Georgia Southern football team adds assistant coaches with Sun Belt experience

Georgia Southern's new football coach Clay Helton is piecing together his coaching staff, and on Tuesday announced the addition of two assistants very familiar with the Sun Belt Conference.

Effrem Reed, a former Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns running back and staff member, is the new running backs coach for the Eagles. Ryan Aplin, a former star quarterback at Arkansas State, has been hired as the tight ends and inside receivers coach and the passing game coordinator for Georgia Southern.

They join a staff including the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bryan Ellis, who worked at Western Kentucky the previous three seasons with Helton's brother Tyson Helton, the Hilltoppers' head coach.

The staff also includes Kevin Whitley — the lone on-field coach retained from the 2021 season — as assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach. Ryan Smith was hired Friday as the program's general manager, giving the Eagles a key behind-the-scenes staffer who concentrates on recruiting. Smith spent last season as Auburn's director of player personnel.

The new OC: Georgia Southern hires Western Kentucky assistant Bryan Ellis as offensive coordinator

Reed, a Louisiana native, comes to Statesboro after two seasons at Michigan State, where he was an offensive analyst, helped coach star running back Kenneth Walker III and contributed to the Spartans' 10-win season and a top-10 final College Football Playoff ranking.

“Effrem is one of the brightest young coaches in the profession today," Helton said in a statement. "Having served under Mel Tucker at Michigan State, Effrem knows what it takes to build an elite college football program. Effrem was instrumental in the development of Kenneth Walker III, helping the running back through a very successful 2021 Heisman campaign. He has strong recruiting ties to the Southeast having played and coached at Louisiana and we look forward to him leading a very talented running back group here at Georgia Southern.”

Reed spent two seasons (2018-19) at his alma mater, Louisiana. He was a defensive graduate assistant for the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2019 and the director of player engagement in 2018.

Reed was a four-year letterwinner as a running back for Louisiana from 2012-15. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, Reed recorded career highs in rushing yards (414), carries (86) and rushing touchdowns (5). He played in 44 games throughout his career and compiled nearly 1,000 all-purpose yards to go along with eight TDs.

“I’m super excited to get to work,” Reed said in a statement. “Georgia Southern has a football tradition that is known and respected around college football. I am looking forward to being a part of coach Helton’s plan to recruit great players and put a product on the field that our fans can be proud of."

More GS sports: 'Basketball nomad' Brian Burg finds a home as Georgia Southern's head men's coach

In 2021, he played a lead role in the development of Walker III, who was also named the Big Ten’s Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year and a unanimous first-team all-conference selection. Walker is expected to be included in multiple All-America teams is up for national awards.

Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Reed was a first-team all-state honoree at Dutchtown High School after rushing for 1,926 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior in 2010. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Louisiana in 2015.

Former Arkansas State

QB Aplin joins Eagles

Two-time Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Year Ryan Aplin will be the Eagles' tight ends and inside receivers coach and the passing game coordinator, the program announced Tuesday.

"Ryan is known in the profession as a relentless recruiter and an incredible coach who knows how to develop talent," Helton said in a statement. "With his experience in the SEC and having led as a coordinator, he brings a wealth of knowledge to our football program. He also knows the Sun Belt Conference intimately, having played and coached at Arkansas State. His entire playing and coaching career has been in the Southeast, and he has extremely strong relationships in our recruiting footprint. Ryan will be a major asset to our football staff.”

At Arkansas State, where he led the Red Wolves to conference titles in 2011 and 2012 while playing quarterback, Aplin coached the running backs in 2021. Before returning to his alma mater, he was the co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Western Kentucky.

Following his playing career at A-State, Aplin made coaching stops at Auburn (2014-15), North Alabama (2016, 2018-19), UT Chattanooga (2018-19), WKU (2020) and Arkansas State (2021). Aplin’s lone season with the Hilltoppers saw him help lead the program to an appearance in the LendingTree Bowl while serving as co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach with new Eagle offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis.

Prior to WKU, Aplin was North Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2018 and 2019. UNA averaged 285 passing yards per game in his final season as the team eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark over the 11-game season. Quarterback Christian Lopez targeted many different options, with four different wide receivers posting at least 25 receptions, 550 yards and two touchdowns.

Aplin was previously North Alabama’s wide receivers coach in 2016, then took a position as the wide receivers coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga in 2017. The Lions’ 2016 campaign saw them compile an 11-2 record, claim the Gulf South Conference and Super Region 2 championships and advance to the NCAA Division II national championship game.

Prior to his first stop at UNA, Aplin served as a graduate assistant coach at Auburn for two years from 2014-15 while earning a master’s degree in adult education. He spent the 2013 season as a football administrative assistant at Ole Miss.

A Tampa, Florida, native, Aplin was twice named the SBC Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012 when the Red Wolves won back-to-back league titles. His senior season, the three-time first-team all-conference player was also MVP of the GoDaddy Bowl. The former quarterback still holds the school records for total career offense (12,514 yards), completions (906) and passing yards (10,758), while his 67 touchdown passes stand as the second most.

Aplin earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Arkansas State in 2012.

Kevin Whitley adds to his coaching title

Later Monday, Georgia Southern announced a new job title for Kevin Whitley, who has been the Eagles' cornerback coach for three seasons and served as interim head coach for the final eight games of the 2021 season.

A former Georgia Southern All-American and professional player, Whitley is the assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach for Helton. As announced previously, Whitley was the only on-field assistant coach retained by Helton from the 2021 staff.

"There are important qualities we look for when hiring individuals to our coaching staff," Helton said in a statement. "They must have high character, the ability to develop our players both on and off the field, show care and concern for our student-athletes, hold them accountable to our standards and recruit at the highest level.

"Having the chance to watch the final three weeks of the season, I saw Kevin Whitley display each of these characteristics while leading our football team. With this in mind, we are proud to name coach Whitley our assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach for the upcoming season.

"Being a Georgia native, a former Georgia Southern player, and having tremendous success as a coach both at the high school and college level in the state of Georgia, no one has better recruiting ties to our state. Coach Whitley is the example of what a Georgia Southern Eagle should be."

Whitley was a highly success head coach at the high school level in the state before returning to Statesboro in 2019 for his first college coaching job.

More: Kevin Whitley to stay at Georgia Southern under Clay Helton after serving as interim head coach

"My family and I are excited about the opportunity that coach Helton has given us," said Whitley, who with his wife, Star, has a daughter, Camryn, and a son, Avery. "Being a part of Eagle Nation is an unbelievable experience and we look forward to future success."

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Effrem Reed hired as Georgia Southern football team running backs coach