Lewandowski, Grice promoted to full-time assistant football coaches at ULM

MONROE, La. – Third-year ULM head football coach Terry Bowden announced Monday, Jan. 23 the promotion of a graduate assistant coach and an analyst to full-time positions, with Davis Lewandowski named tight ends coach and Cody Grice hired as defensive line coach.

The 26-year-old Lewandowski spent the last three years as a graduate assistant at ULM, first under Matt Viator in 2020 then the past two seasons under Bowden.

Last season, he assisted wide receivers coach John Carr while assuming the role of chief of staff, overseeing the day-to-day responsibilities of other graduate assistants and analysts. He received his Master of Science in sports management from ULM in December 2022.

In 2021, Lewandowski worked with the quarterbacks under former offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez.

In 2020, he helped coach the defensive backs and ran the offensive scout team under the supervision of former defensive coordinator Scott Stoker.

Lewandowski came to ULM following a five-year playing career at Michigan State where he played wide receiver for head coach Mark Dantonio. He made his collegiate debut as a red-shirt freshman in 2016 against Rutgers and became a letterwinner in 2019.

From 2015-19, the Spartans compiled a combined record of 39-26 (.600), including the 2015 Big Ten Championship and a trip to the 2015 College Football Playoff (Cotton Bowl vs. Alabama), and made three other postseason bowl appearances (2017 Holiday Bowl vs. Washington State, 2018 Redbox Bowl vs. Oregon and 2019 Pinstripe Bowl vs. Wake Forest). Michigan State ranked sixth in the final 2015 Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches’ Polls and finished in the Top 20 again in 2017 (No. 15 AP/No. 16 USA Today).

“Davis Lewandowski has displayed great leadership ability in my two years here at ULM,” Bowden said. “He served in the role of chief of support staff last year, overseeing all of our graduate assistants and analysts, and he did a great job. He has a great background, coming from a successful FBS program at Michigan State. He has worked with the quarterbacks and wide receivers for the past two years, so it’s natural for him to take over as our tight ends coach.

“Since Davis worked extensively with our inside and outside receivers, this move allows us to continue to develop our offensive scheme without missing a beat. He already possesses a great knowledge and understanding of our offense.

“Although he grew up in the Midwest and played at Michigan State, Davis also has family ties here, and that’s important.”

Lewandowski spent three summers coaching at former Michigan State and now Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins’ Football Camp in Holland, Mich.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in advertising management from Michigan State in December 2019.

The 30-year-old Grice served as an analyst at ULM the last two seasons, working with the defensive line.

A four-year letterman (2012-15) and two-time captain for Bowden at Akron, Grice was a student assistant at his alma mater in 2018, working with the defensive linemen. He also gained experience as the head strength and conditioning coach at Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio, and defensive line coach at McKinley Senior High School in Canton.

A native of Akron, Ohio, Grice started a school-record 49 consecutive games at nose guard for the Zips and recorded 136 career tackles, with 24.5 resulting in losses (87 yards) including 8.0 sacks (42 yards). He also scored eight rushing touchdowns, four each as a junior and senior, as a short-yardage fullback.

“Cody Grice played for me at Akron, was a two-time captain and emerged as one of the leaders of our football team,” Bowden said. “He also coached for me there. So, when I brought him here two years ago, it was with the intention to prepare him for a full-time coaching position when it became available. We hated to lose Ricky Logo (to UNLV), but there’s no doubt Cody is ready to transition into that full-time slot as defensive line coach.

“He’s an outstanding teacher with great communication skills, and Cody already has strong relationships with many players on this team. Cody brings a lot of energy to the field every day and the players respond to that juice.”

Grice became a two-time All-Mid-American Conference selection, earning first-team honors as a junior and second-team recognition as a senior. In 2015, he anchored an Akron defensive unit that led the MAC in rushing defense and ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, allowing 92.9 yards per game. The Zips made their first-ever postseason bowl appearance in 2015 and finished with an 8-5 record, including a 23-21 victory over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Grice closed out his career by producing 1.5 sacks in the bowl win over the Aggies.

He earned his Bachelor of Science in organizational supervision from Akron in May 2018.