Texas Southern University head football coach Clarence McKinney has added a trio of coaches to the staff for the 2021 season in Milo Austin, Khenon Hall and Manny Ramirez, the school announced on Monday.
MILO AUSTIN – SPECIAL TEAMS COACH
Austin arrives at TSU after a three-year stint at Delaware State University of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and will serve as TSU’s special teams coordinator in addition to assisting with the cornerbacks. At DSU, Austin made an immediate impact with DSU’s special teams as the Hornets ranked fourth or higher in four statistical categories in 2019. Placekicker Jose Romo-Martinez earned second-team All-MEAC honors as a result while Jordan Hannah ranked second in the MEAC in kick return average with 23.3 yards per return. Off the field, Austin represented DSU well as a high-profile speaker at the 2021 Virtual American Football Coaches Association Convention.
The Bowie, Md. native has held coaching positions at Division I Cincinnati, Hampton and Montana State and Division II Glenville State (W.Va.) and Midwestern State (Texas). He has also held positions with the St. Louis Rams, and Lanphier (Ill.) High School. He played collegiately at Salisbury (Md.) and West Virginia.
Austin founded and ran the Full Focus Foundation, a youth life skills development program. He also completed the Bill Walsh Minority Internship program with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018 and St. Louis Rams in the summer of 2013.
Austin began his playing career as a cornerback at Division III Salisbury, where he was named Atlantic Central Football Conference Freshman of the Year in 2001. He was also the Eastern College Athletic Conference Eastern Region Freshman of the Year. He finished his career at West Virginia, where he was a wide receiver on the 2004 Big East Conference Championship team.
Also read: Texas Southern releases 2021 football schedule
KHENON HALL – RUNNING BACKS COACH
Hall arrives at TSU after a seven-year stint at his alma mater, Illinois State. At ISU, Hall worked his way up the ladder as a student assistant, football operations director, defensive assistant, running backs coach, recruiting coordinator to assistant head coach in charge of player personnel.
A native of Dallas and a graduate of South Oak Cliff, Hall mentored and developed some of the top players in Illinois State history on both sides of the ball.
In his first year at ISU as the team’s defensive assistant in 2014, Hall made an immediate impact as senior captain Dontae McCoy earned All-MVFC Honorable Mention honors in his final season. Hall also helped Alec Kocour earn MVFC honorable mention honors, despite playing in just nine games due to an injury. He also mentored and developed Davontae Harris, who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Hall also had a hand in the development of Luther Kirk, who was named the Defensive MVP at the 95th East-West Shrine Bowl and FCS All-American.
Hall eventually moved over to the offensive side of the ball and spent three years as the team’s running backs coach. Once again, Hall’s presence generated another quick impact as junior running back James Robinson earned multiple All-American honors. Robinson took what he learned from Hall and broke an NFL record for most yards by an undrafted rookie in a Week 1 game as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Robinson finished his rookie campaign with 1,000-plus yards and 10 total touchdowns.
Off the field, Hall also had a major impact as he served as the team’s recruiting coordinator and director of player personnel. Hall’s 2020 recruiting class ranked No. 8 in the FCS by HERO Sports.
Prior to joining Illinois State on a full-time basis, Hall served as a graduate assistant at New Mexico working with defensive backs during the 2011-12 season. Hall spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons as a student assistant at Illinois State and assisted with the Redbirds’ secondary and defensive line.
MANNY RAMIREZ – OFFENSIVE LINE COACH
Ramirez arrives at Texas Southern with experience across all levels of football. The Houston native had a nine-year NFL career in addition to working both on the college and high school levels in various capacities.
Upon retiring from the NFL in 2015, Ramirez accepted a position at his alma mater Texas Tech University in Lubbock as the football team’s Director of Player Development. He served as the academic liaison for the football staff where he developed life skills curriculums while also coordinating all community service activities. After three seasons at Texas Tech, Ramirez moved to the high school ranks and accepted a position as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Springlake-Erath High School. After one season at Springlake-Erath, Ramirez moved to Fort Worth, Texas after accepting the position of assistant coach/offensive line at Diamond Hill High School.
Before joining the coaching ranks, Ramirez played offensive lineman for nine seasons in the NFL. He played in 83 games, including 65 starts with both the Detroit Lions (2007-10, 2015) and the Denver Broncos (2011-14). He was the starting center for the duration of legendary quarterback Payton Manning’s career with the organization. Denver totaled 49 wins during Ramirez’s four seasons, which featured four trips to the playoffs and an appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013. He returned to the Lions in 2015 where he played in all 16 games while making seven starts. The Lions drafted Ramirez in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft after a stellar four-year career at Texas Tech (2003-06), His selection marked the first time a Red Raider offensive guard had been drafted since 1973.
Prior to joining the NFL, Ramirez was a standout offensive lineman at Texas Tech from 2003-06 under Mike Leach. Known for their high-scoring offensive units, Ramirez helped boost a Red Raider offense that regularly ranked among the best in college football. The school record-holder in the bench press, he was an All-Big 12 second-team honoree in 2005 and was twice named an honorable mention selection.
Ramirez was ranked as a top 100 recruit out of Willowridge High School and an all-district 20-5A First Teamer.
Courtesy: Texas Southern Athletics
