Football
Ponce, Frank
Frank Ponce
- Title:
- Asst. Coach/Quarterbacks
- Email:
- frank@GoCards.com
Regarded as one of the top recruiters in the state of Florida, Frank Ponce joined the University of Louisville football staff Dec. 12, 2018.
Ponce, who came to Louisville after six successful seasons as the co-offensive coordinator/passing game coordinator at Appalachian State, serves as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Cardinals. Â
In his first season with the Cardinals, Ponce oversaw the transformation of starter Micale Cunningham, who set the school record for passing efficiency and would have ranked second nationally, but fell one pass shy of qualifying for the NCAA rankings.
Throwing for 473 yards and one touchdown in 2018, Cunningham surpassed those numbers by passing for 2,065 yards and 22 touchdowns, while leading the Cardinals to an 8-5 record and a win in the Music City Bowl, where Cunningham was named the game’s MVP.
Ponce’s six seasons as Appalachian State’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach coincided with a resurgence for the Mountaineers.
Over that span, Ponce spearheaded an improved offense that finished with a 50-24 record and three consecutive Sun Belt championships.
Appalachian State ranked 15th nationally in rushing offense in 2018, while ranking 20th in scoring offense. The Mountaineers scored 30 or more points in nine games, including a season high 72 points versus Gardner-Webb and 52 against South Alabama. In assisting with a potent running attack, Ponce’s offense totaled nine games of rushing for over 200 yards, posting an average of 230.6 yards a game over the last five contests.
Ponce tutored Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year Zac Thomas to a stellar statistical season in his only year as the starter. Thomas led the league in QBR (No. 12 FBS, 79.3), yards per pass attempt (No. 30 FBS, 8.1) and yards per completion (No. 37 FBS, 12.93). With TD runs of 25 and 35 yards in the Sun Belt title game pushing his season total to 10 rushing TDs, the 11th-best mark among FBS QBs, he was 63-of-97 passing for 717 yards with 11 total TDs (seven passing) and no INTs since returning to the lineup after missing four games with an injury.
In 2017, Ponce helped groom Taylor Lamb, who finished his career as the school and Sun Belt leader in touchdown passes with 90. The only FBS quarterbacks in 2017 with career totals of at least 9,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards were Lamb, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett and Heisman Trophy finalist Lamar Jackson.
With 27 touchdown passes and six interceptions as a senior, Lamb had the second-best season for an Appalachian State quarterback in terms of touchdown-to-interception ratio. He ranked 15th nationally in passing efficiency (152.2), 17th in passing touchdowns (27) and 20th in point responsibility (192).
Lamb led the conference in passing efficiency two years straight and was fourth as a junior, last season despite a group of young wide receivers. In 2015, Lamb ranked third among all freshman in the NCAA Division I FBS, he ranked No. 10 nationally with a 160.7 pass-efficiency rating and was the highest-rated sophomore. Working with Ponce, Lamb has set several Appalachian State records, including freshman passing yards (2,381) and touchdown passes (17) by a freshman during his Sun Belt Freshman of the Year campaign and, in 2015, most touchdown passes in a season (31).
Leading Appalachian State to an 11-2 record, Ponce’s potent aerial attack led the the Sun Belt in passing efficiency (163.2), which stood seventh-best nationally, en route to the No. 2 best red zone offense in the conference.
In his first season at Appalachian State (2013), Ponce directed the Southern Conference’s No. 2-ranked passing game (271.8 ypg). He also oversaw the development of quarterback Kameron Bryant, who came into the season with just 13 snaps under his belt yet set school records for single-season completion percentage (.712) and passing yards by a sophomore (2,713) despite not making his debut as a starter until the fifth game of the season.
Ponce arrived in Boone, N.C. after six seasons (2007-12) as the wide receivers coach at Florida International, where he worked with Satterfield for the two seasons that Satterfield served as FIU’s offensive coordinator (2010-11).
Ponce coached six of the top 10 receivers in FIU history during his six seasons with the Golden Panthers. His most notable pupil at FIU was three-time all-American T.Y. Hilton, who went on to be a third-round NFL Draft pick and has enjoyed a tremendous pro career, catching 493 passes for 7,813 yards and 40 touchdowns in seven NFL seasons. He also mentored Greg Ellingson, a long-time Canadian Football League star, who has caught 416 passes for 6,095 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Ponce was also celebrated for his recruiting ability during his time at FIU and was honored by ESPN.com as the Sun Belt’s top recruiter in 2010.
During his tenure at FIU, the Golden Panthers’ recruiting classes ranked among the top three in the Sun Belt five times, according to Rivals.com.
