Feb. 6, 2018

Charlottesville, Va. – Virginia’s director of football development and performance Shawn Griswold has added three members to his staff. Joining the Cavaliers’ strength and conditioning program are associate coach Dwayne Chandler and assistant coaches Tyler Shumate and Nathan Pototschnik.

“Dwayne brings a great deal of experience with him from both the college ranks and the NFL while Tyler and Nathan are younger, eager and very dedicated. It’s a nice combination,” Griswold said. “We will complete the staff in the near future with one more full-time assistant. I have to give credit to Carla Williams and Bronco Mendenhall for providing the resources to allow the team the benefit of having the maximum number of full-time staff to work with them. That’s a tremendous commitment and advantage. It is a sign that, under Coach Mendenhall, the football program is continuing to move in a positive direction.”

Chandler comes to Virginia after spending the past year as the head strength & conditioning coach at Georgia Southern. Previous to that appointment, he was the associate director of athletic performance at Memphis from 2014 to 2016.

In his first season working with the Memphis program, Chandler was part of the Tigers’ American Athletic Conference title run. In 2015, Memphis equaled a school record for victories, posting a 10-3 record culminated with a 55-48 double-overtime win over BYU in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl. Quarterback Paxton Lynch broke numerous school records and was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos. In 2016, the Tigers won eight games and played in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Prior to joining the Memphis staff, Chandler was the assistant athletic director for sports enhancement at UAB where he oversaw the Blazers’ strength and conditioning programs with direct oversight of UAB’s football performance programs through the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Chandler joined the UAB staff from his alma mater, Oklahoma, where he was on staff from 2009-2011. He was an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Denver Broncos during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. While with the Broncos, Chandler worked with players such as Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Champ Bailey.

Prior to joining the staff at Denver, Chandler was promoted twice during a six-year span at Minnesota (2001-2006). He joined the Golden Gophers’ staff as a strength and conditioning assistant and speed coach in 2001 before being named co-head strength and conditioning coach in 2003. In 2004, Chandler was named the head strength and conditioning coach at Minnesota where he served until 2006.

During his time with the Gophers, Chandler instructed 12 players who were selected in the NFL Draft, including 2006 first-round draft choice Laurence Maroney and 2005 fourth-round selection Marion Barber III. His strength and conditioning efforts also helped the Golden Gophers advance to play in bowl games each of his last five years in the Twin Cities. Before being named to the Minnesota staff, Chandler spent a season with the Dallas Cowboys, serving as a strength and conditioning intern.

Chandler is Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. He is also USA Weightlifting Certified.

Chandler was a four-year letterwinner as a fullback from 1992-96 and led the Sooners in touchdowns (12) in 1993. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communication/sociology from Oklahoma in 2000.

Shumate spent the last two years as a member of Griswold’s conditioning staff at Arizona State where he served as a graduate assistant. He assisted the Sun Devil football, ice hockey, track and field, volleyball and gymnastics teams.

Shumate graduated from Mount Union with a degree in kinesiology and exercise science in 2016. He was a member of the Raiders’ track and field program, competing in the weight events. In 2016 he competed at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in the hammer.

Shumate is a native of Wapakoneta, Ohio.

Pototschnik has worked at Virginia since 2016 as an intern and graduate assistant on the strength and conditioning staff. During that time, he oversaw the development of the first-year players. He is scheduled to complete his masters in exercise physiology in 2018. He is Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (NSCA) by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.

Pototschnik graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2006 with a bachelor of science degree. He served in the Army for 10 years as an aviation officer. Before joining the Virginia staff in 2016, he was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Waipahu High School in Hawaii.

A native of Frederick, Md., Pototschnik was a member of Army’s rugby team, serving as a captain his final season.