Troy University Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Special Teams Coordinator / Running Backs
- Email:
- mblackmon@troy.edu
- Phone:
- 3682
Brian Blackmon, one of the most successful and respected high school coaches in the state of Alabama, begins his third season on the Troy football staff. Blackmon added the role of special teams coordinator prior to the 2019 season after coaching Troyโs tight ends and S-backs in 2018. For the 2020 season, Blackmon will turn his attention soley to the special teams. He joined the Troy staff following one season as an offensive analyst at Auburn after a 21-year career at Opelika High School.
In his one season coaching the running backs (2019), Blackmon was dealt one of the most difficult hands in the country as Troy lost Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year B.J. Smith and two other running backs in week two to injury. He mentored Smithโs replacement DK Billingsley towards a season where he rushed for 901 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Troy was once again one of the top special teams units in the country ranking 17th in opponent kickoff return yards limiting returns to just a 17.85 yard average.
Troy was successful in all phases in which Blackmon had a hand in during his initial season with the Trojans. He played a vital role in Troyโs special teams units, and the Trojans finished the season ranked number one in the country according to ESPNโs special teams efficiency rating.
Additionally, Troy finished fourth nationally in net punting as Tyler Sumpter set the school record averaging 45.1 yards per punt, and the Trojans were ninth in the country averaging 25.0 yards per kickoff return. Sumpter finished one field goal shy of setting the school record with 18 makes on the year, and the Trojans were one of just 24 teams nationally to not allow a blocked kick.
Blackmonโs first season at Troy resulted in a 10-3 overall record, a victory at Nebraska and the Trojansโ third straight bowl victory. Running back B.J. Smith turned in the fourth-best rushing season in school history with 1,186 yards behind the blocking of Troyโs tight ends and S-backs.
In his lone season on The Plains, Auburnโs offense ranked in the top 30 nationally in total offense, rushing, pass efficiency and scoring as the Tigers won the SEC Western Division and played in the SEC Championship Game. Running back Kerryon Johnson was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and Auburn finished the season with a Peach Bowl appearance after knocking off a pair of No. 1 teams โ Georgia & Alabama โ over the seasonโs final three weeks.
Among the coaches who have also held the offensive analyst position with the Tigers are Troy head coach Chip Lindsey, Georgia running back coach Dell McGee and South Carolina running backs coach Bobby Bentley.
Blackmon served as the head coach of the Opelika football program in his final eight seasons (2009-16) at the school, while also serving as the athletics director during the same time period before leaving for Auburn in February 2017.
Opelika advanced to a pair of Alabama 6A state championship games (2012 & 2016) and the Bulldogs compiled a 69-25 record during Blackmonโs tenure. He was honored as the 6A Coach of the Year in 2012 by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, the Alabama Football Coaches Association, the Opelika-Auburn News, Columbus SportsVision and AL.com.
The Bulldogs won three consecutive region championships and advanced to the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons as head coach. Blackmon left Opelika as the third-winningest coach in the then 99-year history of the high school.
He has served as president of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association and on the advisory, Hall of Fame, reclassification and all-star selection committees of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. Additionally, he served on the high school task force of USA Football and as a district board member of the Alabama Football Coaches Association.ย
Blackmon spent his first 13 years at Opelika as the offensive coordinator under legendary head coach Spence McCracken; he also served as assistant athletics director from 2001-08 and coached the soccer, wrestling and golf teams during his career at Opelika. He was named the Alabama Assistant Coach of the Year following the 2004 season and was a consistent figure on the coaching staffs of the Alabama-Mississippi and North-South all-star games.
A graduate of Robert E. Lee High in Montgomery, where he was part of the 1991 state champion football team and was inducted into the schoolโs hall of fame in 2017, Blackmon played one season at North Alabama before transferring to Troy to complete his studies.ย
Blackmon earned his bachelorโs degree in accounting from Troy in 1996 and a masterโs degree in business education from Auburn in 1998. He and his wife Kellie have two children, Cade, a quarterback at Samford, and Carlyle.
