Southern Miss makes official addition of 8 football staff members
Southern Miss officially announced eight additions to Jay Hopson's new football staff on Friday.
There were no names in the group that haven't been reported previously, but some of the new staff members were given their positions for the 2016 season.
"We have put together a quality staff and I am extremely pleased of the individuals that will help lead our young men for the 2016 season and beyond," Hopson said in a press release. "Although there is still one staff member to add, there remains a lot of hard work ahead of us to get ready for next season.
"I also want to express my appreciation to members of the former coaching staff who did a terrific job in advancing the program over the last three years. Those men are good people and coaches who obviously made a positive impact on our football program."
One position remains to be filled on Hopson's staff.
Former Kentucky and West Virginia offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson will hold the same position for the Golden Eagles.
Former Northwest Mississippi Community College head coach Jack Wright, who worked alongside Dawson on the same staff at Millsaps 10 years ago, will take over as USM's offensive line coach.
Tony Pecoraro is listed as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, the same positions he held under Hopson at Alcorn State.
Former Alcorn State defensive line coach Derek Nicholson will work in the same position at USM.
Dan Disch, who served as co-defensive coordinator at USM in 2011, was announced as the secondary coach. He worked under former USM coach Larry Fedora at North Carolina from 2012-14.
The two holdovers from Todd Monken's former staff at USM are John Wozniak and Lytrel Pollard.
Wozniak is listed as the receivers coach and special teams coordinator, the two positions he held at USM before serving as the offensive coordinator in the 2015 bowl game following Chip Lindsey's departure to Arizona State.
Pollard was not given a position in the USM release. The former USM football player coached cornerbacks under Monken.
Tim Billings, a former Wake Forest and Memphis coach, was also not given a specific position Friday. He was reported earlier this week by the The Paris (Texas) News as Hopson's assistant head coach.
Alcorn State outside linebackers/director of operations Wes Turner is joining Hopson's staff as director of recruiting sources, according to FootballScoop.com.
This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Southern Miss makes official addition of 8 football staff members ."