MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head football coach Kane Wommack announced Thursday the addition of three individuals to the staff.

Jamael Lett will serve as the Jaguars' special team coordinator and work as a defensive assistant, Michael Smith will be the team's wide receivers coach and Landius Wilkerson will handle the program's defensive line.

Lett — who originally hails from Mobile — has coached at the collegiate level for the last six seasons including serving as the secondary coach at Akron.  He also worked with the secondary at Samford from 2017-19, helping the Bulldogs go 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the Southern Conference his first year on the staff as they qualified for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs after defeating three top-25 teams during the campaign.  His efforts also helped Samford post a winning record the following fall after earning victories over No. 8 Wofford and 17th-ranked East Tennessee State.

While he was a graduate assistant working with the defensive line at Ohio in 2016, Lett helped Tarell Basham become the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year as the Bobcats won the league's East Division title with a 6-2 mark.  They would finish 8-6 after earning a berth in the conference championship game as well as receiving an invitation to play in the Dollar General Bowl.  He was an assistant at Tennessee-Martin during the 2015 season as the Skyhawks went 7-4 overall and 6-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference, with his efforts guiding a secondary — featuring all-league selection Marquis Clemons — that recorded six interceptions and 30 additional passes broken up.

Lett has also served as an assistant coach at Davidson (Ala.) High, where two of his players would go on to compete at the NCAA Division I level, and Brainerd (Tenn.) H.S.  A four-year letterwinner in the secondary at Samford, he received his undergraduate degree in sports medicine from the school in 2011 before going on to add a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Tennessee Tech the following year.  In 2019, Lett was selected to take part in the in the NCAA-NFL Coaches Academy.

"Melissa, the boys and I are thrilled to welcome Jamael, Julia, David and Madison to our football program," Wommack said.  "As a native of Mobile, Jamael has a tremendous passion for this city and for the potential of South Alabama football.  His exciting energy will captivate our players to be at their best on special teams.  His gift for teaching lends to his background as a high school educator and a coach in this city.  I am fired up to have Jamael lead our special teams into one of the most efficient units in the country."

Smith has over 25 years of experience as an assistant at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, with all but one of those coming at Power 5 schools.  Most recently, he was on the staff at Kentucky for two seasons during which time the Wildcats posted an 18-8 overall mark while winning both bowl games; that included finishing in the final top 25 rankings with a 10-3 record following a win over Penn State in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl in 2018.  His efforts helped Lynn Bowden Jr. earn all-Southeastern Conference honors both years as an all-purpose player, highlighted by being named first-team all-league in 2019.

In five years coaching wide receivers at Arkansas from 2013-17, Smith was part of a staff that helped lead the Razorbacks to three bowl appearances.  That included a 7-6 finish following a victory in the Texas Bowl his second season and an 8-5 record the next year when UA defeated Kansas State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Smith served in multiple capacities as a member of K-State's staff for 16 years.  He started in the profession as a student assistant for the Wildcats in 1993, and was a graduate assistant during the 1995 and '96 campaigns as the program posted a combined 28-7-1 record while appearing in a bowl each of those year, highlighted by victories in the Copper and Holiday Bowls.

He was the Wildcats' running backs coach from 1997-05, a span that saw the team record six seasons with a double-digit win total, finish in the top-10 of the final national polls on five occasions, and seven bowl appearances including victories in the 1997 Fiesta Bowl and 2000 Cotton Bowl.  Smith rejoined the K-State staff in 2009 as wide receivers coach, and over the next four years helped the Wildcats to three bowl berths including invitations to the Cotton and Fiesta Bowls his final two seasons when the program posted a combined 21-5 record and 15-2 mark in Big 12 Conference play.

In 2006 Smith helped Rice garner an invite to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl while serving as the Owls' running backs coach, while he worked with both running backs and inside wide receivers the next two years at Arizona as the Wildcats went 8-5 after appearing in the Holiday Bowl in 2008.

A four-year letterwinner at Kansas State, Smith twice earned All-America honors and was named to the all-Big Eight Conference team on two occasions as a wide receiver.  He received his undergraduate degree from the school in social science in 1995.

"Melissa, the boys and I are excited to welcome Michael, Karyn, Kylie, Kenzie, Kasan and Kamryn to our football program," said Wommack.  "Michael has a wealth of experience recruiting and developing players at the highest level of college football.  As a native of New Orleans and a recruiter for over 20 years, he has great ties and experience in our footprint.  Michael has established fantastic relationships with players and coaches throughout his career.  I am very excited to see him develop our wide receivers into explosive game changers this season."

Wilkerson comes to South after serving as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Chattanooga in 2020.  He coached defensive ends the previous two seasons at Jacksonville State, helping the Gamecocks finish .500 or better both years including going 9-4 — with a 7-1 mark to claim the Ohio Valley Conference championship — after advancing to the second round of the FCS playoffs in 2018.  That fall, his efforts contributed to JSU finishing second nationally in third-down conversion defense while also ending up among the top 15 in tackles for loss (seventh) and total defense (15th).

He was an assistant at Huntingdon (Ala.) from 2010-17, a stretch that saw the Hawks finish with a winning record each year including posting a 42-12 overall mark including a 31-5 record in the USA South Conference.  Wilkerson helped HC win the league title after going 7-0 in both 2015 and '17, with the program competing in the NCAA Division III playoffs each of his last three seasons on the staff highlighted by a first-round victory in 2015.

Under his direction, D.J. Chappell became the Hawks' first All-American in school history in 2012 while Heath McCray was an honorable mention All-America selection in 2015.  In five years, he had one individual named the USA South Defensive Rookie of the Year and six all-conference performers as well.

Wilkerson was a team captain and three-year starter as an offensive lineman at Alabama State, earning all-Southwestern Athletic Conference honors while helping the Hornets claim the league title in 2004.  He also participated in track before receiving his undergraduate degree from ASU in mathematics education in 2005.  Wikerson, who would go on to add a master's degree in instructional leadership from Tennessee Tech in 2008, also was an assistant at McMinn Central (Tenn.) High for five seasons.

"Melissa, the boys and I are elated to welcome Landius, Melody, McKenzie and Ava to our football program," Wommack said.  "Landius is a wonderful addition to our staff as he is deeply connected to our recruiting footprint.  He has consistently recruited and developed defensive linemen from Alabama to reach their highest potentials.  Numerous colleagues who have worked with Landius speak to his passion for connecting to players as well as his attention to details and fundamentals.  I can't wait to watch his players create havoc in our opponents' backfield this season."

Season tickets for Jaguar football in 2021 are now available, individuals interested in purchasing a plan in advance can click here.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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