University of South Alabama Athletics

Bryant Vincent is in his fifth season as quarterbacks coach at the University of South Alabama and his sixth with the program overall, and he is beginning his third year as the program’s assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator.

His unit was among the top five in the Sun Belt Conference in passing and total yards per game, improving four spots in the league in both categories as well as scoring offense last fall, while moving from 10th to fourth in third-down conversion percentage.  First-year starting quarterback Dallas Davis paced the SBC in total offense under Vincent’s direction, and the trio of Gerald Everett, Xavier Johnson and Josh Magee all earned all-conference recognition with Everett going on to become the first individual in program history to be selected in the National Football League Draft.

The 2015 campaign saw Cody Clements become just the second individual in the program’s seven-year history to surpass 2,000 yards passing — he finished with 2,272 despite battling injury the second half off the fall — while Johnson set a school season record with 956 yards rushing and Everett another after recording eight touchdown receptions.  Clements threw for 13 scores and Johnson rushed for seven — both figures among the top five on USA’s season record list — with Magee posting the second-highest season average per catch, gaining 21.91 yards per reception to highlight a unit that saw seven individuals catch 10 or more balls.

Everett (first-team) and Johnson (honorable mention) were two of four Jags on the offensive side of the ball to garner all-Sun Belt Conference recognition at the end of the year, with offensive linemen Joseph Scelfo and Chris May named first- and second-team all-league as well.

Vincent rejoined the USA coaching staff prior to the Jaguars’ first-ever bowl game in December 2014, serving as offensive coordinator as the team posted 415 yards and 23 first downs with less than 26 minutes of possession against Bowling Green.

He was the offensive coordinator at Alabama-Birmingham during the 2014 regular season, and under Vincent’s direction the Blazers averaged 431.83 yards per game including 212.08 on the ground while scoring 33.17 points per outing; UAB earned six victories, gained bowl eligibility for the first time since 2004.  The Blazers scored 40 or more points on five occasions, and entered the bowl season ranked in the top 40 nationally in four different statistical categories — rushing offense (31st), scoring offense (37th), completion percentage (33rd, 61.9%) and third-down conversions (38th, 43.2%).

Four individuals from his unit would earn all-Conference USA accolades, including first-team selection Jordan Howard who ranked seventh in the nation in rushing and 26th in rushing touchdowns after posting 1,587 yards and 13 scores.  Vincent helped Clements rank in the top 30 in the country in passing efficiency with a 145.55 rating after completing 183-of-275 attempts for 2,227 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first season with the program, while tight end Kennard Backman earned second-team all-conference honors after leading the squad with 39 receptions for 399 yards.

He coached the position for the first time during the 2012 campaign at USA, and with his help Ross Metheny set school season standards in four different statistical categories after completing 189-of-345 attempts for 2,148 yards and 12 scores while ranking in the top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference in passing and total offense.  At the end of the season, Jag quarterbacks combined to set new school season records in completions (244), attempts (449), yards passing (2,728) and passing yards per game (209.8).

The next fall, Metheny improved those numbers after going 201-of-324 passing for 2,622 yards and 15 touchdowns, and he added 604 yards and 10 scores rushing to lead the league in total offense with an average of 268.8 yards per outing in earning second-team all-league honors.  USA would finish among the top four in the conference and top 50 in the country in passing (252.75 ypg) and total (425.50 ypg) offense in winning six games to be eligible for a postseason bowl game.

In his first season with the Jags, Vincent worked primarily with tight ends, as his efforts helped Kevin Helms become the first player at the position in the program to finish with a double-figure reception total after he collected 14 catches for 216 yards; both totals were among the top five on the squad overall.  Individually on special teams, several Jaguars ranked among the national leaders at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision including Scott Garber (17th in punting), Jordan Means (tied for 18th in field goals per game and 69th in scoring) and Jeremé Jones (27th in kick returns), while as a team USA was eighth in the country after averaging nearly 24 yards per kickoff return.

Vincent had been a head coach at the high-school level the previous five years before coming to USA, including four at Spanish Fort High School.  In addition to leading the Toros to the state 5A championship in the fall of 2010, he was twice named the Baldwin County Coach of the Year following the 2008 and ’10 campaigns.  In his second year guiding the program, SFHS finished 11-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs before falling to the eventual winner.  A season later, the Toros advanced to the semifinals of the state playoffs — where they dropped a 29-28 decision to the ultimate champion — on the way to an 11-3 finish before claiming the state title his last season; SFHS ended 2010 with a 13-2 mark.

In his first season as a head coach, Vincent led Greenville (Ala.) High to a 10-3 record and a berth in the quarterfinals of the state 5A playoffs in 2006 one year after the Tigers finished 1-9.  For his efforts, he was selected the 5A Coach of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

In five years as a head coach, he compiled a 49-16 (75.4%) overall mark — going 12-3 (80%) in the postseason — which included a 39-13 (75%) record at Spanish Fort High; the Toros finished 0-10 the year prior to Vincent’s arrival.

Vincent — who originally hails from Glasgow, Ky. — is a 1998 graduate of West Alabama, where he earned a degree in physical education.  He got his start in the coaching profession as a student assistant for the Tigers in the fall of 1996, going on to coach UWA’s wide receivers the following season.

Vincent, who added a master’s degree from Troy in 2001, and his wife Holli have two sons, Brady and Bret.

The Vincent File
Born: Oct. 18, 1975, in Glasgow, Ky.
Education:
West Alabama ’98, bachelor’s degree in physical education
Troy ’01, master’s degree in foundations of education
Coaching Experience:
West Alabama — student assistant, 1996-97
Hart County [Ky.] High — assistant coach, 1998
Charles Henderson [Ala.] High — assistant coach, 1999-02
Spain Park [Ala.] High — assistant head coach, 2003-05
Greenville [Ala.] High — head coach, 2006
Spanish Fort [Ala.] High — head coach, 2007-10
South Alabama — assistant coach, 2011-13
Alabama-Birmingham — assistant coach, 2014
South Alabama — assistant head coach 2015-
Family: Wife, Holli; Two sons, Brady (20) and Bret (11)