FAMU
reconstructs football staff
March 18, 2005
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida A&M University
head football coach Billy Joe has announced the filling of
vacancies on the coaching staff for the coming 2005 campaign.
The new Florida A&M coaches will be:
•BOB COLE, Offensive Coordinator:
Cole comes to Florida A&M with extensive experience as
an offensive coordinator, having 15 years experience on all
levels of college football.
A 1982 graduate of Widener University, Cole spent the past
five seasons (1999-2004) as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks
coach at Utah State University, where he was responsible for
all aspects of the offensive game plan. Utah State led Division
1-A in passing offense in 2002 and five of the top 12 offensive
games in school history occurred during his tenure.
Prior to his tour of duty at Utah State, Cole spent one season
(1999) at the University of Montana as offensive coordinator
and quarterbacks coach, where the Grizzlies averaged 500 yards
and 50 points per game.
The six years prior Cole served at Portland State University
(1993-99), where the Vikings led Division I-AA in total offense
(1995) and the starting quarterback in 1998 was first in the
nation in passing efficiency.
JOE ON COLE: “Bob Cole brings
unbelievable expertise and success with wide-open offenses
similar to the Gulf Coast style, and he will be a great fit.
In addition, his experiences with the West Coast schemes
will help us add some new dimensions and wrinkles to our
offensive attack.”
•CHARLES HUFF, Defensive Coordinator:
Huff will serve as defensive coordinator and oversee Rattler
special teams and safeties beginning this spring.
A 1985 graduate of Presbyterian (S.C.) College where he was
a two-time All-America defensive back and return specialist,
Huff served as defensive coordinator and co-special teams coordinator
at Norfolk (Va.) State University in 2004, where he also tutored
the linebackers, helping develop 2004 Black College Defensive
Player of the Year in linebacker Kevin Talley, the Division
I-AA leader in tackles.
Huff spent the previous seven seasons (1997-2003) at the University
of Central Florida.
At UCF, Huff was defensive ends coach and special teams coordinator.
His special teams performers produced 17 blocked kicks in 2002-03;
ranked in the Top 10 among Division I-A programs in kickoff
returns, while producing a Top 10 punt returner (15-yard average)
in 2003. His defensive line in 2003 led Division I-A in quarterback
sacks (37).
During his tenure at UCF, Huff spent time in mini-camps and
training camps with the San Diego Chargers, Carolina Panthers
and Miami Dolphins with emphasis on defensive line and special
teams work.
Huff also served four seasons as defensive coordinator/special
teams coach at Austin Peay (Tenn.) University.
JOE ON HUFF: “Charlie Huff is a very experienced defensive
coordinator, having overseen programs at two schools… He
also brings knowledge of MEAC teams and how to design schemes
against them. His game plans against Bethune-Cookman were particularly
effective for Norfolk State last year… In addition,
he brings exceptional expertise with special teams and has
a lot of recruiting experience in this region, especially in
South Florida and Miami.”
•WILLIAM ORR, Defensive Line Coach:
Orr will tutor the Rattler defensive line, bringing an extensive
resume of experience from various coaching stints on the
East Coast.
Orr, is a 1988 graduate of East Carolina University, who also
holds a 1993 master’s degree in Sports Science from the
United States Sports Academy. He served as defensive line coach
in 2004 at Delaware State University.
He spent two years (2002-04) as assistant head coach and defensive
coordinator at Heritage High School in Newport News, Va., after
spending five seasons as defensive coordinator at Elizabeth
City State University (N.C.).
His resume also includes stints at Morehouse College in Atlanta
as defensive coordinator (1995); at Austin Peay University
as defensive line coach (1994), working with FAMU’s new
defensive coordinator, Charles Huff; and two seasons (1992-93)
as outside linebacker coach at Idaho State University.
