By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – When an unexpected vacancy opened up on Dewayne Alexander's staff, the veteran coach knew exactly where he was going to look.
He already had a good young coach in mind – and didn't have to go far to find him.
Fred Marshall joins the Golden Eagle staff as a cornerbacks coach, shifting Taylor Hennigan to coaching the outside linebackers and special teams coordinator.
"I'm very excited to be here," Marshall said. "I'm very blessed and honored that Coach Alexander and Coach (Donnie) Suber decided to bring me on. I'm looking forward to being on this level and trying to help these boys get things turned around."
Marshall replaces Dontae Wright, who recently accepted a position at Western Michigan in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
"Fred is someone I had interviewed before for the assistant coaching positions," Alexander said. "He was on a shortlist that I had. Dontae had several job offers on the table when he made the decision to stay here at Tech, and Fred was someone, if Dontae hadn't accepted the position, I was looking to hire.
"I think a lot of him. He was a very good player at Presbyterian College. He's a very good recruiter and has been at Cumberland and worked under Coach Suber. That makes it a good fit as well. He knows the defensive system we're going to be running, and Coach Suber thinks very highly of him. It just made a natural fit to bring him in here."
The shift with Hennigan also makes sense to Alexander.
"Taylor will do a fantastic job moving over and taking care of our special teams," Alexander said. "That role is something he's done a lot in the past anyway, so we were able to get a quick turnaround on that, so we have Fred on board and working."
Marshall brings another good young coach to the new-look staff.
"Absolutely," Alexander said. "He's right in line with the other young coaches that we have. He brings a lot of enthusiasm. He handles himself very well. He has great communication with his players. He's a good teacher. He's all of those things that we're looking for and he's a very effective recruiter – someone who will do a great job for us in West Tennessee and he has great connections in the South Georgia area as well.
"You combine his coaching ability with the fact that he has played FCS football and has good coaching experience for a young coach, we're certainly excited to have added him to our staff."
Marshall echoed the excitement that the staff has had in being a part of a group with such high enthusiasm.
"It's great to be a part of a staff that believes in the same thing," Marshall said. "We believe in the right things. You don't make it a job or work – you just come in and do what you love to do. It makes everything easier. It's a snowball effect – everything starts at the top, and when it's very good, it's going to roll on down and, hopefully, that will carry on to some wins."
Marshall spent the last season coaching with now-Tech defensive coordinator Donnie Suber at Cumberland, overseeing the corners, as well as coaching kickoff coverage and assisting with punt returners.
"It's going to be awesome working with him again," Marshall said. "I call him my dad. He's like my football dad. He gave me my first chance in this profession and I'm excited that he brought me along. I think it's good to work with somebody that you've already worked with before, because we know each other in and out. The communication is great and we're like a family."
He had previously been at Cumberland from the summer of 2014 to December 2015, serving as a graduate assistant as he coached the safeties and helped with film breakdown.
Following the GA position, Marshall spent a season at Kentucky Wesleyan, where he also coached the cornerbacks there.
Marshall graduated from Presbyterian College in 2014 with a bachelor's in history, then received his master's in education from Cumberland in 2015.
He played at Presbyterian, starting two seasons at safety. In 2013, he recorded 55 tackles and had three pass break-ups. He helped lead the Blue Hose to their first Division I victory and first win as a member of the Big South Conference.
Following his football playing career, Marshall interned with PC's baseball team, working with the recruiting database and assisting with the team.
As he played collegiately, he also served as a volunteer coaching assistant for Irwin County High in Ocilla, Ga., and Turner County High in Ashburn, Ga.
Marshall plans to keep it simple when it comes to the cornerbacks.
"It is very simple – fast fun," Marshall said. "I consider myself as a mentor and educator. I'm a coach – I'm going to mentor you and build relationships. We're going to be like a family – I'm going to believe in you and you're going to believe in me, so it will build some trust so when I start teaching the X's and O's, it's going to be easier, because it is coming from someone they trust and respect.
"It's going to be very fast. Our defense is going to be very simple – Coach Suber and I are very simple guys – so we're going to sit back and make plays."
