By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With Tennessee Tech's football fall camp in full swing preparing for the 2023 campaign – which starts August 31 at Furman – the Golden Eagles have several new faces in Dewayne Alexander's coaching staff to guide the team this season.
During the offseason, the Golden Eagles added Adam Braithwaite as the team's defensive coordinator and safeties and nickels coach, Brandon Blackmon as the cornerbacks coach and assistant special teams coordinator, Mark Johnson as the tight ends coach, Brad Robbins as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator, as well as graduate assistants Matt Clark and Travis Ray.
Braithwaite comes to Cookeville with a wealth of Division I experience. He spent the last three seasons working with Will Healy at Charlotte, working with the linebackers and special teams. Under his watch, Tyler Murray was named all-Conference USA in 2020 as an honorable mention and third-team in 2021, while Reid Williford was named to the Freshman All-CUSA squad in 2022. He also coached the team's leading tackler in all three seasons on the staff.
He spent five seasons at Chattanooga with head coach Russ Huesman, the latter four as the Mocs' defensive coordinator. Under his direction, the Mocs stood as one of the top defenses in the Southern Conference, ranking fourth in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2014 with 277.6 yards per game – the lowest average for a Chattanooga defense since 1983 – and ranked No. 11 in fewest points allowed at 19.4 points per game.
Through his time in Chattanooga, those numbers held steady, ranking No. 6 in total defense (294.0 ypg) and passing yards allowed (164.4 ypg) and No. 9 in scoring defense (19.6 ppg).
When Huesman left Chattanooga to take the head post at Richmond, Braithwaite came along and served as the Spiders' defensive coordinator. Under his watch, Richmond's defense flourished, putting together the top defensive line in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2018 with 23.5 sacks. Anchored by defensive end Maurice Jackson and defensive tackle Andrew Clyde with All-CAA honors, Jackson led the conference in sacks and forced fumbles as he later was named an All-American.
His impact was felt in Richmond in his first season as the Spiders ranked second in the CAA in sacks with 35, while also ranking fifth in passing defense – allowing 197.7 yards per game.
Blackmon earned his associate's degree in communications in 2005 from Mount San Antonio College before transferring to Purdue. After his time in West Lafayette, Blackmon transferred to Tennessee State, later earning his bachelor's degree in 2016.
He spent time in Cincinnati as a strength and conditioning coach for Ignition Performance, then assistant coach at the Andre Frazier and Tyjuan Hagler Foundation football camps. After a stint as assistant football coach at Augustana College and McCutcheon High School, Blackmon returned to the camp circuit, working with the Corey Parchman Wide Receiver Youth Football Camp in Indiana as well as the UCLA Elite Camp.
He was named the defensive coordinator for both the Texas Revolution Arena Football program and Duarte High School team in 2013, then spent two seasons as the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator for Orange Coast College.
After earning his degree from TSU, Blackmon spent three years as a graduate assistant at Arizona State. He spent time the first year as a tight ends coach, then served as a defensive assistant. He also spent time recruiting California, Arizona, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Jersey and New York.
Blackmon was named the defensive backs coach at Western Illinois in 2019 and spent a season there working with the Flying Leathernecks' corners and safeties, while recruiting the Midwest – including St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton and New Orleans.
He left Macomb in 2020 with an opportunity to join the coaching staff at New Mexico as he was the Lobos' wide receivers coach, recruiting coordinator, professional liaison and team chaplin.
In a short time, Johnson has worked his way up from a student assistant to a full-fledged member of the Tennessee Tech football coaching staff, joining Alexander's offensive staff as the Golden Eagles' tight ends coach.
A December 2021 graduate from Ohio University with a degree in sport management, Johnson worked with the Golden Eagles as a student assistant during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping oversee quality control on the offensive line.
In that endeavor, Johnson helped put together offensive scouting reports, practice scripts, breaking down fronts, blitzes and coverages and coordinated the defensive scout team. Johnson assisted in recruiting, grading the offensive line gameday performance and setting up drills.
