JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Former Carson-Newman graduate assistant coaches Joe Ray and Johnson Jamison have been elevated to quality control positions with the offense and defense, respectively, Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney announced Thursday.
Forrmer Lenoir-Rhyne All-American offensive lineman and three-time Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner Ray will be with the program for a second year after a year as a graduate assistant helping coach the offensive line.
"What a great guy Joe Ray is," Clowney said. "From foe to family is the story of Joe Ray. He helped Coach Day with the offensive line and have been finding more responsibility for him to do. For him to be offensive quality control is not only a big plus for Joe, it's a big plus for us as a staff as well."
Ray helped the Bears to a trio of South Atlantic Conference championships. He owned a 4-2 record in his career against the Eagles.
He was a three-time All-American and three-rime winner of the SAC's Jacobs Blocking trophy.
The Bears averaged 386 yards rushing per game with Ray on the offensive line. The 416.2 yards rushing per game that L-R put up in Ray's junior season registers as an NCAA Division II record.
Meanwhile, Jamison makes the move to defensive quality control after a year as assistant linebackers coach. That followed a stint as an assistant coach at Jefferson County High School.
"Coach Jamison took a similar path as (recently promoted defensive line) Coach (Coy) DeWeese," Clowney said. "It was awesome to get him back in our program. We want to be able to keep him here longer, which is especially true given he got to coach in one game as a graduate assistantship. He is a high quality person and we are thankful that he is willing to stick around as a defensive quality control guy to help mentor our players."
Jamison made 32 tackles in his two-year career as a member of Carson-Newman's defensive line. He was a part of the 2012 C-N football team that made an appearance in the regional finals before losing to Valdosta State.
As a player, his top game came in 2014 as a senior in the Eagles' opener against Edinboro. He registered five tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss.
