Chris Hurd enters his second season as the Mocs as the Special Teams Coordinator and Running Backs coach. He helped freshman Brandon Dowdell lead the SoCon and finish No. 6 in the FCS with 12.6 yards per punt return.
Hurd is coming off three seasons in the same capacity at Florida Atlantic and has also worked at Arkansas and Tennessee. He started with the Owls in January 2014 and had an immediate impact in both areas he coached. The tight ends caught six scores that season, while Lucky Whitehead finished in the top-10 in the nation in kick return yards and Dalton Schomp averaged 45.4 yards per punt.
The 2015 special teams unit excelled in its second season under Hurd’s direction. Most notably, Schomp led the nation with 48.0 yards per punt. Nearly half of Schomp’s punts (22-of-45, 49%) were for 50 yards or more and he pinned 18 inside the 20. FAU tight ends also emerged as a solid unit in 2015. Nate Terry led all Owls receivers with four touchdown receptions.
Last season, all-conference member Kerrith Whyte led the squad in kick returns and was third in the nation in combined kick returns. Whyte tallied 1,002 kick return yards for an average of 25.7 yards per return. Schomp averaged 42.6 yards per punt and earned honorable mention all-conference recognition. Tight end Harrison Bryant emerged as a significant contributor with six catches for 63 yards and a spot on the Conference USA All-Freshman team.
Prior to FAU, Hurd was the special teams quality control at Arkansas in 2012 and spent two years on Tennessee’s strength & conditioning staff in 2011-12. He also served as the special teams quality control with the Volunteers. Hurd was the defensive coordinator at Cisco College from 2007-10 and was a graduate assistant at North Texas from 2004-06.
Hurd was a walk-on who lettered four seasons at North Texas (2000-03). He earned a scholarship and was a two-year starter, for the three-time Sun Belt Champions (2001-03). He earned the team's Byron Gross Award, bestowed to the best linebacker, in 2002 and 2003, first-team All-Sun Belt in 2003 and Defensive Player of the Year the same season.
Hurd is a native of Killeen, Texas. He and his wife, Emily, have one son, Ryker. Hurd earned his degree in History with a minor in Criminal Justice from North Texas in 2004.
