Illinois State head coach Denver Johnson is hoping to stir things up with the addition of Greg Laffere (pronounced la-FAIR) to his staff, a former offensive lineman at Miami, Fla., who will be mentoring the Redbirds offensive front.
A member of the 2000 Gator Bowl and 2001 Sugar Bowl champions, Laffere started 16 of 23 games with the Hurricanes. As a senior, he was part of an offensive line that only allowed eight sacks in 340 passing plays on the season. Also in 2000, Miami racked up a school record 469 points, while averaging a Big East best 460.8 yards of total offense per game.
He was also the winner of Miamis Unsung Hero Award presented annually by the Hurricane coaching staff to the player whose achievements, while greatly impacting the teams success, are overlooked. It was that competitive success at a high-profile program that drew Johnsons attention.
We are really excited about Greg, Johnson said. He is a bright, young, energetic, upcoming coach with a great background. He played in a couple of championship caliber programs, both at Butler County Community College and at the University of Miami. He is really highly thought of by the people he has played for and worked with. We are really fortunate to have him and he is going to grow into a great addition to our staff.
Laffere is also looking forward to the opportunity.
Im excited because this is a tremendous opportunity for myself, personally, Laffere said. From spending time with the (offensive line) theres definitely some talent and a lot of desire. Im looking forward to working with coach Johnson and the rest of the staff and making this upcoming season a successful one.
After his playing career, Laffere left football for a couple of years before returning as the defensive line coach at Kilgore Junior College during the 2002-03 seasons. He then returned to his alma mater as a graduate assistant last season, coaching the offensive line.
Prior to transferring to Miami, Laffere was a highly recruited offensive lineman at Butler County Community College. Ranked among Prep Stars Top 100 Junior College players list, Laffere earned Kansas Valley All-League honors and also participated in the Valley of the Sun Junior College Bowl game.
He earned his bachelors of liberal arts and sciences in 2001 and married the former Stacy Stacks. Laffere fills the coaching vacancy left by Vance Vice, who left the Illinois State staff earlier this year for a similar position at Utah State.