JOE ON ORR: “Coach Orr brings tremendous experience
as a defensive coach… He brings strong knowledge of
MEAC offenses, having worked at Delaware State and from his
other experiences at Elizabeth City State… He has also
worked as a defensive coordinator, which gives us outstanding
depth on the defensive staff.”
•CHARLES ALLEN, Receivers Coach:
Allen, is a former Rattler star receiver (1999-02), who completed
his career with 128 receptions for 1,807 yards, ranking him
sixth all-time on the FAMU receiving charts.
A 2002 graduate of Florida A&M in Business Administration,
the Miami-born Allen has spent the past two seasons as a graduate
assistant coach at FAMU, assisting the coordinators with day-to-day
operations, researching opposing teams for game plan development,
while supervising the overall operations of players and their
training schedules.
Allen is currently working toward completion of a Masters
of Business Administration.
JOE ON ALLEN: “Charlie Allen will
be making the transition from graduate assistant to full-time
coach. He was a great player for us and knows the Gulf Coast
Offense extremely well. His own experiences as a player and
his knowledge of our schemes will be a plus for us.”
•MAURICE JOHNSON, Linebackers Coach:
Johnson is a former FAMU linebacker (1996-97), who will be
mentoring the Rattler linebackers beginning this spring.
Johnson, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice
from FAMU (1999), was an all-star junior college linebacker
for Copiah-Lincoln Junior College in Mississippi.
He worked in 2004 as a defensive coordinator and teacher at
Jefferson County High in Monticello, Florida, after spending
the previous two years at East Mississippi Community College
(2002-04).
At EMCC, Johnson served as defensive line coach, handling
the tackles and the ends, as well as serving as strength and
conditioning coach. He also served as coordinator of the school’s
Wellness Center.
He was a graduate assistant with the FAMU staff from 2002
to 2002, after working two seasons (1998-2000) at Tallahassee
Leon High. At Leon, Johnson was the head junior varsity coach
and the varsity linebacker coach.
JOE ON JOHNSON: “Maurice really brings excellent recruiting
potential and contacts to the program. He has been extremely
supportive of the program and has helped us recruit the Mississippi
area, bringing in players such as Sammy Doughty, O’Bryan
Brandy and Terrence White into the program. He played linebacker
and knows the game very well.”
•LARRY WILLIAMS, Defensive Backfield Coach:
Williams is a former FAMU defensive back, who will assume charge
of the Rattler cornerbacks.
The Miami-born Williams, who holds a B.S. degree from FAMU
(1999), was a four-year letterwinner in track and football
at Florida A&M (1994-98), playing on two conference championship
(1995, 1996) football teams and performing on two conference
track (1995 Indoor, 1997 Outdoor) championship clubs.
Williams also did a stint as a defensive back player/coach
with the Arena Football League2 Tallahassee Thunder (2001,
2002). The Thunder won the Southeast Division both years Williams
played and coached, ranking first in rushing defense in 2002
and in the top four in the AFL2 in total defense, both seasons.
He has served on FAMU staff the past three years as a graduate
assistant, tutoring the linebackers and secondary. He also
assisted with game plan development; opponent’s video
evaluation; in-game coaching functions on the sideline; managed
and supervised walk-on players and the scout team; assisted
in evaluation of recruiting videos of prospective players..
JOE ON WILLIAMS: “Larry Williams is making the transition
from graduate assistant to full time staffer…. He gained
a lot of valuable experience last season, handling some of
the coordination of our defensive unit, so he was more than
a regular grad assistant. He has experience and intimate knowledge
of out schemes, having played for us and worked with the staff.
He’s also very familiar with our player personnel as
well.”
Coach Joe said of the new staff:
“I’m very elated and quite excited with my six new
coaches…… They will bring great expertise to their
respective assignments, and they will provide an excellent blend
of older, more experienced coaches with young, more energetic
coaches.
“In addition, they will also provide great learning
experiences for our players and bring solid recruiting experience
as well,” Joe concluded.
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