COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Frank Wilson Jr. will be reuniting with Tennessee Tech head football coach Bobby Wilder as Wilson will be joining the Golden Eagle staff as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator.
"Frank Wilson is one of the best special teams coaches in the country," Wilder said. "We will be extremely well organized and detailed. It's also very exciting to have him coach the linebackers and be part of the top defense in the conference. Our players will enjoy working with Coach Wilson.
Wilson said: "I'm thrilled to join Tennessee Tech University as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach and reunite with head coach Bobby Wilder. I'm excited for the opportunity to contribute to the team's success and make a positive impact by helping our players, coaches and the Golden Eagle community achieve our goals and dreams."
Wilson spent last season as the cornerbacks coach and director of scouting and recruiting at Norfolk State, where he was named the HBCU Corners Coach of the Year and oversaw defensive back Terron Mallory, who was selected as second-team HBCU All-American by the College Football Network. The team allowed the ninth-fewest passing yards in the FCS.
Before that, Wilson spent a year as the special teams coordinator and analyst at North Carolina, who won the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division championship. The Tar Heels were rated No. 20 by ESPN on special teams efficiency, a 63-spot improvement. Wilson was named the Special Teams Analyst of the Year by the National SPT POY Foundation. Under his direction, the Tar Heels ranked in the Top 15 nationally in punt average, net punt yards, kickoff return average and punt return average.
He spent two years as a special teams analyst and defensive coach at Houston from 2020 to 2022. In 2021, Houston went 12-2 to win the American Athletic Conference's West Division title with Associated Press All-American Marcus Jones winning the Paul Hornung Award. The team ranked first nationally in blocked kicks, blocked punts and return touchdowns, while ranking ninth in net field position. The team earned five AAC Special Teams Players of the Week winners.
In 2020, Houston ranked first nationally in punt return average and punt return defense, while also ranking in the top 25 nationally in kick return average, blocked punts, blocked kicks, kickoff efficiency and net punting. The team had the NCAA leader in punt return average and total punt return yards.
From 2016 to 2019, Wilson was on Wilder's staff at Old Dominion, overseeing special teams and specialists, as well as advanced analytics. The Monarchs ranked in the top 50 in special teams, as well as in the top 30 in kickoff return, punt, punt return, field goal block, field goal and kickoff units. He mentored 10 All-Conference USA special teams players.
In 2019, he oversaw ODU's cornerbacks as the unit ranked 49th nationally in total defense, 45th in tackles-for-loss and fifth in stuff rate.
He also spent time as a safeties coach and special teams coach at Northwestern State (2015-16), cornerbacks coach and technology coordinator at Missouri Southern State (2014-15), and secondary coach at East Stroudsburg University (2013-14).
Wilson was a recruiting intern at Minnesota in the summer of 2013, and was a graduate assistant at East Stroudsburg.
He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Dayton in 2006, then collected his master's degree in sports management from East Stroudsburg in 2013.
Photo | Norfolk State Athletics
