Troy Football Coaching Positions Finalized

Purchase Season Tickets

TROY, Alabama – Troy head coach Chip Lindsey officially announced Thursday the full positions and responsibilities for his newly hired staff of assistant coaches. The first-year head coach previously tabbed Ryan Pugh as offensive coordinator, Brandon Hall as defensive coordinator and Brian Blackmon as special teams coordinator.

"We've got a great group of coaches on this staff, and they are already making a tremendous impact with our players," Lindsey said. "I feel like we have a nice balance in our staff between veteran coaches and some of the top young up-and-coming coaches in the game. I'm excited to get on the field for spring practice in a few weeks to see our coaches and players together in a true football setting."

Offensive Coaches
In addition to his role as offensive coordinator, Pugh will also coach the Trojan offensive line. A four-year starter and All-American at Auburn, Pugh joined the Troy staff following one year at BYU where the Cougars finished 35th nationally with 27 rushing touchdowns after finding the end zone just 12 times on the ground the year prior.

Pugh has also spent time on coaching staffs at LSU, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Auburn and UT-San Antonio before going to BYU.

Joining Pugh on the offensive side of the football will be Blackmon (running backs), John Carr (inside wide receivers), Cole Weeks (tight ends and S-backs) and Cornelius Williams (passing game coordinator / outside receivers).

Blackmon returns for his second season on the Troy staff following one season at Auburn and a highly-successful 21-year career at Opelika High School. The Trojans were proficient in all phases in which Blackmon had a hand in during his initial season. He played a vital role in Troy's special teams units, and the Trojans finished the season ranked number one in the country according to ESPN's special teams efficiency rating.

Carr, who will also serve as the assistant head coach, brings more than 20 years of coaching experience with him to Troy at collegiate, junior college and high school levels. He spent the 2018 season at ULM where the Warhawks averaged 247.5 yards per game in the air – the second best in the Sun Belt – and finished with their best record since 2013.

Weeks joins the Troy staff following two years as a graduate assistant at Auburn working under Lindsey. In 2017, Auburn became just the eighth team in SEC history and the first in Auburn history to rush and pass for 3,000 yards in a season. Auburn set a school record scoring 327 points in SEC play and won the SEC West Division after knocking off a pair of top-ranked teams in Georgia and Alabama over a three-week period. Weeks played quarterback for Lindsey at Southern Miss and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with Lindsey for the Golden Eagles.

Williams, who begins his fifth season at Troy, won four league titles as a player with the Trojans and added a fifth as a coach during the Trojans' 2017 Sun Belt title run. During his tenure with the Trojans, nine receivers have earned All-Sun Belt honors including a pair of first team selections. Emanuel Thompson led the Sun Belt in receptions in 2017 while ranking second in Troy history in catches and Damion Willis' 213-yard performance in 2018 also checks in as the second-most in school history.

Defensive Staff
Hall returns for his second season at Troy and first as defensive coordinator after coaching the outside linebackers and serving as the special teams coordinator in his initial season; he will also coach Troy's safeties this season. An 18-year coaching veteran, Hall has coaching stops at Jacksonville State, Auburn, Arkansas State and Oklahoma.

His first season at Troy saw the Trojans rank third nationally in turnovers gained, 10^thin sacks and 16^thin tackles for loss. A league-high 12 defensive players were named to the All-Sun Belt Team following the 2018 season with a trio of first team selections. Additionally, Troy had one of the top special teams units in the country ranking fourth in net punting and ninth in kickoff returns.

Joining Hall of the defensive side of the ball will be Ray Brown (cornerbacks), Bam Hardmon (run game coordinator / outside linebackers / bandits), Andrew Warwick (inside linebackers) and Davern Williams (defensive line).

Brown guided one of the top passing defenses at the FCS level the past two seasons at Abilene Christian. The Wildcats set a school record for interceptions last season and in 2017 Abilene led the Southland Conference in passing defense with an improvement of more than 81 yards per game from the previous year. Brown's coaching career has also included stops at Arizona State and Washington State at the FBS level.

A nominee for the Broyles Award last season, Hardmon returns for his fifth season at Troy. In what has turned into an impressive streak, Troy's bandit has been named to the All-Sun Belt First Team in each of Hardmon's four seasons with Rashad Dillard earning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2016.Additionally, 11 of Hardmon's players have earned All-Sun Belt honors in his four seasons with the Trojans and this past year former walk-on linebacker Carlton Martial earned Freshman All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America, The Athletic and USA Today.

Warwick led the nation's 15^th-ranked defense in his lone season at Jacksonville State as the Gamecocks allowed just 311.3 yards per game and won their fifth-straight Ohio Valley Conference title. The Gamecocks ranked seventh nationally with four defensive touchdowns under Warwick and finished seventh averaging 7.2 tackles for loss per game. Prior to Jacksonville State, he spent six seasons in various roles at Clemson where the Tigers won the National Championship in 2016, made the title game in 2015 and earned a berth in the College Football Playoff in 2017.Clemson posted a combined 72-11 record during his six seasons in Death Valley and won four major bowl games.

Williams made the return to his alma mater following a four-year run at East Mississippi Community College and one season at Chattanooga. At Chattanooga, Williams coached Isaiah Mack who was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award (top defensive player at the FCS level), was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year and earned five different All-America honors. While at EMCC, the Lions posted a 42-3 record with two NJCAA National Championships (2014 & 2017) and three MACJC state titles (2014, 2016 & 2017).

Troy opens spring practice on March 19 leading up to T-Day on April 20 at The Vet. Season tickets are online and can be purchased by visiting TroyTrojans.com/tickets or by calling 877-878-WINS.

Troy University Athletics

Troy Football Coaching Positions Finalized

Players Mentioned

Carlton Martial

Damion Willis

Related Videos