FIU Athletics

Paws Up Podcast - Episode 91 Feat. Frank Ponce

Frank Ponce is entering his first season on head coach Willie Simmons' staff.

Ponce, who will serve as associate head coach in addition to leading the tight ends, returns to FIU after a previous stint with the Panthers as wide receivers coach from 2007-12, with his most notable pupil being three-time All-American T.Y. Hilton, who went on to star for 11 seasons in the NFL.
 
Prior to his initial stint at with the Panthers he was regarded as one of the top high school coaches in football-rich south Florida, serving as the head coach and offensive coordinator at tradition-laden Miami Senior High from 2004-06 and the head coach at Coral Reef High from 2002-03.


 
Ponce was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Appalachian State from 2023-24, which marked his third stint with the Mountaineers.  He helped guide Appalachian State to a Sun Belt East Division title in 2023 which included nine wins and a victory in the Cure Bowl.  Ponce was recognized as a andidate for the Broyles Award that goes to the nation’s top assistant coach.
 
In 2023, Ponce helped direct Joey Aguilar to a record-breaking season in which the App State newcomer set program records for single-season touchdown passes (33), single-season passing yards (3,757) and single-season total offense (4,002).
 
App State averaged 33.2 points per game with a balanced offense that ranked in the top four of the Sun Belt in both passing yards per game (273.6) and rushing yards per game (172.0).
 
During the 2024 regular season, Ponce directed an offense that had the Sun Belt’s top passer in Aguilar (273.0 yards per game) while also producing a rusher  who ended the season with five straight 100-yard rushing games. The Mountaineers ranked No. 4 in the league in total offense at 426.8 yards per game.
 
Ponce held the role of passing game coordinator at the University of Miami in 2022 prior to his third of three stints in Boone.  The second of which saw him hold the title of offensive coordinator for the Mountaineers in 2021.

As App State's offensive coordinator in 2021, Ponce oversaw quarterback Chase Brice set a single-season program record for passing yards (3,337) as the Mountaineers extended their FBS-leading streak of consecutive years with a 1,000-yard rusher to 10 - while averaging 34.5 points per game. The offense helped App State post a 10-win regular season and win the Sun Belt's East Division title.
 
Ponce was the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at Louisville in 2019 and 2020 and began his first and longest run at Appalachian State in 2013 and remaining in Boone through 2018 as the Co-Offensive Coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
 
The detail-oriented Ponce oversaw the 2019 development of Louisville quarterback and new full-time starter Malik Cunningham, who set the school record with a passing efficiency rating of 194.45. 
 
Three-year App State starter Zac Thomas was a relatively unknown commodity replacing record-breaking quarterback Taylor Lamb back in 2018, and Ponce helped Thomas make an immediate splash as a first-year starter who developed into the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Year with 2,039 passing yards, 504 rushing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing touchdowns and just six interceptions during an 11-2 season.
 
He began his coaching career with stints as an assistant at La Progresiva Presbyterian School (offensive coordinator - 1992), Coral Gables High (quarterbacks/wide receivers - 1993-96), Miami Northwestern High (quarterbacks - 1998), Miami Central High (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks - 1999-2000) and Miami Killian High (offensive coordinator - 2001). As a coach at Miami Central, he mentored Willis McGahee, who went on to become an All-America running back at the University of Miami and a two-time NFL Pro Bowler.
 
A native of Miami, Ponce enjoyed a decorated playing career as a quarterback at Miami Senior, where he was the team MVP and a finalist for the 1988 Miami Herald Hispanic Athlete of the Year Award. He went on to become the starting quarterback for two years at Arizona Western College, where he earned an associate's degree in arts in 1990. He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from FIU in 1997.
 
Ponce

Ponce Timeline

2025-present	FIU	Associate Head Coach/Tight Ends
2023-24	Appalachian State	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2022	Miami	Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator
2021	Appalachian State	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2019-20	Louisville	Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator
2013-18	Appalachian State	Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2007-12	FIU	Wide Receivers