SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University head football coach Shawn Lutz has announced a pair of former Division I players and coaches will join The Rock football defensive staff as assistant coaches this spring. Former University of Michigan safety and defensive intern Allen Gant will coach the SRU defensive backs and former Boston College defensive lineman and University of Cincinnati defensive graduate assistant Bryan Anthony Murray will coach the defensive line.
 
"These are two big gets for our program," said Lutz. "We lost a couple good coaches at these positions in Corey Brown and Joe Phillips, so we really needed to go get a couple quality coaches to fill those spots. We couldn't be happier we were able to get both of these young men to commit to our program. They both played and gained coaching experience at the highest level of college football under some of the best coaches in the country. That is going to be a major asset for our defense."
 
Both Gant and Murray have officially begun their roles at Slippery Rock and will be with the team for the complete spring practice schedule. They join recently announced offensive coordinator Adam Neugebauer to round out the three new full-time additions to The Rock staff.
 
 "We couldn't be happier with the three men we filled our coaching vacancies with," said Lutz. "These are all bright young coaches with great attitudes that are already making a positive impact on our football program. We're ready to get rolling with spring ball."
 
Gant joins The Rock staff after serving as a defensive intern at the University of Michigan last season, where he worked on head coach Jim Harbaugh's staff. At Michigan, Gant worked with former SRU assistant coach Al Washington to coach the outside linebacker position. He was involved with scouting, practice and game planning and also worked with the scout team tight ends and special teams units.
 
Prior to starting his coaching career, Gant played four years for the Wolverines as a safety, outside linebacker and special teams player from 2012-16. He received his undergraduate degree from Michigan in December of 2015.
 
Murray comes to The Rock after spending the last two years as a defensive graduate assistant at the University of Cincinnati, where he worked under head coach Luke Fickell while pursuing his second master's degree. Murray expects to receive his master's in sport administration in 2019 and already has three degrees from Boston College. He received dual bachelor's degrees in human development and economics with a minor in sociology in 2011 and earned a master's degree from Boston College in applied developmental educational psychology in 2013.
 
At Cincinnati, Murray was heavily involved with weekly scouting reports and prospective player evaluations. He also had a significant role with academic coordination for the football program and led the scout team meetings for the defense and special teams units. He worked alongside former SRU assistant Al Washington in 2017 and Steve Stripling in 2018 to coach the defensive line, where he oversaw four players that earned All-Conference honors.
 
As a player, Murray was a three-year letterman and served as team captain at Boston College during his senior season in 2012.
 
The latest two additions to The Rock coaching staff join program that is coming off an 11-3 season in 2018 that included an undefeated 7-0 run to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division title and a second trip to the NCAA quarterfinals in the last four years. SRU finished the 2018 season ranked seventh in the final Division II national poll and is expected to generate significant preseason attention entering 2019.
 
 
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