Cody Ladutko - Tight Ends Coach - Football Coaches

Cody Ladutko

Title:
Tight Ends Coach
Email:
lufootball@liberty.edu
Start Date:
01/01/2023

Cody Ladutko helped Liberty to unprecedented heights during his first season on the Mountain at Tight Ends Coach in 2023.

Liberty entered bowl season with a perfect 13-0 record and was one of four undefeated teams in the country, joining Florida State, Washington and eventual national champion Michigan.

Ladutko helped the Flames to an unblemished 8-0 regular season record in Conference USA and a 49-35 win over New Mexico State in the CUSA Football Championship game.

The team’s success positioned the Flames to receive their first-ever invitation to play in a New Year’s Six bowl game. Liberty squared off against No. 8 Oregon in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on January 1 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

The Flames’ spread option offense allowed Liberty to finish the 2023 season ranked No. 1 in the country in rushing, averaging 293.3 yards per game. Liberty finished the year rushing for a program-record 4,106 yards and 39 touchdowns.

Additionally, Liberty ranked No. 1 in tackles for a loss allowed (2.64 per game), No. 2 in sacks allowed (0.64 per game), No. 2 in passing yards per completion (16.19), No. 3 in winning percentage (92.9), No. 4 in total offense (499.1 yards per game), No. 4 in first down offense (348), No. 8 in time of possession (33:04) and No. 9 scoring offense (38.3 points per game).

Ladutko’s tight ends played a vital role in the Flames setting a school record with 32 receiving touchdowns. Bentley Hanshaw ranked second on Liberty’s roster with six receiving touchdowns, while Austin Henderson added three more touchdowns.

Hanshaw, who caught Liberty’s lone touchdown pass against No. 8 Oregon, finished the 2023 ranked No. 6 in the country in total touchdown receptions by a tight end.

Ladutko joined Liberty’s staff in 2023 after learning under head coach Jamey Chadwell’s offense at Coastal Carolina for the five years prior to coming to the Mountain (2018-22).

Ladutko was promoted to tight ends coach in 2022 after serving the Chanticleers in a variety of roles from 2018 to 2021, including offensive analyst (2020-21), offensive graduate assistant (2019-20) and offensive quality control (2018-19).

Ladutko has worked under Flames’ new co-offensive coordinator Willy Korn for several seasons and worked specifically with the tight ends during the 2020-21 seasons.

The Chanticleers outscored all their opponents 532-281 during the 2020 season, including totaling 100-plus points in each quarter on the year in 2021.

Coastal Carolina’s offense was one of only two teams nationally to rank in the top 10 in both third-down conversion (1st) and fourth-down conversion percentage (4th) on the season and one of only two teams in the country to rank in the top 30 in both rushing offense (6th) and passing offense (28th).

The Coastal offense finished the season ranked No. 1 nationally in team passing efficiency (192.01), while Ladutko’s tight ends helped quarterback Grayson McCall led the nation and set a new NCAA FBS single-season record with a passing efficiency rating of 207.6 on the year.

The offense also finished the season ranked No. 1 nationally in average yards per rush on the season (5.84 ypr) and in third-down conversion percentage (53.8 percent), was second nationally in yards per play on offense (7.74 ypp), and ranked fourth nationally in fourth-down conversion percentage (76.9 percent).

The offense finished the season ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring offense (40.9 ppg) and was one of only five FBS schools to average over 40 points per game on the season.

In 2020, the Chanticleers won the program’s first-ever Sun Belt Conference title, posted an 11-1 overall mark, including an 8-0 Sun Belt Conference record, and played in the program’s first-ever FBS postseason bowl game.

The 2020 season marked Coastal Carolina’s first-ever undefeated regular season and the first time that the Chanticleers were ranked in either the Associated Press Top 25 Poll or the Amway Coaches Poll presented by USA Today Sports.

Ladutko helped tight end Isaiah Likely earn All-Sun Belt first-team honors in 2020 and 2021 and FWAA All-America second-team honors in 2021.

Likely finished his four-year career at Coastal Carolina with 2,050 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns, including a standout senior year where he had 59 receptions for 912 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Likely who was named a second-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Pro Football Network (PFN), and College Football All-SIS, while also earning Pro Football Focus (PFF) All-America third-team honors and Phil Steele All-American honorable mention accolades. He was also named a 2021 John Mackey Award semifinalist and was a two-time first-team All-Sun Belt pick (2020 and 2021) under Dixon’s guidance.

In 2021, Likely hauled in 59 receptions for 912 yards, both of which were second on the team, and led the Sun Belt with 12 receiving touchdowns. His numbers ranked second among tight ends in all of NCAA D1 FBS football.

Ladutko started his coaching career at Davidson College as the wide receivers coach from 2014-17 after playing professionally in Europe for the Orebro Black Knights (Sweden) in 2011 and Cannes Iron Mask (France) from 2012-13.

Ladutko started his collegiate career at Mercyhurst from 2006-08 before transferring to Averett for his final two seasons in 2009-10. He graduated from Averett in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in coaching and earned his master’s degree from Coastal in instructional technology.

Ladutko is married to the former Lindsay Haynes. The couple has two kids - a daughter, Cora, and a son, Deacon.

Ladutko at a Glance
Coaching Experience:

2023-24 – Liberty (TE)
2022 – Coastal Carolina (TE)
2020-21 – Coastal Carolina (Offensive Analyst)
2019-20 – Coastal Carolina (Offensive GA)
2018-19 – Coastal Carolina (Offensive Quality Control)
2014-17 – Davidson (WR)

Education: Bachelor's degree in coaching (Averett, '11), master's degree in instructional technology (Coastal Carolina, ’20)
Wife: Lindsay
Children: Cora and Deacon
Hometown: Harrisburg, N.C.