Recruiting Areas: Southeastern Pennsylvania (York, Lancaster, Chester, Delaware), Southern New Jersey (Ocean, Burlington, Camden, Atlantic, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, Cape May), Virginia, North Carolina (Raleigh)
Gordon Sammis is in his second season as the offensive line coach on John Garrett's staff.
Sammis faced a daunting task in 2017, patching together an offensive line that faced the untimely losses of three starters (Kevin Zataveski - 11 games, Cam Smith - 9 games and Logan Grieser - 7 games). The Leopards played two rookies, Gavin Barclay and Taron Hampton (who missed the final three games), for much of the season along with first-year starter Colin Bradley, who started the final seven games. Sammis' group managed to cut the the offense's sacks allowed by five while giving freshman quarterback Sean O'Malley the time to set a Lafayette single-season record with 241 completions.
Prior to coming to Lafayette, Sammis spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons as the offensive line coach at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Va. He was responsible for the running game and pass protection plans for a tempo run-pass option offense. From year one to year two of his VMI tenure, the offensive line cut its number of sacks allowed by seven.
Prior to VMI, Sammis spent time as the tight ends coach and offensive line coach at Columbia University from 2012-14. He served as the program's recruiting coordinator all three seasons, navigating the recruiting waters at an Ivy League school with the conference's highly selective academic index.
A 2007 University of Virginia graduate, Sammis graduated with a degree in Government after a playing career as an offensive guard that spanned from 2003-07. Sammis competed under Garrett, who was the wide receivers coach from 2004-06 and added the title of assistant head coach for offense in his final season before joining the Dallas Cowboys' staff.
Sammis returned to his alma mater as a graduate assistant coach from 2010-12, earning his Master's Degree in Education in 2012. He worked as offensive line assistant for three seasons and as the tight ends coach his last two.
Sammis is a native of Flemington, N.J. where he attended Immaculata High School.
