The Ventura College football team opened summer workouts earlier this month with two assistant coaches receiving promotions to coordinate the Pirate offense and defense, respectively, in 2017. Entering his fourth season with VC football, Ryan Clanton will be directing the high octane Pirate offense while third-year assistant Mike Haydon will coordinate the Pirate defense.
Clanton brings impressive credentials to the Offensive Coordinator position, both as a player and a coach. The Bakersfield Christian High School, City College of San Francisco and University of Oregon graduate spent three seasons with the Ducks in Eugene, playing right guard, left guard and the ever-important left tackle positions on the offensive line. In his career at Oregon,the Ducks played in the 2011 BCS National Championship, won the 2012 Rose Bowl and won the 2013 Fiesta Bowl. Clanton was a team captain his senior season and was invited to NFL training camps, working with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers.
After spending one season at Bakersfield Christian as offensive line coach in 2013, Clanton came to VC as Offensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator, helping lead the Pirates to three consecutive Northern Conference championships. The Pirate offensive line's efforts anchored record-setting seasons in both 2015 and 2016 with a 1,000-yard rusher and numerous passing and scoring records, as well.
"I am very excited about the promotion of Ryan Clanton from Run Game Coordinator to Offensive Coordinator," said head coach Steve Mooshagian. "Ryan has been doing a lot of the game plan work since I hired him in 2014 and he has helped our offense grow ever year he has been here. We have a very experienced offensive staff, including Coach Clanton and Wide Receiver Coach Bobby Mooshagian. I feel we are in very good hands and expect us to continue to keep our four-year run as the leading offensive team in the National Northern Conference rolling ahead."
The Pirates also expect to add another full-time offensive assistant coach before the season in August.
Haydon enters his third season on the Ventura College coaching staff in 2017 and has been promoted to defensive coordinator for the upcoming campaign. He will continue working with the Linebackers, as well. Haydon was an integral part of VC's Northern Conference championships of 2015 and 2016, with the Pirates posting back-to-back 8-3 campaigns, punctuated by a Beach Bowl victory in '15 and a SCFA semifinal appearance a year ago.
Haydon came to VC after spending five seasons at Feather River College in Quincy, Calif. He served as the Defense Coordinator for the previous four working with the defensive line and defensive backs. Haydon also served one year as the special team's coordinator. Before his time at Feather River, Haydon spent two years as the graduate assistant for the University of Wisconsin-Stout working with the defensive backs.
Haydon graduated from Allen Park High School in Allen Park, MI and was a three sport athlete. He competed in football, basketball and baseball. He played cornerback and earned all-league, and all-region honors his senior year. He then moved on to Defiance College (Ohio) to continue his football career, starting all 40 games in his career with the Yellow Jackets. He earned all-league honors as a cornerback, safety, and linebacker. Haydon was a part of a defense that ranked in the top five nationally in total defense, run defense, and pass defense. While finishing his degree Haydon served as the running back coach for Defiance in the 2007 season.
"I am really excited about the promotion of Mike Haydon from Co-Defensive Coordinator (which he shared with Tyson Butler last season) to Defensive Coordinator," said Mooshagian. "Mike has implemented a system which is very sound and, along with Assistant Head Coach Terry Morris, I feel very confident that Mike will do a great job leading our defense. We made a ton of improvements last fall and expect even more growth this season."
The Pirates are hard at work with their two new coordinators preparing for the 2017 season as the three-peat defending Northern Conference champions. They open the season on Thursday Aug. 24 with a scrimmage at LA Valley College before kicking off the regular-season campaign at Santa Barbara City College on Saturday Sept. 2 at 1:00 pm.
