Staff Directory
Fessler, Billy
Billy Fessler
- Title:
- Quarterbacks Coach
Billy Fessler
Quarterbacks Coach
Ohio State Football
Billy Fessler, who national championship winning quarterback Will Howard said “taught him so much” in 2024 and was an “integral part of his development,” was named Ohio State quarterbacks coach in February 2025 by head coach Ryan Day.
“He taught me more than most guys in that role ever could,” Howard said at the NFL Combine. “He was the mouthpiece for Coach Day and Coach Kelly to me. He was my personal, one-on-one QB coach at times. I felt so prepared going into every game, and Billy was a big part of that.”
Fessler spent the 2024 season on staff with the Buckeyes as an analyst and worked exclusively with the quarterbacks, helping Howard to one of the best seasons in program history. Howard set the Ohio State single-season and career records for completion percentage (73.0) this year and finished third nationally in efficiency (175.3). His 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns rank third and fifth, respectively, in single-season school history. Howard also set a school record by completing 80 percent or better of his passes in eight games last season.
Day called Fessler “very smart. Works really, really hard at it. He's got a bright future in the game. We see things the same way. He's very, very talented.”
The 2024 season marked Fessler’s second stint on Ohio State’s staff. He spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons on staff working with Heisman Trophy finalist quarterbacks Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud. From there, Fessler was the quarterbacks coach at Akron in 2022 and was promoted after one season to be the Zips’ offensive coordinator early in 2023. He had a brief stint as offensive quarterback / quarterbacks coach at UCLA before coming back to Ohio State last summer.
Fessler started his coaching career at Slippery Rock, where he would serve as a graduate assistant and running backs coach in 2018. From there, he was hired as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State under Joe Morehead, his former coach and who would later tab him as his quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator at Akron.
From Erie, Pa. and a graduate of Erie Cathedral Prep, Fessler was a quarterback at Penn State from 2014-17. He graduated in 2018 with his degree in finance and he has two master’s degrees: one in business administration from Mississippi State University and the other in sports coaching from Ohio State.
Fessler and his wife, Kelsey, have a young son, Freddy.
Billy Fessler Quick Facts
Hometown: Erie, Pa
High School: Erie Catholic Prep
Alma Mater: Penn State
Degree: Finance
Master’s: Business administration (Mississippi State); Sports coaching (Ohio State)
Year in Coaching: Eighth (First at Ohio State)
Family: Wife, Kelsey; son, Freddy
Quarterbacks Coach
Ohio State Football
Billy Fessler, who national championship winning quarterback Will Howard said “taught him so much” in 2024 and was an “integral part of his development,” was named Ohio State quarterbacks coach in February 2025 by head coach Ryan Day.
“He taught me more than most guys in that role ever could,” Howard said at the NFL Combine. “He was the mouthpiece for Coach Day and Coach Kelly to me. He was my personal, one-on-one QB coach at times. I felt so prepared going into every game, and Billy was a big part of that.”
Fessler spent the 2024 season on staff with the Buckeyes as an analyst and worked exclusively with the quarterbacks, helping Howard to one of the best seasons in program history. Howard set the Ohio State single-season and career records for completion percentage (73.0) this year and finished third nationally in efficiency (175.3). His 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns rank third and fifth, respectively, in single-season school history. Howard also set a school record by completing 80 percent or better of his passes in eight games last season.
Day called Fessler “very smart. Works really, really hard at it. He's got a bright future in the game. We see things the same way. He's very, very talented.”
The 2024 season marked Fessler’s second stint on Ohio State’s staff. He spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons on staff working with Heisman Trophy finalist quarterbacks Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud. From there, Fessler was the quarterbacks coach at Akron in 2022 and was promoted after one season to be the Zips’ offensive coordinator early in 2023. He had a brief stint as offensive quarterback / quarterbacks coach at UCLA before coming back to Ohio State last summer.
Fessler started his coaching career at Slippery Rock, where he would serve as a graduate assistant and running backs coach in 2018. From there, he was hired as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State under Joe Morehead, his former coach and who would later tab him as his quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator at Akron.
From Erie, Pa. and a graduate of Erie Cathedral Prep, Fessler was a quarterback at Penn State from 2014-17. He graduated in 2018 with his degree in finance and he has two master’s degrees: one in business administration from Mississippi State University and the other in sports coaching from Ohio State.
Fessler and his wife, Kelsey, have a young son, Freddy.
Billy Fessler Quick Facts
Hometown: Erie, Pa
High School: Erie Catholic Prep
Alma Mater: Penn State
Degree: Finance
Master’s: Business administration (Mississippi State); Sports coaching (Ohio State)
Year in Coaching: Eighth (First at Ohio State)
Family: Wife, Kelsey; son, Freddy
Billy Fessler Coaching Assignments
2025 Quarterbacks ............................................................. Ohio State
2024 Quality Control / Quarterbacks................................... Ohio State
202 Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks......................... Akron
2022 Quarterbacks.............................................................. Akron
2020-21 Offensive Graduate Assistant..................................... Ohio State
2019 Offensive Graduate Assistant..................................... Mississippi State
2018 Offensive Graduate Assistant / Running Backs........... Slippery Rock
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