By Patrick McHugh, News Staff

Head football coach Rocky Hager announced this week that two new coaches will be joining the Northeastern coaching staff for the upcoming season.
Frank Forcucci will become the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach while Corey Hetherman will become the outside linebackers coach. The hires come after an extensive search to fill the position, in which Hager said he met with candidates at the National Coaches Convention in Nashville.
‘I met with a number of coaches at the convention and brought in about nine to interview on campus,’ Hager said. ‘I chose Frank and Corey because I think they meet our needs on the defensive side of the ball.’
Forcucci comes to Northeastern with nine years experience coaching Division I football. Following a 10-year stint coaching high school football in Connecticut, Forcucci entered the realm of college football by becoming the director of football operations at the University of Massachusetts in 1999. He coached as an assistant there for four years, coaching the defensive line for one year and the outside linebackers for three years.
Forcucci returned to Connecticut and became the defensive coordinator, at Central Connecticut State in 2004.
In 2006 Forcucci became defensive coordinator at Fordham University. During his first season at Fordham the Rams were tops in the conference in turnovers and 11th nationally in D-IAA in tackles for a loss. The following year his defense helped Fordham win the Patriot League championship. Last season his squad finished first in the conference in pass defense and second in total defense.
Hager said Forcucci was hired because of his experience working in a system that uses three down linemen, a base defense the Huskies primarily use.
‘I anticipate our defense will be far more aggressive and will dictate the play on the field rather than let the offense do so,’ Hager said.
Hetherman will become the outside linebackers coach at Northeastern after three years of coaching experience. Although Hetherman is relatively new to the coaching world, Hager cites his new coach’s tireless work effort as a reason Hetherman was hired.
‘Another coach I spoke to in regards to Corey regarded him as a rising star who will land in the NFL one day,’ Hager said.
Hetherman’s connection to football has taken him around the world and seen him take on a variety of duties. As a player, Hetherman began his college career at UMass Lowell before transferring to Fitchburg State in 2003, and was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Falcons. He also played in both the Austrian and German football leagues.
In the fall of 2007 he returned to the United States and became an interim coach for King’s College in Pennsylvania. He worked with the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers and was also the offensive coordinator of the junior varsity team.
After a short period as the quarterbacks coach at Fitchburg State, Hetherman switched to the defensive side of the ball, becoming the outside linebackers coach at Springfield College. In 2008, he became the inside linebackers coach for the Pride. Hetherman also holds experience at Springfield coaching special teams and assisting in recruiting.
‘ Neither coach could be reached for comment.
The new coaches have been working with the defense during spring practice. The annual spring game is Saturday at 4 p.m. at Parsons Field.
‘Saturday will give our new coaches the chance to get some simulated game experience for the first time, which I think both our coaches and players are looking forward to,’ Hager said.