Conard to Coach ISU Defensive Backs

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State head football coach Brock Spack announced Thursday that former Purdue defensive back Lamar Conard has joined the Redbird football coaching staff as the team's defensive backs coach. Conard comes to Illinois State following a two-year graduate assistantship at Purdue, where he also coached the Boilermaker defensive backs and coordinated the scout team offense.

"Lamar is a consummate overachiever and someone that I found to be a very bright coach when he was a graduate assistant at Purdue," said Spack. "He's a very personable guy and will be a great recruiter for us, as he has a great rapport with young people. He has a tremendous professional attitude about him, yet he also knows how to work with younger student-athletes and get them to reach their highest potential, both on the field and in life."

After spending the last five years working with Spack, both as a player and as a coach, Conard feels honored to join the Illinois State staff with his former mentor.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity to coach the defensive backs at Illinois State and to work with Coach Spack again," said Conard. "I played for Coach Spack for three years at Purdue, and then I also coached with him the last two years as a graduate assistant, so to have the opportunity to continue my coaching career with him is truly something I am looking forward to. Coach Spack is a terrific coach and an even better person, and I am honored to be on his staff at Illinois State."

Conard served as a graduate assistant at Purdue from 2007-08 on former Boilermaker head coach Joe Tiller's staff. Working directly with Purdue's defensive backs, Conard reported to Spack, who was then the Boilermakers' defensive coordinator. Conard also coordinated the scout team offense after spending one season in a quality-control position, where he assisted with scouting, operations and recruiting.

Conard was a defensive back for the Boilermakers from 1996-99. He was the first walk-on at Purdue to be awarded a scholarship under Tiller, doing so in 1997. Conard played in all 37 Purdue games his final three seasons, and his career totals included 118 tackles (68 solo, 50 assists), six pass breakups and four interceptions. His four picks came in 1997, which ranked tied for sixth in the Big Ten. He recorded a career-high 10 tackles versus Notre Dame Sept. 13, 1997, in Tiller's first win at Purdue.

Conard returned to Purdue following a career in industrial health sales for the Lutheran Health Network in Fort Wayne, Ind. Previously, he served as sports director for the Lyn Treece Boys and Girls Club and worked for the Community and Family Resource Center, both in Lafayette, Ind.

A native of Elkhart, Ind., Conard (born April 22, 1977) earned a bachelor's degree in childhood development and family studies from Purdue in 2000. He is in his final semester of a master's degree from Purdue in educational leadership.

CONARD COACHING LEDGER

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