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Chris Hudson and Zane Ries headline Miami’s coaching continuity

Coach Brunson talks to his players during the September 12.
Coach Brunson talks to his players during the September 12.

Chris Hudson and Zane Ries’ time at Miami University began long before they donned the head sets. Their time at Miami began on the playing field. The two are great examples of the cohesion that head coach Chuck Martin loves to have on his team. 

“There was just so much continuity when it comes to family here and relationships, and that’s what I’m built on as an individual as well,” Hudson said. 

Coach Hudson is the running backs coach for the RedHawks. He briefly played for Miami as a wide receiver in 2015. After suffering a career-ending injury, he graduated from Miami in 2020. In 2023, Hudson returned to Oxford as a coach.

When Hudson played wide receiver in 2015, he was coached by Bill Brechin, who is the current defensive coordinator for the RedHawks. 

Martin was the only coach to offer Hudson a scholarship out of high school. After his injury, Martin let Hudson stay home to heal. This allowed them to build up a strong relationship, which Hudson credits for propelling him to becoming a coach.

“He is who he is, there’s no faking,” Hudson said. “What you see is what you get from him, and that’s what I love. From the first day I met him and talked to him on the phone to this day, he’s not wavered in who he is, so that’s what makes you know the great dude that he is.”

Coach Ries is the safeties coach for the RedHawks, and he previously played for Miami as a quarterback in 2022. Before his time at Miami, he was a three-year starter at quarterback for Ohio Wesleyan University. 

“Miami was a dream school for me,” Ries said. “I was not good enough to come here out of high school. Fortunately, for my fifth year, I got to come here, and then obviously with the history and rich tradition of this program and all the coaches that have come through here, there would be no place I’d rather be.”

Ries began coaching at Miami  in the spring of 2023, right after his playing career concluded. He started out as a graduate assistant and has worked with the linebackers and the defensive line groups. 

Coach Ries credits Martin for being a huge impact on his adult life, since Ries has been working with Martin in some capacity since 2022. Ries says Martin was an impactful coach because of the standard that Martin expects from all of his players daily and his dedication to the program.

“It’s still fire and passion every single day,” Ries said. “Just the amount of work that he puts in and how much he truly cares about us, this program, his players and everybody around him. Obviously, as a player, you don’t spend as much time with him as you do as a coach, so that’s something that I’ve really noticed.”

Hudson and Ries both now coach to their players what Martin originally taught them. For Hudson, it’s about teaching the approach, making sure his players are feeling the right way and that they are thinking positively about the situation they are in. 

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“You just have to make sure that your guys have the right approach or right mindset to come out here and practice the right way because that’s how they’re going to get better,” Hudson said. “If they approach it the wrong way, then they won’t get better.”

Ries shares a similar coaching philosophy. He believes it’s important to make everything count to get better every day.

“Practice matters and every rep matters,” Ries said. “That’s something as a player that he’s going to get the best out of you every single day, and I’ve kind of tried to carry that on to my position room in terms of just making every day count, making every rep count, making every drill count and having the mindset that it will pay off.”

hartlapo@miamioh.edu

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