Troy University Athletics
Troy Adds Travis Pearson to Football Coaching Staff
3/25/2022 12:11:00 PM | Football
TROY, Ala. – Veteran Alabama collegiate and high school coach Travis Pearson has been named Troy's new cornerbacks coach, head coach Jon Sumrall announced Friday. Pearson joins the Troy staff following a three-year stint as defensive coordinator at Alabama State.
Pearson joins the Troy staff with seven years of experience as a defensive coordinator at the collegiate level after two seasons at Alabama A&M and three at South Alabama in addition to his work at Alabama State.
"I am excited to have Travis joining our staff," Sumrall said. "He is a native of Alabama and a former Alabama high school coach. He has extensive experience as a defensive coordinator in Division I football, having served in that role for seven of the last nine years. He has tremendous energy and passion for developing young men on and off the field."
Pearson was named Alabama State's interim head coach for the final three games of the 2021 season, and he led the Hornets to a 2-1 record with wins over Texas Southern and Tuskegee. In addition, Bama State defensive back Irshaad Davis earned All-SWAC honors under Pearson's leadership.
"I am super excited to be a part of the Trojan Football family," Pearson said. "I look forward to this awesome opportunity and working with the amazing staff that Coach Sumrall has put in place. I've seen first-hand the pride and passion that is Troy Football from the opposing sideline, and I can't wait to get to work with the young men on this team."
He joined the Alabama State staff in 2018 and was promoted to the Hornets' defensive coordinator a year later.
In 2020, Pearson led a Hornets defense that held opponents to 140.8 yards rushing and 184.8 yards passing while also leading a defense that limited opponents to 17 points or less twice in just five games. During the 2019 season, Alabama State was among the league leaders in points per game – averaging 27.4 points per game allowed. They also held opponents to just 167.2 yards through the air and pitched a shutout over Mississippi Valley State.
During his time at Alabama A&M, Pearson led a resurgence on the defensive side of the ball as the team was ranked as one of the best in the conference his final season leading the unit. He was the defensive coordinator at South Alabama for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Before that, he served as the Jaguars' linebackers coach in 2013 In 2014, the Jaguar defense ranked among the leaders in the Sun Belt Conference throughout the season before ending fourth in both total yards (398.9 ypg) and points (26.4 ppg) allowed per game. The Jags also tied for second with 21 takeaways and second in red zone defense that season and six of South Alabama's 10 all-conference honorees came from Pearson's unit. In 2013, he led South Alabama's inside linebackers while working with a defensive unit that ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference in passing, total and scoring defense. Before joining South Alabama's coaching staff, Pearson was the defensive coordinator at Colquitt County (Ga.) High School helping the Packers to back-to-back semifinal appearances in the state AAAAA playoffs; the program posted an overall record of 21-7 during that span. In the fall of 2012, Colquitt County recorded 51 takeaways en route to a 10-4 finish, while in Pearson's first year on the staff, the unit forced 38 turnovers, returning eight of those for scores. He was the head coach and athletic director at Jeff Davis High School in Montgomery, Ala., during the 2009 and 2010 campaigns, and also has been a head coach at Elmore County (Ala.) High (2002-04) — where he was selected the Metro 4A Coach of the Year by the Montgomery Advertiser after guiding the Panthers to a 12-1 mark and the quarterfinals of the state playoffs his final year — and Central Hayneville (Ala.) High (1998-99). Pearson helped guide the latter to a berth in the state 4A playoffs his second season at the helm of the program. He was an assistant at Elmore County High School for two years before becoming the Panthers' head coach and was the defensive coordinator for two seasons at Oxford (Ala.) High, where the Yellow Jackets made back-to-back state playoff appearances; after Oxford qualified for postseason action at the 5A level in 2005, the school made the playoffs again the following fall in the 6A classification. Pearson was selected to serve as a defensive coordinator in the 2004 Alabama North/South All-Star Game and worked at football camps conducted by the staff at Auburn for five years. Pearson served as director of football operations at Iowa State during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. A 1997 graduate of Alabama State with a degree in physical education, he was a three-year letterwinner for the Hornets. He played eight seasons in the Arena Football League for three teams and was selected to the league's 15th Anniversary Team in 2003. Pearson and his wife Maria have three children: daughter Marissa, and sons Travis II and Trevor.
