TyHolder

Ty Holder is in his first season on Will Stein’s inaugural staff as the assistant defensive backs coach. 

 Holder arrived in Lexington after two years as the cornerbacks coach at Gardner-Webb (Boiling Springs, N.C.) in 2024 and 2025. 

 In 2025, the Runnin’ Bulldogs posted a 7–5 overall record, matching the school’s Division I-era mark for victories, including a 5–3 finish in Ohio Valley Conference/Big South play. Under Holder’s guidance, cornerback Que Billingsley garnered All-Conference honorable mention recognition. 

During his two seasons at GWU, Holder also played a pivotal role in the development of three cornerbacks who advanced to the FBS level: Diondre Glover (UConn), Billingsley (UAB) and Darius Johnson Jr. (Georgia State). 

Before his time at Gardner-Webb, Holder spent two years at Auburn. He concluded his stint on The Plains as a defensive analyst for the defensive backs room in 2023. Prior to that, he was a defensive coaching and recruiting assistant for the 2022 season but spent the first half of 2022 as a defensive graduate assistant before being promoted. 

While at Auburn, Holder mentored six defensive backs who received Senior Bowl invites. Among those, three were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, including Nehemiah Pritchett (Seattle Seahawks), DJ James (Seattle Seahawks) and Jaylin Simpson (Indianapolis Colts). He also mentored Keionte Scott, who made 23 starts and played in 33 games for the Tigers, finishing with 115 tackles (88 solo) before transferring to Miami for the 2025 season.  In addition, he tutored Colton Hood during his freshman campaign at Auburn. Hood later transferred to Tennessee, where he emerged as one of the nation’s top defensive backs, earning a 2025 Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist recognition along with All-SEC honors from the Associated Press and the league’s coaches. 

Holder began his coaching career at North Carolina, where he was a defensive graduate assistant for two seasons (2020-21), working closely with the defensive line. The Tar Heels made back-to-back bowl games, including the Orange Bowl (2020) and Duke’s Mayo Bowl (2021). Defensive lineman Ray Vohasek was one of the top defensive players on the team in 2021, totaling 38 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, four quarterback hurries and three pass breakups. He was named All-ACC Honorable Mention and went on to be selected in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

The Tampa, Fla., native was a three-year letter winner and three-year starter as a cornerback at Ball State from 2012-16. He had 26 career starts and totaled 74 career tackles with 17 pass breakups and five interceptions. He went on to play professionally in the XFL for the Los Angeles Wildcats (2019-20) and the San Diego Fleet in the Alliance of American Football (2018-19). 

Holder graduated from Ball State in 2016 with a degree in business administration and is currently working on a master’s degree in business administration from Gardner-Webb. He is on track to graduate in May of ’26.  

 Ty Holder’s Coaching Career