PEMBROKE – UNC Pembroke football head coach Shane Richardson added a wealth of experience to his coaching staff on Tuesday when he announced that former Greensboro College head coach Bill Young has been hired on as defensive coordinator for the Braves.
Young, who will also serve as the linebackers coach for the Black & Gold, brings more than 26 years of collegiate coaching experience to Pembroke, including the last three years as an assistant head football coach and defensive coordinator at nearby St. Andrews.
“Bill brings passion and energy to coaching the game of football that is very visible,” Richardson said. “He has a lot of experience at many different levels and in different roles that makes him a well-rounded coach. His familiarity with the area and state of North Carolina will be a tremendous asset to our program. He cares about student-athletes and fits into our culture very well.”
Young’s defensive units proved to be valuable for upstart St. Andrews over the last three seasons. The Knights registered 23 or more sacks in two of the program’s first three seasons, and held opponents to just a 35.3 percent success rate on 3rd Down Conversions last season. Individually, three student-athletes ranked among the NAIA’s top-20 leaders in forced fumbles, interceptions and total tackles.
The Deland, Florida, native jumped into the collegiate coaching world in 1994 as the tight ends coach at West Florida, spent two seasons as both the wide receivers coach (1996) and special teams coordinator (1997) at Mars Hill and then trekked to Charlottesville, Va., where he was a part of Virginia’s defensive staff under former skipper George Welsh for both the 1998 and 1999 campaigns. The Cavaliers posted 16 victories and made appearances in both the Peach and MicronPC Bowls during his time in Charlottesville.
After his stint at the NCAA Division I level, Young served 17 years in various roles at Greensboro College, including four seasons (2012-15) as head coach of the Pride. His squads finished among the USA South’s top-3 teams in scoring defense twice, and led the league in pass defense (114.7 yards allowed/game) in 2010. He also mentored 46 all-conference student-athletes during his time in Greensboro as well.
He jumped into the coaching world in 1988 as an assistant coach at DeLand High School in northeast Florida, and also has prep stops as an assistant coach at both Sanford (Fla.)-Seminole High School and Lake Weir (Fla.) High School as well.
In addition to his accomplishments as a coach, Young has also served as an instructor on both the high school and collegiate levels as well. He also authored an article for Scholastic Coach magazine.
Young earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Central Florida in 1991, and completed his master’s degree in education at the State University of West Georgia in 1996. He is married to the former Dawn Van Arsdale, and the couple has one son, Wil.