In January 2022, Johnson served as a volunteer assistant, taking on the quarterback quality control post as he helped set up drills, met with players on academic progress reports, evaluated and called transfer portal prospects, worked with daily installs and assisted OC Wesley Satterfield in drills and skill development.
Only a few short months later, Johnson was offered an offensive graduate assistant position with the Golden Eagles as he continued those daily takes, while adding on work with the offensive and special team scout units, work with the tight ends during spring practice and assistance with on-campus recruiting.
Robbins started at Virginia in 2010 as an assistant recruiting coordinator, helping the Cavaliers bring in a Rivals Top 25-ranked recruiting class. He, then, was promoted to a graduate assistantship as he helped the defensive coordinator with the Cavaliers' linebackers and safeties. During his time there, Robbins worked with three players who went on to NFL careers in linebacker La'Roy Reynolds, safety Rodney McCloud and safety Anthony Harris.
UVA went to the 2011 Chik-fil-a Bowl while Robbins was on staff and it was the first season the Cavaliers beat Miami and Florida State in the same season. Robbins managed the playbook and daily installs, while also overseeing the scout team offense.
He moved over to VMI from 2013 to 2018 as Robbins worked with the wide receivers and tight ends, while also serving as a coordinator for internal recruiting and special teams. In 2014, the Keydets ranked 21st nationally in passing, then, in the following season, Sanders broke four school records as he finished third nationally in receptions with 84.
While at VMI, Robbins also recruited second-team All-American and All-Southern Conference running back Alex Ramsey (1,326 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2019), while also developing All-SoCon freshman team picks Dontae Mauck and Javeon Lara.
Robbins joined the staff at Charleston Southern for one season starting in 2018, working with Brown – who later signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Robbins was also CSU's Director of Community Service.
In 2019, Robbins joined the staff at North Greenville University as the Crusaders' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2021, NGU averaged 26.2 points per game and 5.6 yards per play. The numbers improved further in 2022 as the Crusaders averaged 406 yards per game, 27 points and 5.9 yards per play in a slate that was ranked the third toughest in Division II football. The passing offense had four games alone with over 300 yards through the air.
Under his watch, quarterback Dylan Ramirez set the NGU freshman records for passing yards (2,570), total yards (2,780) and touchdowns accounted for (28). Running back Corey Watkins surpassed the millennium mark in a season, becoming the first Crusader to break 1,000 yards in a season since 2016.
Robbins was named to the Virginia-Wise Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 after earning accolades in both football and baseball. In 2009, he was named first-team All-Mid South Conference as a quarterback as he accumulated 3,000 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was also a second-team NAIA All-American as a designated hitter, setting school records in career home runs, doubles and batting average.
Clark, the team's offensive graduate assistant, comes to Tech after a stint as a GA at New Mexico, working with the Lobos' tight ends, handling practice planning, film breakdown and on-the-field coaching, as well as statistical analysis and film preparation.
He played two seasons at Eastern Kentucky, then transferred to Western Illinois for another two campaigns.
Ray, the Golden Eagles' defensive graduate assistant, played at Appalachian State, then became a student coach for the Mountaineers.
Tech's fall camp continues daily at Tucker Stadium and all sessions are open to the public. The team will host its first intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with the women's clinic and cheer and dance mini camp preceding the scrimmage. The annual Gathering of Eagles will be held on August 19 with the gates opening at 4:30 p.m. The scrimmage will begin at 5 p.m. and fans can meet and get autographs from the Golden Eagles following the scrimmage.
The season opens on the road at Furman on August 31. After the FBS matchup with New Mexico on Sept. 9, the Golden Eagles will come home for its Tucker Stadium opener on Sept. 16, the first of five games on the slate in Cookeville -- which includes Big South-OVC frontrunners Southeast Missouri, Gardner-Webb and UT Martin.
Season tickets are now on sale -- call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photos | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
