Donald Celiscar - Football Coach - University of Massachusetts Athletics

Donald Celiscar

Title:
Cornerbacks

Alma Mater: Western Michigan '15
Season at Massachusetts: First

Donald Celiscar comes to Amherst with 10 years of college football experience as both a coach and player. Celiscar will serve as the cornerbacks coach after spending three seasons at Western Michigan, primarily working with the cornerbacks.

At WMU, Celiscar helped the Broncos to a bowl game, as the team played in the 2024 IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl. Western Michigan finished with a 5-3 Mid-American Conference (MAC) record in 2024. He also aided Bilahl Kone to a 2024 Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Bowl Invitations.

During the 2023 season, Celiscar coached two-time Third Team All-MAC selection Keni-H Lovely to a career-high 48 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and five pass breakups. Kone added eight pass breakups on the year as Celiscar’s cornerbacks made 17 pass breakups on the season. Lovely was later signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent.

Celiscar’s first season with the Broncos saw Lovely come away with four interceptions and a pick-six to earn Third Team All-MAC honors. Celiscar’s cornerbacks were responsible for 15 passes defended in the 2022 season.

Prior to Western Michigan, Celiscar spent the 2021 year as the associate head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Division II Lake Erie College. There, he saw a player earn Second Team All-Conference honors and three members garner Third Team Defensive honors. In his one season, the Storm defense ranked third overall in the Great Midwest Conference.

Celiscar was the defensive backs coach at Montana State-Northern in the 2020 season and spent the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant at Minnesota. With the Gophers, he mentored unanimous All-American Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year and 2020 NFL second-round draft pick Antoine Winfield Jr. (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), while guiding two Big Tean Honorable Mention selections, including seventh-round draft pick Chris Williamson (New York Giants). In 2019, Minnesota finished the year ranked second in the Big Ten in interceptions (14) and went from No. 51 nationally in passing defense in 2018 (212.4), to No. 9 in 2019 (184.2).

Celiscar was a defensive back at Western Michigan from 2011-14, starting in 40 of 48 games played. He ended his career at WMU with 10 interceptions, 45 pass breakups and 247 tackles. As a senior, Celiscar led the nation in passes defended per game (1.6), had four interceptions and added 17 pass breakups. He earned All-Mac First Team honors in 2014, was named to the All-MAC Second Team in 2013 and was an All-MAC Third Team member in 2012.

Celiscar participated in the 2015 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, and was invited to the NFL Combine. He spent time with the Indianapolis Colts in 2015 and was in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2016.

Celiscar, a native of Winter Haven, Florida, earned his bachelor’s in recreation with a minor in business from Western Michigan in 2015 and is in the process of earning his master’s in youth development leadership from Minnesota.