Coaching staff at ASU in place for 2009 season

Offensive play-calling will continue to be a team effort

By: By Tommy Bowman | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: February 25, 2009

Jerry Moore, Appalachian State's football coach, has his staff all set for spring-football practice, which will begin on March 17.

Lance Taylor, a former receiver and graduate assistant coach at Alabama, and Jason Blalock, a former player and grad assistant at ASU, have joined the staff.

Taylor will coach receivers and replace Antonio Carter, who took a job as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan. Blalock will assist Mark Speir as a defensive-line coach and fill a vacancy created when quarterbacks coach Scott Satterfield took a job as co-offensive coordinator at Toledo.

Taylor, a former teammate of Carter, played four seasons at Alabama and was a team captain as a senior in 2003. He was a graduate assistant for the Crimson Tide under Nick Saban.

"He was a good player for Alabama, and Coach Saban called me about him and recommended him," Moore said. "He will have all the receivers, although Brad (Glenn) and Chris (Moore) will help with the inside guys (slot receivers)."

Blalock was a defensive tackle for the Mountaineers from 1999 through 2003. He has been a defensive-line coach at Newberry the past two seasons.

"He did a great job at Newberry," Moore said. "I like having guys who have been in our program on staff."

Moore said that offensive play-calling will continue to be a collaborative effort, and that he won't have an offensive coordinator.

"I've never been big on that job description, whether it was Scott, Shawn (Elliott), Chris, Brad or myself (calling plays)," Moore said. "We'll just do it the same way. We haven't decided for sure who we will put in the press box. If you ask me today, it would be Brad Glenn and Chris Moore.

"We'll do it basically like we've been doing it. I have my own reasons; it goes all the way back to Nebraska probably. I think it keeps everybody involved. We've had plays called from the press box and Shawn (offensive-line coach) might see something from the sideline, and we'd change the play. I wouldn't want to lose that dialogue. I think that's an intangible we have that's hard to place a value on.

"The way it's worked out for us in the past has been good. And nobody here has ever had a problem with it, that we don't have an offensive coordinator. They're all involved."

ASU will wrap up winter workouts this week and will begin spring drills a bit later than in past seasons. Moore said that the later start will accommodate 15 days of practice between spring and Easter breaks without interruption.

■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.