Ray Woodie promoted
When Ray Ray Woodie was hired to coach special teams, we also reported he would ‘assist’ with the linebacker group; today that became official as Oregon is set to announce he will be promoted to Outside LB Coach/Special Teams Coordinator. With this duty, defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt will focus on the inside linebackers.
Coach Woodie has extensive experience working with linebackers. Woodie first joined Willie Taggart at Western Kentucky following a successful stint as a Tampa area high school coach. Woodie served as the defensive ends coach at Western Kentucky under head coach Willie Taggart in 2010 and 2011 before coaching linebackers in 2012.
As defensive ends coach in 2011, Woodie helped guide three Hilltoppers to all-Sun Belt Conference honors. Quanterus Smith was named to the second team, while Jared Clendenin and Bo Adebayo were honorable mention all-league picks. All three ranked among the league leaders in both sacks and tackles for loss, with Smith ranking second in the conference with 7.5 sacks on the year. Thanks in part to the efforts of those three individuals, WKU tied for third in the league in sacks in 2011 after finishing last in the conference a season before.
Woodie coached linebackers the following year guiding Andrew Jackson to his second-consecutive 100-tackle season, earning first team All-Sun Belt Conference for the second-straight year. Jackson ranked in the top 25 nationally in both solo tackles (76) and tackles for loss (17.5). Jackson, along with fellow linebacker Xavius Boyd, set career highs in tackles with 116 and 71, respectively.
In 2013, his first season at USF, Woodie guided senior linebacker DeDe Lattimore to a career-best 98 tackles and second team All-AAC honors. Lattimore, who went on to play for the NFL's Chicago Bears, led the AAC and ranked 10th in the FBS forcing four fumbles and recovered three, part of a turn-around that saw USF nearly triple its forced turnovers from nine the previous season to 25 and score three defensive touchdowns.
The 2014 season saw sophomore linebacker Nigel Harris lead the nation and set a new USF record with six forced fumbles while leading the team with 10.5 tackles for loss and finishing second with 77 tackles.
The 2015 season saw middle linebacker Auggie Sanchez lead the team with 117 tackles, tied for the second-best season total in program history, and earn second team all-conference honors.
Woodie inherits a group of linebackers that will be very young, but full of promise including freshman All-American Troy Dye. Duck Sports Authority congratulates Ray Woodie on his promotion.