GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman head football coach Clay Hendrix announced today that Hugh Ryan has been named the Paladins' new safeties coach and special teams coordinator following the retirement of Tommy Spangler.
 
"I am very excited to announce the promotion of Hugh Ryan to our safeties coach and special teams coordinator," said Hendrix on Wednesday.  "Hugh was a terrific player for us and has done outstanding work assisting Tommy Spangler the last couple of years.  He will do a great job in our program."
 
"It's hard to measure the impact Tommy Spangler has had on so many young men in his 42 years of coaching.  He had a profound effect on the Furman football program, and I am so thankful for the four years I was blessed to work with him here.  He is as good a man and coach as I have ever been associated with, and I will certainly miss seeing him every day. I am certainly happy for him and Kim and wish him nothing but the best as he steps away."
 
Ryan, a two-time All-Southern Conference safety and 2024 Furman cum laude graduate, served the last two seasons as a defensive quality control assistant for the Paladins.
 
The Irmo, S.C., product appeared in 57 games and registered 45 starts in his Paladin career, which saw him total 263 tackles, nine interceptions, and a pair of SoCon Player of the Week scrolls.  He was a mainstay at free safety and major contributor on a pair of 10-3 Furman squads in 2022 & '23 that boasted defenses which ranked among the best in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).  In 2023 Furman captured the program's 15th SoCon championship, advanced to the FCS playoff quarterfinals, and finished the season ranked No. 6 in the AFCA Poll.

A three-time SoCon All-Academic Team pick and four-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll selection, Ryan, who majored in business administration, landed Collegiate Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors in 2023.

He was a member of three state championship teams and a Shrine Bowl selection at Dutch Fork (S.C.) High School.
 
Spangler served four seasons (2022-25) as the Paladins' special teams coordinator and as coach of the squad's cornerbacks in 2022 and safeties the last three campaigns.
 
He played a key role in the Paladins' back-to-back 10-3 campaigns in 2022 and '23 that included a SoCon championship, two FCS playoff appearances, and a pair of Top 10 poll finishes — all made possible by defensive units that ranked among the best in FCS in takeaways, scoring defense, third down percentage defense, and red zone defense.

On the special teams front Spangler had an equally bigger impact, overseeing units that produced results never before seen in the history of Paladin football.  Chief among them were Furman's FCS-best 10 blocked kicks in 2022, multiple kickoff return touchdowns, and All-SoCon placekicker selections.
 
All told Spangler's coaching career spanned 42 years, including two head coaching tenures at Presbyterian (2001-06, 2017-20), and assistant coach stops at PC (1997-00, 2013-16), Louisiana Tech (2007-12), and Georgia Southern (1985-96).

He played defensive back at the University of Georgia, from which he graduated with a degree in physical education in 1984.