COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Head Football Coach Barry Odom has added veteran offensive line coach Brad Davis to his coaching staff, as announced today. Davis, who will coach the offensive line, comes to Mizzou after spending the 2017 season at Florida as o-line coach, and he brings with him 15 years of coaching experience, including the last nine seasons running the offensive line at a variety of stops, during which time he’s coached 13 linemen to all-conference honors. Details of Davis’ contract will be released once fully executed, along with the completion of human resources procedures.

At Florida, the Gator offense was beset with injuries throughout the 2017 season, and Davis’ offensive line was extremely young, as there wasn’t a single senior in the two-deep by the end of the season. Despite the challenges, Florida still managed to rush for at least 165 yards in six consecutive games at one stretch, which was the longest streak for the program since 2009. In addition, Florida ran for more than 200 yards in three contests, while the Gator offense ranked second nationally in red zone scoring – converting at a 96.8 percent clip (30-of-31).

“I’m very pleased to have Brad and his family join our program,” said Odom. “He’s a tremendous teacher and mentor, and he’s been lights out on the recruiting trail with his approach to building true relationships with kids. Brad has experience in the SEC and he has worked hard to earn a great amount of respect among his peers. I’m excited to have him with us, and I know he is going to do a great job helping us move forward offensively and continue building,” he said.

“I’m extremely excited to join Coach Odom and his staff at Mizzou and help build on the foundation these guys have already laid,” said Davis. “In playing against these guys this year, I saw a team that played hard, played physical and that enjoyed playing together. With Coach Odom, it was an easy sell, because of his passion for the University of Missouri. Even from afar, that’s something I’ve always admired about him, not only his commitment to the school and to his kids, but really for advancing the program in any way possible. For me, the opportunity to join his program and to continue the mission that he started there, I couldn’t be more excited to do that. I can’t wait to get to work; I can’t wait to help these guys continue the path they’ve been on. I’m excited to get there and to meet all the linemen, they’ve done a fantastic job this year, and I certainly want to continue the trend of keeping these guys going the right direction and getting better daily,” Davis said.

At East Carolina, Davis’ line helped pave the way for the duo of running back Chris Hairston and quarterback James Summers to combine for 1,200 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.

Prior to ECU, Davis played a key role in guiding prolific offenses at James Madison and Portland State. He was the JMU co-offensive coordinator and line coach during the 2014 campaign, and helped the Dukes to a 9-4 overall mark and the school’s first Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff appearance since 2011 after a third-place finish in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Davis and James Madison stood 10th nationally in total offense with a 484.6 yards-per-game average that year, and ranked 17th in scoring with a 35.7 points-per-game clip and 21st in both rushing and passing. Behind the play of Associated Press Third-Team All-America quarterback Vad Lee, the Dukes established numerous school records, including passing completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns. In addition to Lee and receiver Daniel Brown, Davis also had a direct impact on the development of another All-CAA performer, offensive lineman Mitchell Kirsch.

Before joining JMU in 2014, Davis spent five years at Portland State, serving as the run-game coordinator and offensive line coach as part of the program’s pistol package. Under Davis, the Vikings had 10 players earn All-Big Sky Conference honors while ranking among the nation’s leaders in fewest sacks allowed.

In 2013, senior tackle Mitchell Van Dyk was named First-Team All-Big Sky and also earned third-team All-America honors by The Sports Network. The 2013 season was a record-breaking one for PSU. Davis helped lead Portland State to the Big Sky’s total offense crown, second in rushing offense and third in scoring offense, while ranking third at the FCS level in rushing offense and total offense. The Vikings also set school records with 6,486 total yards, 3,330 rushing yards, a 277.7 rushing average, 540.5 total offense average and 36 rushing touchdowns. While there, he worked with standout center Cornelius Edison, and tight end Julius Thomas. Edison later won the Rimington Award for the best center in the FCS in 2014, and is now with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, while Thomas is now with the Miami Dolphins.

In his last two years at PSU, his line surrendered only a combined 19 sacks to rank ninth (2013) and fifth (2012) nationally, respectively.

Davis was an offensive line staff assistant at North Carolina in 2008 and also spent two years as a defensive line graduate assistant at Texas A&M, as well as a coaching stint at Doane (Neb.) College in 2005 and 2006.

Additionally, he has been credited for developing five players who earned roster positions in the National Football League in the same time frame. Davis has also served two separate NFL summer internships, working with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011 and Seattle Seahawks in 2012.

Davis, a Baton Rouge, La. native, is a 2003 graduate of the University of Oklahoma where he was a starting offensive lineman for the Sooners. He competed on two Big 12 championship teams, the 2000 National Championship squad and played in the Independence Bowl (1999), Orange Bowl (2001), Cotton Bowl (2002) and Rose Bowl (2003). Davis was named the team’s Most Valuable Offensive Lineman in 2002.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Vernon Hargreaves will join the Mizzou Football coaching staff as inside linebackers coach, as announced today by Head Coach Barry Odom. Hargreaves brings with him to Mizzou 33 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 26 as linebackers coach for some very successful programs. Details of Hargreaves’ contract will be released once fully executed, along with the completion of human resources procedures.

