Hughes will serve as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, while Cash will serve as the quarterback coach and passing game coordinator.
"Hank Hughes brings a wealth of knowledge on the defensive side of the ball to our staff," said Prunty. "He's been a coordinator at all levels and understands defense and what we want to do.
Hughes joins the Hampton University after a year at Davidson College where he served as the linebacker coach and defensive run game coordinator in 2017. He was on the staff at Lafayette College in 2016 as the defensive tackles coach.
With nearly 40 years of coaching experience, Hughes has coached defense on the FBS level from 1993-2015. In 2015, he served as the defensive line coach at Nebraska where they were ranked in the top 15 in FBS in rushing defense and fourth down defense.
He came to Nebraska after serving as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for Tommy Tuberville at Cincinnati in 2014. The Bearcats' defense made steady improvement throughout the 2014 season, holding five opponents to 17 or fewer points during a seven-game win streak to end the regular season. The late-season surge helped the Bearcats earned a share of the American Athletic Conference title.
Hughes spent the previous 13 seasons as an assistant coach at Connecticut, coaching the defensive line for the Huskies throughout his tenure at the school. Hughes was the defensive coordinator for four of his seasons at UConn and was assistant head coach for eight seasons from 2005 to 2012.
During Hughes' time with the school, Connecticut appeared in five bowl games and won a share of two Big East Championships. The 2010 Huskies earned a spot in a BCS bowl game, taking on Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The Husky defenses regularly ranked among the nation's top rush defenses, in large part due to the play of Hughes' defensive line, and UConn ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense in 2006, 2008 and 2012.
Hughes' 2012 defense is regarded as one of the finest in school history with the unit ranking seventh in the country in rush defense, ninth in total defense and 19th in scoring defense. The run defense was also stout in 2011, ranking first in the Big East and fourth nationally.
The Huskies' 2008 defense ranked among the nation's best finishing sixth in the country and first in the Big East in total defense at just 278.0 yards per game. UConn also ranked in the top 25 nationally and top three in the Big East in 2008 in pass efficiency defense, rushing defense and scoring defense.
Hughes' defense helped UConn make a successful transition to the Big East, leading the conference in total defense in each of its first two years in the league in 2006 and 2007. In the Huskies' first season in FBS in 2002, Hughes' defense ranked fifth in the nation in pass defense and the top 20 in total defense and pass efficiency defense.
Hughes also served as the defensive line coach at Memphis from 1998 to 2000, helping the Tigers lead the nation in rush defense in 2000. Hughes' previous college coaching experience includes stints at Harvard, Cincinnati and James Madison among others, and he also spent two seasons in the professional ranks with the Montreal Machine of the World League of American Football. Hughes played linebacker at Springfield College.
Former Hampton University quarterback and NFL player Ataveus Cash joins the new staff this year to serve as the quarterbacks coach. He will continue to serve as the Assistant Athletics Director for Operations. Cash had previously served as an assistant coach for the football program in 2013 as a wide receiver coach
Cash was a part of the 1997 Pirates squad that went 10-2 and won the MEAC title and SBN Black College National Championship. Cash was also on the 1998 MEAC championship squad, as well as Pirates track & field squads that won MEAC both the 1999 indoor and outdoor MEAC titles.
After graduating from Hampton in 2001 with a B.S. in therapeutic recreation, Cash signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent. After time with the Jets, Cash played for the New York Giants, and he also spent time during in his NFL career with the Washington Redskins as a wide receiver, kick returner, and punt returner. He also played for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, winning the World Bowl in 2005.
Cash has had a hand in several facets of campus from bringing in the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Division 6A and 5A football championship games for the past two December's, along with the VHSL state basketball quarterfinals and semifinals in March of 2017.
He is administrator for summer camps at HU and has been the team leader in redesigning Holland Hall, the weight room and on the committee for newly redesigned locker rooms in Armstrong Stadium for women's soccer and men's lacrosse. Cash has also been the liaison on the clothing deal between athletics and Under Armour.
Cash serves as the CEO and founder of The Ataveus Cash Legacy Foundation (ACLF), an organization which promotes academic excellence and higher education for youth in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and other economically disadvantaged communities nationwide.
"Ataveus Cash understands the quarterback position, and the position at Hampton University having played here," Prunty said. "He knows the technique, the fundamentals and will do a great job as our quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator."
For more information on Hampton University football, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5757 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment