Mike Cochran is now in his second season as the Thundering Herd's head strength and conditioning coach.

"I've known Mike for 15 years and worked with him much of that time. For several years he has been courted to become the head strength and conditioning coach at many schools, but he has been very selective and waiting for the perfect opportunity," Mark Snyder said. "All of our NFL players at Ohio State came back to work out with Mike in the off-season - that's the kind of respect they have for him and his ability to make them successful."

Cochran comes to Marshall after spending the last four years as a strength and conditioning assistant at Ohio State where he worked under National Strength and Conditioning Hall of Fame member Allan Johnson.

Prior to his tenure at Ohio State, Cochran served as the director of strength and conditioning at Youngstown State. He oversaw all 18 varsity sports for the Penguins, including the football program.

Cochran, a native of Girard, Ohio, attended Youngstown State and played football for the Penguins, serving as team captain during his senior year of 1989. He played both fullback and linebacker and finished his career with 214 total tackles.

Cochran earned his undergraduate degree in exercise science from Youngstown State in 1992 and went on to spend three seasons as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, working with the defense from 1993 to 1995.

In 1995, Coachran was named Youngstown State's assistant strength and conditioning coach and he was promoted to head strength coach in 1996.

Cochran was inducted into the Youngstown State Hall of Fame in 2000.

He and his wife, Traci, have two daughters, Mikayla and Raegan.