Special Report to Blowing Rock News from GoASU. February 17, 2012. BOONE — Appalachian State University football head coach Jerry Moore announced on Thursday that Dwayne Ledford and Bryan Brown have officially joined the ASU staff as assistant coaches. Ledford will serve as Appalachian’s offensive line coach and Brown will be an assistant coach on the defensive side of the ball. Specific defensive coaching assignments will be designated in the coming weeks.

Dwayne Ledford -- 7 Years NFL Lineman Experience

A native of nearby Marion, N.C. and a seven-year National Football League veteran, Ledford joins the ASU staff after one season as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Gardner-Webb. In his only season at GWU, the Bulldogs ranked second in the Big South in rushing (165.6 yards per game) and third in fewest sacks allowed (17), finishing among the top 50 teams nationally in both categories. Two of his of pupils earned all-Big South recognition.

Previous to his one season at Gardner-Webb, he also spent a year Tennessee State, helping lead the Tigers to top-25 national rankings in both rushing (190.0 ypg) and fewest sacks allowed (13) and coaching two all-Ohio Valley Conference selections.

Ledford also boasts seven years of experience as an NFL lineman, suiting up for the San Francisco 49ers (1999-2000 and 2003-04), Jacksonville Jaguars (2000), Carolina Panthers (2001), Cleveland Browns (2005) and New Orleans Saints (2006). His most extensive playing time as a pro came with the 49ers in 2003, when he suited up for eight games and made one start.

While still in the midst of his NFL career, Ledford began in the coaching profession as a football strength and conditioning coach at North Carolina in 2005 and as an offensive line intern with the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe in the spring of 2006. After the conclusion of his playing career, he began his coaching career in earnest, first as the Galaxy’s tight ends and tackles coach in the spring of 2007 before returning to the United States to serve as the offensive line coach at Sanderson High School in Raleigh that fall.

He spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater, East Carolina, in 2008-09, working directly with the offensive line and helping lead the Pirates to back-to-back Conference USA championships.

As a player at ECU (1995-98), he spent three seasons as a defensive lineman and started all 11 games as a junior, finishing with 26 career tackles. He moved to offensive line prior to his senior campaign and made nine starts at left tackle in 1998 while being named a 1998-99 National Strength and Conditioning all-American. A recipient of the ECU football Jerry T. Brooks Award for outstanding academic achievement in 1998, Ledford graduated from East Carolina with a B.S. in exercise and sports science in 1999. His wife is Meredith.

Bryan Brown -- Ole Miss Alum Comes to Defense

Brown comes to ASU from Ole Miss, where he was a four-year letterwinner on the gridiron as well as a member of the Rebels’ basketball team before joining the football staff in 2010. Last season, he served as a graduate assistant coach at Ole Miss, working specifically with the Rebels’ “spur” (nickel back) position. In that capacity, he was responsible for all practice planning and game planning for the spur position. Despite a 2-10 record in ‘11, Ole Miss ranked among the top 25 nationally in pass defense (194.4 ypg).

In 2010, he was an administrative assistant for defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix, assisting with all aspects of practice and game planning for the squad’s cornerbacks.

Brown began his professional career in collegiate athletics at Rutgers in 2008, where he served in a player development role, responsible for not only helping with the Scarlet Knights’ special teams but also assisting in academic support services for the program. Following the stint at Rutgers, he spent one season at Delta State (2009) as a graduate assistant coaching the Statesmen’s cornerbacks.

A native of Corinth, Miss., Brown was a four-year letterwinner as a defensive back at Ole Miss from 2003-06. He made 70 tackles in his four-year career and returned one interception for a touchdown while also returning kickoffs and punts. He earned a B.A. in sociology from Ole Miss in 2006 and has a wife, Courtney.

With its coaching staff nearly complete (ASU still has one position to fill on the offensive side of the ball), Appalachian has moved up the start of spring practice from the originally scheduled March 19 to Monday, March 5.

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