Pedro Arruza has taken the reins as the head football coach at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Virginia.
After an impressive five-year stint as an assistant coach at Washington University in St. Louis, Coach Arruza hopes to return the Randolph Macon Yellow Jackets to the top of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference on the heels of a 4-6 season. His top-notch skills as a motivator, teacher and recruiter will be put to the test.
“This is a great place to be. The people who are here have a great vision for the program,” Coach Arruza said. “Denis Kanach, our new athletics director, is extremely supportive. We have all the elements in place here to be successful…great facilities, great alumni, and a tremendous academic institution.”
Over the course of his tenure at Washington University, Arruza served in many roles, including defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach, strength and conditioning coordinator and the team’s recruiting coordinator. In 2003, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) recognized his hard work, naming him the Division III Assistant coach of the Year for his contributions both on and off the field.
In St. Louis, Arruza’s off field activities included working with the Tom Lombardo Chapter of the National Football Foundation and its president, Bob Bunton.
“We had a lot of involvement with the NFL/NFF Coaching Academy and the NFF scholar-athlete banquet in St. Louis, and I just talked to Joe Miller [president of the Commonwealth (Richmond) Chapter about getting involved here],” Arruza said. “They’re having a leadership seminar on Wednesday. It’s something that I have a lot interest in. Leadership is something that you have to teach and define, and it is something that you train in the same way you drill fundamentals.”
During his five years at Washington University, the Bears posted a 34-17 overall record, won four University Athletic Association (UAA) championships and made their first appearance in school history in the NCAA playoffs in 1999.
A native of West Palm Beach, Fla., Arruza played college football as a three-year starting running back for Wheaton (Ill.) College. At Wheaton, he twice earned All-America honors and was a three-time GTE Academic All-American first-team member. Arruza is the Thunder's all-time leading rusher with 3,179 yards and the owner of the school's rushing mark in a season with 1,209 yards.