Ponce and his wife Christine are the the parents of two daughters, Isabel and Leah, and a pair of sons, Frankie and Lucas.
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Ponce, who came to Louisville after six successful seasons as the co-offensive coordinator/passing game coordinator at Appalachian State, serves as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Cardinals. Â
In his first season with the Cardinals, Ponce oversaw the transformation of starter Micale Cunningham, who set the school record for passing efficiency and would have ranked second nationally, but fell one pass shy of qualifying for the NCAA rankings.
Throwing for 473 yards and one touchdown in 2018, Cunningham surpassed those numbers by passing for 2,065 yards and 22 touchdowns, while leading the Cardinals to an 8-5 record and a win in the Music City Bowl, where Cunningham was named the game’s MVP.
Ponce’s six seasons as Appalachian State’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach coincided with a resurgence for the Mountaineers.
Over that span, Ponce spearheaded an improved offense that finished with a 50-24 record and three consecutive Sun Belt championships.
Appalachian State ranked 15th nationally in rushing offense in 2018, while ranking 20th in scoring offense. The Mountaineers scored 30 or more points in nine games, including a season high 72 points versus Gardner-Webb and 52 against South Alabama. In assisting with a potent running attack, Ponce’s offense totaled nine games of rushing for over 200 yards, posting an average of 230.6 yards a game over the last five contests.
Ponce tutored Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year Zac Thomas to a stellar statistical season in his only year as the starter. Thomas led the league in QBR (No. 12 FBS, 79.3), yards per pass attempt (No. 30 FBS, 8.1) and yards per completion (No. 37 FBS, 12.93). With TD runs of 25 and 35 yards in the Sun Belt title game pushing his season total to 10 rushing TDs, the 11th-best mark among FBS QBs, he was 63-of-97 passing for 717 yards with 11 total TDs (seven passing) and no INTs since returning to the lineup after missing four games with an injury.
In 2017, Ponce helped groom Taylor Lamb, who finished his career as the school and Sun Belt leader in touchdown passes with 90. The only FBS quarterbacks in 2017 with career totals of at least 9,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards were Lamb, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett and Heisman Trophy finalist Lamar Jackson.
With 27 touchdown passes and six interceptions as a senior, Lamb had the second-best season for an Appalachian State quarterback in terms of touchdown-to-interception ratio. He ranked 15th nationally in passing efficiency (152.2), 17th in passing touchdowns (27) and 20th in point responsibility (192).
Lamb led the conference in passing efficiency two years straight and was fourth as a junior, last season despite a group of young wide receivers. In 2015, Lamb ranked third among all freshman in the NCAA Division I FBS, he ranked No. 10 nationally with a 160.7 pass-efficiency rating and was the highest-rated sophomore. Working with Ponce, Lamb has set several Appalachian State records, including freshman passing yards (2,381) and touchdown passes (17) by a freshman during his Sun Belt Freshman of the Year campaign and, in 2015, most touchdown passes in a season (31).
Leading Appalachian State to an 11-2 record, Ponce’s potent aerial attack led the the Sun Belt in passing efficiency (163.2), which stood seventh-best nationally, en route to the No. 2 best red zone offense in the conference.
In his first season at Appalachian State (2013), Ponce directed the Southern Conference’s No. 2-ranked passing game (271.8 ypg). He also oversaw the development of quarterback Kameron Bryant, who came into the season with just 13 snaps under his belt yet set school records for single-season completion percentage (.712) and passing yards by a sophomore (2,713) despite not making his debut as a starter until the fifth game of the season.
Ponce arrived in Boone, N.C. after six seasons (2007-12) as the wide receivers coach at Florida International, where he worked with Satterfield for the two seasons that Satterfield served as FIU’s offensive coordinator (2010-11).
Ponce coached six of the top 10 receivers in FIU history during his six seasons with the Golden Panthers. His most notable pupil at FIU was three-time all-American T.Y. Hilton, who went on to be a third-round NFL Draft pick and has enjoyed a tremendous pro career, catching 493 passes for 7,813 yards and 40 touchdowns in seven NFL seasons. He also mentored Greg Ellingson, a long-time Canadian Football League star, who has caught 416 passes for 6,095 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Ponce was also celebrated for his recruiting ability during his time at FIU and was honored by ESPN.com as the Sun Belt’s top recruiter in 2010.
During his tenure at FIU, the Golden Panthers’ recruiting classes ranked among the top three in the Sun Belt five times, according to Rivals.com.
Ponce and his wife Christine are the the parents of two daughters, Isabel and Leah, and a pair of sons, Frankie and Lucas.
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