MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head coach Joey Jones announced Friday the hiring of Travis Pearson and Freddie Roach as assistant coaches, completing his staff as national signing day and spring practice approaches.
Defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer will work with defensive backs and Pearson will coach linebackers, while Brian Turner and Roach are slated to work with the Jaguars’ defensive line.
Pearson has been the defensive coordinator at Colquitt County (Ga.) High the last two seasons, 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. Last fall CCHS recorded 51 takeaways en route to an 11-3 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 Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery during the 2009 and ’10 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 served as director of football operations at Iowa State during the 2007 and ’08 seasons as well.
A 1997 graduate of Alabama State with a degree in physical education, he was a three-year letterwinner for the Hornets. He would go on to play eight seasons in the Arena Football League for three teams, and was selected to the league’s 15th Anniversary Team in 2003.
“First, I’ve known coach Jones, what he is about and the vision he has for this program, and that excited me,” Pearson stated. “The opportunity to coach at South Alabama is also exciting to me, especially since I am from Southern Choctaw an hour and 45 minutes up the road. I want to win, particularly a conference championship, and get this program where coach Jones wants it to be. I think coach Sherrer is going to do an outstanding job and it is going to be a pleasure working with him as well.”
“I’ve known coach Pearson over the years going back to meeting him when he was the defensive coordinator at Oxford High, I’ve always been real impressed with the presence he had around the players,” said Jones. “He is one of the best coaches that I’ve seen — he is a motivator, he knows football and kids will do anything for him. When you’re coaching linebackers, you need a guy like that.”
Roach comes to USA from Murray State, where he was the Racers’ defensive line coach while assisting with the strength and conditioning program last season. In 2011, he coached the defensive line and was the director of strength and conditioning at East Mississippi C.C., helping lead the Lions to a 12-0 record and the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship. For their efforts, EMCC was selected the national coaching staff of the year.
Roach spent three seasons as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Alabama, during which time the Crimson Tide won both the BCS national championship and Southeastern Conference title in 2009. He has also served as a volunteer assistant coach at Brooks (Ala.) High during the 2006 campaign.
As a player, Roach was a four-year letterwinner for the Crimson Tide from 2002-05, during which time he was named the national Freshman of the Year, a Freshman All-American, and was twice selected second-team all-SEC. He would go on to be selected to Alabama’s All-Decade Team for the 2000s while helping the program to three bowl appearances, also signing as a free agent with the New England Patriots in 2006. Roach graduated from the school with a degree in human environmental sciences in 2008.
“Everything is on the rise here. It’s a new program with great facilities, the administration has done a great job of helping to get it going, and there are great coaches including a lot of Alabama guys,” Roach said. “There are just a lot of great things going on, and I wanted to be a part of it and help this program be successful. I am in this business to help kids mature and become men, and also teach them how to play football. I was fortunate to play for and work with a bunch of great coaches — I’ve been fortunate all my life — so I would like to take what I’ve been given to help guys learn and accomplish what I have and more.
“And, there’s nothing like being back home.”
“You can tell when you meet Freddie Roach how hungry he is to be a great coach. He has that look in his eyes that I’m sure he had when he played,” Jones commented. “He is going to demand a lot out of our players. And he is very technical, when I interviewed him he knew everything about playing defensive line. He understood it inside and out, from hand placement to the steps and how to attack offensive linemen. He’s a great coach now, and is going to be a tremendous coach as he gets some maturity about him.”
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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