Stetson University football coach Roger Hughes announced today the addition of Charles Huff to the Hatters coaching staff. Huff comes to Stetson from Northern Arizona University, where he coached defensive backs for three seasons.
No stranger to Florida where he has extensive coaching experience, the Portal, Georgia, native played collegiately at Presbyterian College before a four-year NFL career that included two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (1985-86) and two with the Atlanta Falcons (1987-88). He joined the 49ers the same season at Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, and played in the secondary alongside another Hall of Famer, Ronnie Lott.
He started his coaching career in 1989 at his alma mater (1989-91) and has since made coaching stops at Murray State (1191-93), West Alabama (1993-94), Austin Peay State (1994-97), UCF (1997-2003), Norfolk State (2004), Florida A&M (2005-07), Miles College (2010) and Northern Arizona (2011-13).
“Charles has coached at a number of different places at all levels, including internships in the NFL, so he brings a wealth of knowledge to our staff,” Hughes said. “I think he brings a hard-nosed attitude that I am excited about. When you put a staff together, you try to look for the same characteristics that we look for in our players, but we also look for differences so that, as a staff, we are complete.
“He will be a great 'idea' guy for our defensive coordinator Brian Young to work with and he will be a great 'technique' guy for our players to learn from. He is also going to be a great resource for all of our younger, part-time coaches to help continue their development.”
Throughout his career Huff has coached virtually every position on the defensive side of the ball. He will work with the defensive line for the Hatters.
His recruiting ties in Florida are of specific strength. During his career, he recruited and coached defensive back and future NFL star Asante Samuel at Central Florida, as well as ends Elton Patterson (UCF), Reshard Jentry (UCF) and Anthony Hutch (Murray State) to All-America honors. Samuel and Patterson were both selected in the NFL Draft in 2003 in the fourth and seventh rounds, respectively. Samuel has been a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion during his career and currently plays for the Philadelphia Eagles.
As a collegiate player, Huff was a three-time All-American and all-conference selection at Presbyterian College. He holds school records for punt and kick return average and career interceptions (20). He graduated with a degree in history and education from Presbyterian in 1985.
Huff fills the final vacancy on the Stetson coaching staff after the retirement of Dennis Danielson. The other two new members of the staff are offensive line coach Tim Holt and tight ends coach Matt Diniak.
Born: Feb. 24, 1963
College: Presbyterian College, 1985
Playing Experience: Presbyterian College, 1981-85; San Francisco 49ers, 1985-86; Atlanta Falcons, 1987-88
Family: Wife, Resa; Sons, Daron; Trevin; Sharmar.
Huff's Coaching Chronology
1989-91 Presbyterian College, Running Backs/Defensive Backs
1991-93 Murray State University, Defensive Backs/Outside Linebackers
1993-94 West Alabama University, Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs
1994-97 Austin Peay State University, Defensive Coordinator/ Linebackers/Secondary/Special Teams
1997-03 University of Central Florida, Defensive Ends/Special Teams Coordinator
2001-03 NFL Minority Internships with Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers and San Diego Chargers
2004 Norfolk State University, Co-Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers
2005-07 Florida A&M University, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2008 Columbia High School (Lake City, Fla.), Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2010 Miles College, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers, Defensive Line
2011-13 Northern Arizona University, Defensive Backs
2014- Stetson University, Defensive Line
