Troy officially announced the hiring of Julius Brown as the cornerbacks coach. Ken Rogers has written a story on it, that I will get posted today. But HERE is the school's release.
Brown replaces Mo Crain, who was let go as defensive tackles coach in January. Randy Butler will now coach the entire defensive line and Jeremy Rowell, the defensive coordinator, will coach safeties along with his coordinator duties. Rowell had been coaching the entire secondary.
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The story on DothanEagle.com HERE and it will be in Friday's print edition.
BY KEN ROGERS
krogers@dothaneagle.com
TROY – He played at Boise State, coached at Boise State and was an administrator at Boise State, but new Troy cornerbacks coach Julius Brown’s Southern roots run pretty deep, too.
“I’m originally from Lake Charles, La.,” Brown said last week. “I moved away to Stockton, Calif., when I went to high school. I still have a lot of family here in the South, though, so I’m excited.”
He’s not the only one. Brown officially started work on Larry Blakeney’s staff Thursday when the hire was announced, but his hiring was reported almost two weeks ago. Brown has been coaching the corners during spring practice.
“I really like this young man,” Blakeney said. “He’s got some enthusiasm and got some good knowledge, especially for a young guy.”
Brown’s responsibility as cornerbacks coach marks a change in Troy’s defensive organization. Coordinator Jeremy Rowell has also been the team’s secondary coach. Blakeney decided to add a cornerbacks coach and put Rowell in charge of the safeties.
“We have done pretty extensive research on this position,” Blakeney said. “The corner’s responsibility is a little bit different than the safeties. Leaving Jeremy to coach the safeties and giving Julius the corners, I think, is a good move.”
Blakeney said Randy Butler, who had been the defensive ends coach, will now coach the entire defensive front. Benjy Parker will continue to coach the linebackers.
“Looking forward to getting him on board and getting him indoctrinated into what we’re trying to do. Let him have some input,” Blakeney said. “He’s worked with special teams. That’ll help us.”
Brown stood out in both his resume and his interview, Blakeney said.
“Anytime you hear Boise this day and age you got to perk your ears up and listen,” the coach said, referring to Chris Petersen’s program. “Finding the right guy has been first and foremost. He interviewed and did a really good job. He’s a sharp young man.
“He’s really a mature guy. He’s got a lot of great ideas. We have talked to him a bunch about recruiting, talked a bunch about other things that I think he will make us better.”
After three years as graduate assistant at Boise, Petersen put him in charge of player personnel, Blakeney noted.
“He’s worked in recruiting, helped with a lot of the nuts and bolts with that program,” the coach said. “He’s ready to spread his wings and fly as a position coach. I’m excited for him and excited about him.”
Brown said he was eager for the “opportunity to get back on the field.”
“I get to coach my own group,” he said. “I came up, met the staff. They’ve got a great head coach and great assistants, also. I was very attracted to this place.”
Brown said he was eager to start watching tape on his group.
“For me, it’s the position I played. I’m very comfortable in that role and hopefully I can help these guys develop to where they can be all-conference-type corners,” he said.
“There’s talent. For me, it’s just getting the chance to see those guys and get familiar with them. We’ve started spring practice, so I’ll be learning names on the fly.”
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