Football

Returning to the Golden Eagles for his second season is defensive coordinator Adam Braithwaite, who led Tennessee Tech’s defense to one of its best campaigns in program history as the Golden Eagles led the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference in several defensive statistics.

 

The Golden Eagles led the conference in total defense, yielding 306.09 yards per game. They ranked fourth in scoring defense, allowing 25.27 points per game. Tech was third in rushing defense, allowing 114.09 yards per game and finished the season with eight straight games of allowing 100 rushing yards or fewer in regulation. The Golden Eagles were also third in pass defense, allowing 192.0 yards per game.

 

Tech finished the season with a 35-0 shutout over Tennessee State -- the first shutout in the series --  the first for the program since 2013 and only the fourth since the 2000 campaign.

 

The Golden Eagles also tied Gardner-Webb for the most defensive touchdowns in the conference with four each -- Tech had two fumble recoveries for scores, while bringing home two interceptions.

 

Tech also led the Big South-OVC in opponent 3rd-down conversion rate, holding foes to a 32.28 success rate, the fewest first downs with an average of 14.09 per game, and the most sacks with an average of 2.91 per game.

 

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.

 

A 2002 graduate of William and Mary, Braithwaite played for the Tribe from 1997 to 2001. He began his coaching career at West Liberty State in 2003, then returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach at William and Mary as the Tribe reached the FCS semifinals in 2004.

 

As he started work on his graduate degree, Braithwaite joined the staff at West Virginia for the 2005 and 2006 campaigns, working with the defensive backs and linebackers. In 2007, he was named the defensive coordinator at Hampden-Sydney College, coaching linebackers and special teams. While at HSC, the team won an Old Dominion Athletic Conference title.

 

He resumed graduate work at Michigan in 2008 and was promoted to the Wolverines’ safeties coach in 2010. The following season, Braithwaite was named the defensive coordinator at Christopher Newport University – a Division III program – and led the Captains to the USA Southern Athletic Conference championship with an 8-3 record overall and a 7-0 record in the conference.