sacks.
During the 2015 season, DiMichele was an assistant at Kentucky Christian, where he guided Aaron Cooper to First Team All-America honors at the NAIA level. Cooper became the first player in program history to claim this honor after he posted mammoth numbers with DiMichele’s assistance. Cooper contributed 160 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss in 11 games and was also named Mid-South Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
DiMichele helped his two starting inside backers to strong seasons with RMU in 2014, as both were among the top five in the league in tackles per game. He guided Jake Tkach, who entered the season with one career tackle, to 84 stops in 2014, including 10 tackles for loss, as the redshirt junior was fourth in the NEC in tackles. DiMichele helped RMU rank among the top 30 at the FCS level in third down defense, passing defense and tackles for loss.
Prior to coaching inside linebackers, DiMichele was the defensive line coach for the Colonials in 2012 and 2013.
After mentoring an All-American in his first year on the job, DiMichele led two of his defensive lineman to All-NEC honors in his second year on staff at RMU, even though the squad lost a preseason All-NEC defensive lineman for the entire season due to injury.
DiMichele helped A.J. Holderman, a former fullback, make the transition into one of the top defensive linemen in the league in 2013. Holderman was a menace to opposing offenses and earned All-NEC First Team accolades as a result.
He had at least a half-tackle for loss in every game but one and finished the year with 14.5 tackles for loss, the third-highest amount in single-season RMU history, and the most since 2006. He finished with 51 tackles on the year along with seven sacks, a mark that ranks among the top 10 in single-season RMU history. Holderman intercepted a pass against NEC champion Sacred Heart and returned it for his first-career touchdown.
DiMichele also guided Forrest Mason to All-NEC honors in his first season as a full-time player. Mason made 46 tackles on the year from his spot at defensive end. He contributed 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, finishing in the top 10 in the NEC in the latter category. Mason also recovered a fumble against Monmouth and totaled five pass breakups on the season.
DiMichele’s efforts also helped RMU finish the regular season among the top 25 nationally in a number of defensive categories including third-down defense, first downs allowed, passing defense, red zone defense, passing efficiency defense, turnovers gained and total defense.
In his first year on staff, DiMichele helped defensive end Nolan Nearhoof post one of the top seasons by a defensive lineman in school history. Nearhoof was named an All-American by
The Sports Network in addition to claiming NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. He made 76 tackles and tallied a career-high 13 tackles for loss along with 10.5 sacks. In doing so, he became just the third Colonial to post a double-digit sack total in a single season. Nearhoof not only led the NEC in sacks per game, but he ranked sixth nationally in that category.
Nearhoof was also named a First Team Academic All-American and the NEC Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
DiMichele is one of the most decorated defensive players in school history. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native was the lynchpin to the defense that led RMU to the 2010 NEC title, earning him Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors in his final season.
DiMichele transferred to RMU from Temple and made an immediate impact at his linebacker spot as he netted a then single-season school record 116 tackles in his first year for RMU, garnering all-league honors in the process. He ranks second in school history in career tackles at RMU (330) despite only playing three seasons for the Colonials. He added 19.5 tackles for loss, five fumble recoveries, three interceptions and 11 pass breakups in his Colonial career. He started 32 games at Robert Morris, including the final 22 contests of his career.
DiMichele finished with double-digit tackles in 19 of his 32 career games at Robert Morris. That production has put him 11th in career tackles per game at the FCS level as of the 2015 season.
DiMichele paced the Colonials with 105 tackles, including a team-high 45 solo stops, in 11 games in the team’s championship run of 2010. He led the Colonials with 13 tackles in a 30-23 upset over No. 15 Liberty and added another 13 in a 42-24 victory over Central Connecticut State that clinched a share of the NEC regular-season championship and the league’s inaugural bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
