On Feb. 9, Miami announced its hiring of Frank Ponce to be its new quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.
Ponce previously served as Appalachian State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2013-2018 and again in 2021. He was also a quarterbacks coach at Louisville from 2019-2020.
In 2021, Appalachian State ranked 22nd nationally in points per game and 32nd in team passing efficiency. Miami saw a glimpse of Ponce’s offense this past season when the Mountaineers lost to the Hurricanes 25-23 at Hard Rock Stadium.
The 50-year-old Ponce is a Miami native who attended Florida International. He was the Panthers’ wide receivers coach from 2007-2012.
One of the main reasons Ponce was hired at Miami was because of his deep recruiting roots in the South Florida area, as he coached high school football in Miami for 13 seasons in a multitude of roles.
Ponce coached at La Progresiva Presbyterian School (1992), Coral Gables High School (1993-1996), Miami Northwestern Senior High School (1998), Miami Central High School (1999-2000), Coral Reef Senior High School (2002-2003) and Miami Senior High School (2004-2006).