MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State head coach Donald Hill-Eley announced the addition of three new assistant coaches and other staff additions for the 2018 season.

"We went in assessing what we needed to put our program where we need to be to succeed," Eley said. "That will help put us in a situation to help us win championships. We felt the additional staff will give us that opportunity."

Roderick Plummer joins the staff for the upcoming season, arriving from Florida A&M to coach running backs and special teams. Plummer has been one of the leaders in special teams on the FCS level for many years, with his teams at Yale and Florida A&M leading the country in that category. Plummer helped to improve the Florida A&M kick coverage team from last in the MEAC to first, and coached a pair of All-Conference selections at the school. He coached Chris Faddoul and Devin Bowers to the all-conference selections.

"Rod and I worked together at Hampton in 1997 and 1998," Eley said. "We were able to win two championships working together. We have stayed in contact over the years, and he has produced some of the best special teams in the FCS. We know that special teams is a main component of any championship team, so it was important to bring him in."

Eley also announced the addition of two former Troy University staff members to the Hornets staff for the upcoming season.
Justin Keown comes to Alabama State after serving two years as the tight ends and S-backs coach at Troy University. While serving in that role, he helped the team to back-to-back 10 wins seasons in 2016 and 2017 and assisted the Trojans to back-to-back bowl games (Dollar General Bowl in 2016 and New Orleans Bowl in 2017). He will take responsibilities over for the offensive line for the Hornets beginning this spring.
 
Jaquon Robinson comes to Alabama State from Dinwiddie High School, where he was the passing game coordinator the past two seasons. During that time he helped the team amass a 26-2 record. Prior to his stint at Dinwiddie, Robinson on staff at Troy University, where he served as a graduate assistant. At Alabama State, he will be responsible for coaching the inside receivers. Robinson served as an offensive analyst in his first season, and then served as a graduate assistant for the Sun Belt Conference championship.
 
"We wanted to put a system in place with guys that were familiar with running that system," Eley said. "We wanted to be able to recruit our coaches to fit our offensive system, and both Justin and Jaquon fit that mold. They have served in a variety of roles, but they were both integral in helping the Troy offense and we wanted to give them a chance to run their own part of the offense here."
 
Eley also added four quality control coaches including Bre'nard Williams, Jon Harrelson, Sam Lazarus and Tarvaris Jackson to the staff for the upcoming season.
 
"Any good program prepares for attrition," Eley said. "Coaches move on all the time, and we wanted to make sure we prepared for the future. We were top heavy as position coaches, but we didn't have a lot of young guys around to support the coaches and the players. We felt it was important to create a group of understudies that could develop into our next tier of coaches."
 
Williams comes to Alabama State after serving as the linebackers coach at Thomasville High School, where he coached three all-region linebackers and one All-State selection. While at Thomasville, Williams helped Thomasville to their first playoff appearance in three seasons. Prior to his stint at Thomasville, Williams served under defensive coordinator Derrick Williams at Methodist University (Fayetteville, NC).
 
Harrelson comes to Alabama State from Huntingdon College where he served on the football staff. While at Huntingdon, Harrelson was an offensive intern where helped coach running backs and H-backs. He was also responsible for running position meetings, breaking down film and recruiting in the southeast portion of the country (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Texas).
 
Lazarus, a graduate from Alabama State, returns to his alma mater to assist with Player Development for the Hornets. Prior to coming on staff with football, Lazarus served last year as a Recruitment Specialist and District Recruiter for the Academic Affairs/Enrollment Management Office at Alabama State.
 
Jackson returns to his alma mater after a 10-year career in the National Football League. He was drafted in the second round by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2006 NFL Draft, and played for the Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills. During his collegiate career (at Arkansas and Alabama State), Jackson completed 516 passes in 955 attempts for 7.397 yards. He also threw for 64 touchdowns in his collegiate career. While at Alabama State, Jackson was named team captain his senior season and was selected as an All-SWAC performer in 2005.
 
"The opportunity to bring Tarvaris in with his experience in the NFL was big," Eley said. "He is a guy who has pushed the program to the top of the conference, and to be able to bring him back to help him break through in the profession. It is a great tradeoff to get his knowledge of the game and help assist him in his development."
 
Eley also announced the addition of Michael Medcalf as the flexibility coach. He comes to the Hornets with over thirty years of arts related leadership, administrative and professional experiences. Medcalf has served in a variety of leadership positions, but particularly in academia as the director of Alabama State University's BFA/Dance Program.
 
"We have always had strength and conditioning," he said. "We have always built the body and strengthen the body, but we wanted to be able to do other things with speed and flexibility. It is a very physical game, and to be able to generate power, you need flexibility. It is important as well to help avoid certain injuries."
 
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