GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman head coach Clay Hendrix announced today the hiring of Cory Colder as the Paladins' new running backs coach.

Colder, who spent the last two seasons as running backs coach at Davidson, replaces Antonio Wilcox, who recently accepted an assistant coaching position at Connecticut.

"We're really excited to be able to add Cory Colder to our staff as running backs coach," said Hendrix.  "He is an incredibly bright young coach with a proven track record of success in developing players and recruiting elite student-athletes.  He will be a terrific fit at Furman."

Colder played a role in Davidson earning FCS playoff berths in his two seasons with the Wildcats, including the 2021 campaign that netted a Pioneer Football League regular season championship.  The driving force behind Davidson's success were powerful rushing attacks, including the 2022 version that averaged a FCS leading 331.5 yards per game.

Colder's top product, two-time All-PFL running back Coy Williams, led the way by rushing for 801 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2022.  In 2021 he was joined on the All-PFL team by back field teammate Dylan Sparks.

Colder's two-year stint at Davidson followed two years in a similar capacity at Valparaiso, where he coached All-PFL running back Robert Washington, the league's top rusher.
 
A native of Ashburn, Va., and a 2018 graduate of East Tennessee State University, Colder was a member of the Buccaneers' first recruiting class in a revived football program that had been idled for over a decade.  He was part of the Bucs' 2018 Southern Conference championship team that earned the league's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.