NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State's new offensive coaching staff brings a track record of explosive production along with the luster of national championship success and postseason experience to the Demons football team, first-year head coach Jay Thomas said Friday.
 
A day after announcing his defensive coaches, Thomas said previously-announced offensive coordinator Robby Brown, who will coach quarterbacks, will be joined by assistant head coach and offensive line coach Ben Norton, running backs coach Derrick Foster, receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Kyle Manley, and tight ends coach Matt Powledge, who was on last year's coaching staff.
 
The appointments are subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System, which includes Northwestern.
 
Brown – who was offensive coordinator last season at Valdosta State for the Division II national champions – has previously teamed with Foster and Manley, who were both on Derrick Dooley's 2012 staff at Tennessee.
 
Norton spent the last two seasons in pro football after helping Texas State, McNeese State and Sam Houston State win a combined four Southland Conference championships, serving as assistant head coach at the Texas schools and co-offensive coordinator at McNeese and Sam Houston.
 
“There's a lot of common ground, good fits, for guys who have great offensive minds and a lot of success in their backgrounds,” said Thomas. “In recruiting, they're already showing me what I thought, that we have brought in truly quality people who know the business through and through. It's going to be fun to get into talking football with them after signing day (Feb. 6) and seeing them teach our offense in spring practice (beginning in late March).”
 
Brown, who has run explosive, versatile offenses at Valdosta State, Henderson State and Southwestern Baptist, was recommended to Thomas by a close coaching friend, newly-hired Florida State linebackers coach Charles Kelly.
 
“He came highly recommended from Charlie, who knew Robby at Georgia Tech. I called Charlie and told him what we were looking for and immediately he gave me Robby's name. His approach, his coaching style, he's a teacher. He's a great motivator. He's innovative. He's a tenacious recruiter. His record stands for itself, tons of production and success at every stop. He is very intelligent, very calculating in what he does. He understands how to use personnel and his offenses have been well balanced.
 
“He's a very even-keeled personality, very grounded in his personal life and just a first-class person. Robby brings so much knowledge to the table understanding the system we're putting in place and the personnel we need. He's taking what we have here and fitting it into our scheme. He's kind of like the mad scientist, he's going to blend what's here with what is possible and something's liable to explode,” said Thomas.
 
Norton, who spent 1994-97 at Vanderbilt and LSU in the Southeastern Conference as a graduate assistant coach, got his first fulltime post at Eastern Illinois under venerable coach Bob Spoo in 1997-98, helping the Panthers crack the FCS Top 25 and assisting in the signing of future Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, a three-time Pro Bowl pick. Norton worked under legendary Ron Randleman from 1999-2004  at Sam Houston, helping the Bearkats reach the 2001 playoff quarterfinals and the 2004 semifinals as assistant head coach and offensive line coach.
 
He was co-offensive coordinator and o-line coach in 2005-06 at McNeese as the Cowboys won the 2006 Southland title and reached the playoffs. Regaining the assistant head coach title to go with co-offensive coordinator and line coach from 2007-10 at Texas State, he helped the Bobcats to the 2008 FCS semifinals and a Southland crown, FCS Top 25 rankings in 2008 and 2009, and top 20 finishes in total offense from 2007-09, when Texas State averaged 420-yards plus each season.
 
“It's a huge blessing to have Ben Norton here. He's one of the top young o-line coaches in the business. I finally have him on my side and I'm happy to not be playing against him. We've talked about working together for years, and it's exciting to have this opportunity,” said Thomas. “We go back to the old OVC (Ohio Valley Conference) days when I was at Southeast Missouri and he was at Eastern Illinois, and then we were across the field and the table in recruiting many times in the Southland Conference. He's won many championships at various places.”
 
Norton joined the United Football League's Las Vegas Locos for the 2011 season and helped them to the championship game. He assisted with the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp in 2012 before coaching with the UFL's Sacramento Mountain Lions in 2012.
 
“Being in the UFL for the last couple of years, he's been alongside coaches who have been in the NFL and at every level of college football, so he's gotten even better than I remembered him,” said Thomas. “Ben brings wisdom and the experience we need, especially so on the line of scrimmage where wins come from.”
 
Manley helped coach quarterbacks for the Volunteers last season as Tennessee ranked 19^th nationally in total offense, second in the SEC. He was the quarterbacks coach at Tennessee-Martin in 2011 as Derek Carr set program records for career passing and total offense, a year after tutoring Scott Buisson to similar feats at Arkansas-Monticello.
 
He and Brown were teammates as quarterbacks in 2004 at Georgia Tech, before Brown graduated and joined Larry Blakeney's staff at Troy. Manley graduated in 2008 and spent that fall and 2009 on Dooley's staff at Louisiana Tech.
 
“What we wanted to do putting this staff together, particularly on offense, was look for good fits. Robby and Kyle teamed together before. We felt everything would go smoother, quicker, if everybody knew the system,” said Thomas. “Kyle is another intellectual guy and that will help keep the balance on the offensive side.
 
“As former quarterbacks, he and Robby have that special insight that will be very beneficial. They were together at Georgia Tech and are great friends who share a passion for the offensive game,” said Thomas. “Kyle is a very, very classy guy. He's been around really, really good football coaches. Chan Gailey at Georgia Tech, Jason Simpson at UT-Martin, Coach Dooley at Louisiana Tech and Tennessee, to name just three, and he's picked up more than his share of coaching expertise from every opportunity.”
 
Foster coached receivers and helped with special teams under Brown at Valdosta State in 2011 before joining Dooley's staff for the 2012 season, assisting the offensive coordinator and helping coach running backs. Foster was a three-year starting receiver at Southwest Baptist, including the record-shattering 2007 season when Brown was the offensive coordinator.
 
“Derrick Foster  is very knowledgeable about this position.  He has a great life story that he'll be able to share with our players and inspire them. He's a very talented guy who gets a lot done in a little time,” said Thomas.  “Derrick will help us progress really quick in the system. He and coach Brown have been together before and had a lot of success and fun doing a lot of what we want to do here.
 
“Derrick is a good country guy, and a hard-working young coach. Steve Ellis, who I coached with at Nicholls and now is the defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee, thinks the world of him. Derrick loves football, and is an office rat, just can't get enough of it. That's what it takes to be successful in this business,” said Thomas.
 
Powledge begins his second year with the Demons moving from running backs coach to handle tight ends and inside receivers in the new NSU scheme. A former All-Southland fullback at Sam Houston in 2008 and team captain a year later, Powledge helped coach tight ends and the offensive line in 2010-11 as Southeastern Louisiana had two of the most prolific offenses in school history.
 
“I am so impressed with him, the way he works. He came here a year ago with my good friend and a great coach, Allen Rudolph, and I got to meet Matt briefly before I left (for Missouri Southern). Allen strongly recommended him,” said Thomas. “He is a hard worker, a very talented young coach, and I am very excited about keeping him on our staff. Matt does a great job in recruiting and is another quality person, the kind you have to surround yourself with to get where you want to be.”