Hargreaves comes to Mizzou after spending the last three seasons as linebackers coach (2015-17) at Arkansas. In 20 seasons coaching at the FBS level, Hargreaves’ teams have advanced to 16 bowl games, including a pair of appearances in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship while at Miami, Fla., where he coached linebackers from 1998-2005. At Miami, Hargreaves was the position coach for National Football League stars Jonathan Vilma, Dan Morgan and D.J. Williams, and he helped the Hurricanes claim the 2001 BCS title.

He helped lead the Hurricanes to a BCS National Championship title in 2001 and another BCS title game appearance in 2002. At Miami, Hargreaves helped mold Vilma, Morgan, Williams, Rocky McIntosh and Nate Webster into NFL linebackers. Seven of his linebackers at Miami were selected in the NFL Draft, including Morgan who won the Butkus Award, Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award in 2000.

The 2001 Hurricanes were one of the best defensive units in college football history, allowing just 9.4 points per game and only 138.2 passing yards per contest. Hargreaves helped Miami to a perfect 12-0 season, culminating in the 2002 BCS title game win over Nebraska.

“I’ve known Vernon for a number of years and have always respected the way his position plays the game,” said Odom. “He will be a great teacher and mentor for our student-athletes. His experience will be so valuable for our program; I’m excited about Vernon and his family joining our Mizzou family,” he said.

Hargreaves, who was on staff at Houston for the ’13 and ’14 seasons with current Mizzou outside linebackers coach Brian Odom, said he’s excited to get to work with a defensive staff that he respects and knows very well.

“I worked with Brian at Houston, and Barry was the defensive coordinator at Memphis when we were there, and he did a great job at Memphis, that’s where our relationship started,” said Hargreaves. “Having the opportunity to work with him and the defenses that he’s been associated with is very exciting, and then of course the familiarity I have with Brian, and then also Brick Haley, who I’ve known over the years is important to me. I’ll tell you this too, Ryan Walters is a superstar, he’s going to be a big-time college football coach. To be around all of those guys, hopefully to help and to learn and continue to build that defense, it will be a great experience. They’ve got a lot of young guys who I believe are going to be really good players, and I’m looking forward to being part of it all,” he said.

During his three seasons at Arkansas, Hargreaves coached several award winners, including sophomore MLB De’Jon Harris, who was named second-team All-SEC by the Associated Press in 2017 after he finished second in the league with 115 tackles, a year after he earned SEC All-Freshman team honors. In his first two years at Arkansas, Hargreaves mentored Brooks Ellis into one of Arkansas’ top producers on and off the field. Ellis, the team leader in tackles in 2015 and 2016, closed out his career with 290 tackles, was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member and became the first Arkansas football student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors twice. Ellis was also named the 2016 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and was honored as one of 12 finalists for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy, also known as the “Academic Heisman.”

Prior to Arkansas, Hargreaves spent two seasons at Houston where he coached linebackers. In 2014, he helped the Cougars finish 8-5, including a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Pittsburgh in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. The Cougars ranked second in the American Conference and 11th nationally with 30 forced turnovers and were 15th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 20.6 points per game.

In 2013, Hargreaves helped Houston rank as the third-most improved defense nationally after allowing just 21.8 points per game, 14.2 points per game lower than the previous season. Houston led the nation with 43 turnovers created and also led the country in turnover margin.

Hargreaves served as special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach at South Florida from 2010-12. The Bulls finished second nationally in tackles for loss and fourth nationally in sacks during the 2011 season, in large part due to the outstanding play of Hargreaves’ defensive ends. He helped South Florida claim its fourth bowl victory in school history with a win in the 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl over Clemson.

Hargreaves also spent three seasons as the special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach at East Carolina from 2007 to 2009. He helped defensive end C.J. Wilson earn back-to-back Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2008 and 2009. Wilson was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2010 NFL Draft and started at defensive end for the Packers in Super Bowl XLV. The Pirates played in a bowl game in all three seasons Hargreaves was on the coaching staff.

Hargreaves, 55, finished his playing career at Connecticut in 1983 where he was a two-time All-American. He earned all-conference honors twice during his career and was selected a team captain as a senior. His 393 career tackles still ranks sixth all-time in school history. Hargreaves was named a member of UConn’s 100th anniversary team. The New Haven, Conn., native earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Connecticut in 1986.

He and his wife, Jackie, have three children: Carina, Vernon III and Chanelle. Vernon III played cornerback at Florida from 2013-15 and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the 11th pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

— Mizzou Athletics —