Brent Pry enters his third year on James Franklin’s staff, serving as linebackers coach. He also holds the titles of assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator.
Pry’s coaching job during the 2013 season was one of his best with the development of sophomore linebackers Darreon Herring and Jake Sealand complimenting seniors Karl Butler and Chase Garnham.
Herring started all 12 games for the Commodores at outside linebacker and was a difference maker as the season progressed. The sophomore finished second on the team in tackles with 84 stops, including a career-best 10-tackle effort in the win against Georgia.
Sealand was forced into a starting role early in the season and held his own in his six straight starts. His 44 tackles rank fourth on the team.
After returning late in the season, Garnham has made an impact, earning SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his 10-tackle game in the win at Tennessee.
In 2012, Pry developed a linebacking corps that lacked game experience entering the year into one of the defense’s most productive position groups by the end of the season.
Pry got career seasons from returning starters Chase Garnham and Archibald Barnes, developed Karl Butler into a quality third starter, and introduced three first-year players into key reserve roles.
Garnham topped the corps with 84 total tackles, seven sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss after moving to middle linebacker. Barnes contributed 66 tackles while Butler added 48 stops.
Pry also mentored a pair of true freshmen, Darreon Herring and Jake Sealand, and redshirt freshman Larry Franklin into key reserve contributors in 2012. The trio combined for 75 total tackles.
In 2011, Pry built a solid unit around All-SEC recipient Chris Marve. The linebackers were vital to Vanderbilt’s improvement in virtually every defensive statistical category. The defense soared in SEC and NCAA rankings, finishing the year 18th nationally in total defense. Marve finished the year by earning All-SEC honors for the third straight season.
Pry joined Vanderbilt after leading a quick resurgence at Georgia Southern. With Pry’s help, the Eagles roared back to national prominence among Division I FCS teams in 2010.
With Pry serving as defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Georgia Southern advanced to the 2010 NCAA FCS national semifinals with a 10-5 overall record. The campaign also included a regular season victory over No. 1-ranked Appalachian State.
The GSU defense under Pry contributed greatly to the rise in prominence. The unit ranked ninth nationally in total defense and 11th in scoring defense.
Pry joined Georgia Southern from the University of Memphis, where he served three years as the Tigers’ defensive line coach. At Memphis, he was part of a staff that guided the Tigers to two bowl games, and molded a defensive line in 2008 into one of the Conference USA’s best.
From 2002-06, Pry served at Louisiana-Lafayette, holding positions of assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. The 2005 Louisiana-Lafayette squad earned a Sun Belt Conference title and featured five players that eventually played in the NFL.
Pry was an assistant coach at Western Carolina from 1998-2001, mentoring the defensive line for two years, then secondary and special teams for two years. He also worked three years as a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech.
Pry began his coaching career at East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University in 1993. During Pry’s tenure, East Stroudsburg’s offense was directed by a standout quarterback who now serves as Vanderbilt’s newest head coach.
A free safety at Maryville (Tenn.) College in 1988, Pry later transferred to the University of Buffalo. Pry lettered in 1990, then suffered a career-ending injury in 1991, only to return as a student coach in 1992.
Pry is a second generation college football coach. His father, Jim, has coached at the college level for more than 30 years.
Pry and his wife, Amy, are the parents of a son, Colby, and two daughters, Madeline, and Catherine.
The Pry File
Personal
Date of Birth: April 1, 1970
Hometown: Altoona, Pa.
Alma Mater: University of Buffalo (1993)
Education: Bachelor’s, history, Buffalo (1993)
Family: wife, Amy; son, Colby, daughters, Madeline and Catherine
Pry[apos]s Coaching Career
2013 – Vanderbilt (assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator/linebackers)
2011-12 – Vanderbilt (co-defensive coordinator/linebackers)
2010 – Georgia Southern (defensive coordinator and safeties)
2007-09 – Memphis (defensive line)
2004-06 – Louisiana-Lafayette (assistant head coach, defensive coordinators and linebackers)
2002-03 – Louisiana-Lafayette (defensive coordinator and linebackers)
2000-01 – Western Carolina (defensive backs and special teams)
1998-99 – Western Carolina (defensive line)
1995-98 – Virginia Tech (graduate assistant, defensive line)
1993-94 – East Stroudsburg University (outside linebackers and defensive backs)