Furman head football coach
Clay Hendrix announced on Feb. 20 that
Hugh Ryan has been named the Paladins' new safeties coach and special teams coordinator.
"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."
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.
