Gerald Cadogan, a Portsmouth native who played college football at Penn State after a decorated five-sport high school career at Portsmouth High School, is in his second season as the varsity swim coach for both men and women at Shawnee State.
Cadogan has served as the head coach of the boys and girls swimming programs at Portsmouth High School, as well as the head coach of the men’s track team and as an assistant football coach for the past six years in each discipline. He entered first season as the head coach of Shawnee State University men’s and women’s swimming programs, which debuted in the newly renovated Warsaw Natatorium in 2020.
In his first season, Cadogan coached three Mid-South Conference Swimmer of the Week recipients in Cody Borsini, Kenzie Pennington and Wenjie Lu. Pennington, who earned all-conference honors in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke, was named as not only the program's first-ever All-Mid-South Conference honoree, but its first-ever NAIA All-American as well following the season's conclusion.
Cadogan, who is a 2004 graduate of Portsmouth High School, was a decorated four-sport student-athlete during his time at PHS, ultimately lettering in football, basketball, swimming, and track and field while with the Trojans.
In football, Cadogan was a First-Team Division IV All-Southeast District and Division IV First-Team All-Ohio selection as an offensive lineman in 2003, helped lead Portsmouth to a 39-11 overall record during his four seasons as a varsity letterman under head coach Curt Clifford, and pushed the Trojans to a state semifinal appearance and two regional final appearances as a varsity hand.
Those accomplishments led to Cadogan being named as an Ohio finalist for the Wendy’s High School Heisman, with the Portsmouth Daily Times following suit by naming Cadogan as its Sportsman of the Year.
Cadogan — who, as a football prospect, was ranked eighth in the state in the Class of 2004 with a three-star ranking and a .8556 composite ranking according to 24/7 Sports — signed with Penn State as the nation’s No. 335 overall prospect.
He later became a two-year starter for the Nittany Lions at left tackle and earned Academic All-Big 10 honors three times while being named as an Academic All-American twice, and graduated with honors from Penn State while double majoring in psychology and rehabilitation services all while earning Consensus First-Team All Big-10 honors in his senior season.
Professionally, Cadogan was signed to the Cincinnati Bengals’, Carolina Panthers’, Indianapolis Colts’, Philadelphia Eagles’, and San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers’ practice squads before finishing his football career in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts, whom Cadogan won a Grey Cup with in 2012.
Since that time, Cadogan has established himself as a prominent figure on the Portsmouth sidelines in one form or another.
In 2018, the Trojans, under the leadership of Cadogan and head coach Bruce Kalb, won their final four games to clinch the football program’s first playoff berth since 2007 as the offensive line, coached primarily by Cadogan and his brother, Nate, paved the way for Talyn Parker’s record-breaking 2,530-yard campaign that also featured 29 rushing touchdowns and a school-record 382-yard, five-touchdown performance against Chesapeake by Parker in a 55-39 victory.
However, Cadogan’s success as a swimming and track and field coach is even more pronounced.
In seven seasons as the Portsmouth swimming coach, Cadogan’s led the Trojans to five Scioto County Championships — including three consecutive — and in track, Aiden Kammler, a sophomore student-athlete in the men's cross country and track programs at SSU, qualified for the OHSAA Division II 3200 Meter Run State Championship under Cadogan’s direction, ultimately finishing 15th in the event.
In the case of the swimming program, Cadogan raised its participation to host 35 boys and girls, and started a junior high program, which currently features 20 swimmers on its roster.
In addition to his accomplishments in sport, the 33-year old — who has since obtained a master’s degree in education — teaches inside the Portsmouth City School District, runs his own football camp, the Gerald Cadogan Football Camp, which has hosted student-athletes from third through 12th grades, and has volunteered his time with activities surrounding the Spartan Stadium Renovation Project in addition to numerous additional causes.
Cadogan currently resides in Portsmouth.
