Larry Brinson has been added to the Kentucky football staff as running backs coach, David Lockwood is the new defensive backs coach, and current quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders has been named recruiting coordinator, Coach Rich Brooks has announced.
?I?m excited that Larry and David have joined our staff, and that Randy will be our recruiting coordinator,? Brooks said. ?Larry brings a vast background of experience, winning a Super Bowl championship in Dallas as a player, as well as his career of coaching running backs for Ken Hatfield. He is an excellent recruiter and has developed outstanding running backs during his career. He also has connections with SEC schools from his playing days at Florida and coaching at Arkansas.
?David brings defensive coordinator?s experience as well as outstanding technical expertise in secondary play,? Brooks continued. ?He was instrumental in Minnesota?s success in recent years and comes very highly recommended.
?I?m glad that Randy has accepted the added responsibilities as recruiting coordinator, a role in which he has successful experience. He is very organized and is a good evaluator of talent, qualities which make him ideal for the job.?
Brinson comes to UK after having coached running backs for 23 years on the staff of Ken Hatfield at Air Force, Arkansas, Clemson, and Rice. Hatfield?s teams were usually running-oriented on offense, putting Brinson?s players on center stage.
After helping Air Force win the 1983 Independence Bowl in his first season as an assistant coach, Brinson went to Arkansas. The Razorbacks played in a bowl game all six seasons with Brinson on staff, including two appearances in the Cotton Bowl after winning the 1988 and ?89 Southwest Conference championships. Arkansas was ranked in the nation?s top 20 in rushing all six years that Brinson was there. One of his top players at Arkansas was Barry Foster, who went on to lead the National Football League in rushing in 1992.
Brinson moved to Clemson in 1990, going to the Hall of Fame, Citrus, and Peach Bowls during his four seasons there. He went with Hatfield to Rice in 1994 and coached 12 years with the Owls. Rice had some dominating ground attacks during those years, often finishing in the nation?s top 10 rushing teams.
Rice won a share of the 1994 Southwest Conference championship as the Owls ranked ninth in the nation in rushing. The Owls led the nation in rushing in 2004, ranked second in 1997, 2001, and 2003, and were third in the country in 1996. The school record was set in 1997 when the Owls rushed for 332.7 yards per game and also rushed for 306.5 yards per game while leading the nation in 2004. His backs earned all-conference honors four times during his term there.
?When I talked with coaches about Coach Brooks, they all said he was a great guy to work for,? Brinson said about his interest in coming to Kentucky. ?I?m excited about being here. Kentucky has things going in a great direction and I hope there will be even better things to come.?
A native of Miami, Fla., Brinson was a four-year letterman at the University of Florida, playing in a bowl game each season. He played five years in the National Football League, including three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (1977-79) and two years with the Seattle Seahawks (1980-81). Brinson was a member of the Dallas teams that played in the 1978 and ?79 Super Bowls, including a championship when the Cowboys defeated Denver in the ?78 title game.
Brinson has a son, Kody, and daughters Ashly and Olivia.
Lockwood comes to UK from the University of Minnesota, where he spent the last five seasons, including 2005 and ?06 as the defensive coordinator. The Gophers advanced to bowl games in all five of his years with the team, including three victories. Minnesota had played in only seven bowl games in school history prior to Lockwood joining the staff. He coached defensive backs his first three years with the Gophers and worked with the linebackers the last two seasons.
Lockwood is an 18-year coaching veteran, including six seasons coaching in the secondary. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, West Virginia, in 1989. He also coached at Delaware (1990-93, tight ends and wide receivers), James Madison (1994, TE/WR), Memphis (1995-98 WR, 1999 defensive backs), West Virginia (2000, DB), and Notre Dame (2001, cornerbacks).
While Lockwood was at Delaware, the Blue Hens won two Yankee Conference championships and advanced to the Division I-AA playoffs three years. His ?94 team at James Madison also played in the I-AA playoffs.
Although he coached defensive backs just one year at Memphis, Lockwood had three of his DBs ? Reginald Howard, Michael Stone, and Idrees Bashir ? play several years in the National Football League. In the 2000 season at West Virginia, the Mountaineers finished ninth in the nation with 19 interceptions and defeated Ole Miss in the Music City Bowl. In his one season at Notre Dame, the Irish were 10th in the nation in pass defense. He also worked current Wildcat offensive coordinator Joker Phillips during his year in South Bend.
?This is an opportunity to be a program that?s jumping to the next level,? Lockwood said. ?All I heard about Coach Brooks is that he?s a great guy to work for and I knew Joker Phillips from my year at Notre Dame. I?m excited to be part of a program that?s on the way up and plays in a great conference.?
A native of Media, Pa. (near Philadelphia), Lockwood was a four-year letterman and three-year starter as a defensive back at West Virginia. Lockwood played in two bowl games and was a member of the ?88 WVU squad that posted an 11-0 regular-season record.
Lockwood and his wife, Heidi, have three children ? daughter Autumn and sons David Jr. and Jeffrey.
Sanders will be in familiar territory as the UK recruiting coordinator. He handled the same duty at Tennessee for six years (1993-98) leading up to the Volunteers? national championship in ?98. Sanders gave up the recruiting coordinator position in order to become the Vols? offensive coordinator from 1999-2005.
?I?m happy that Coach Brooks has the confidence to make me recruiting coordinator,? Sanders said. ?Recruiting is the lifeblood of a program and I?m excited about assuming that role and taking on the challenge.?
