From MSU Media Relations.
Mullen Adds Torbush, Wilson To Staff At Mississippi State
December 30, 2008
STARKVILLE, Miss. ā Carl Torbush, a former head coach at Louisiana Tech and North Carolina and defensive coordinator at Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, and Frank Wilson, who has coached at both Ole Miss and Southern Mississippi, will join head coach Dan Mullenās staff at Mississippi State, it was announced on Tuesday. The hires are pending approval by the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.
āWeāre excited to add two experienced coaches to this staff,ā Mullen said. āBoth of these coaches have strong ties in the South and especially to the state of Mississippi.ā
Torbush comes to Mississippi State from his alma mater Carson-Newman, where he spent the past three seasons as assistant head coach and linebackers coach. During his time in Jefferson City, Tenn., the Eagles posted a record of 25-8, including a 10-1 mark in 2007.
āI had the opportunity to coach against Coach Mullen when he was at Utah and I was impressed by his offensive schemes and how they went about attacking defenses,ā Torbush said.ā I admire the fact that he has worked so hard to become a head coach in the toughest conference in the country, and it says a great deal not only about his coaching ability but also his leadership and communication skills. Iām thrilled and excited to be back in the SEC and at Mississippi State and I hope to be an asset both to the athletic department and the community.ā
Before returning to his alma mater in 2006, Torbush served for five seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Alabama and Texas A&M under head coach Dennis Franchione. His 2001 Alabama defensive unit led the Southeastern Conference and ranked third nationally allowing only 257.3 yards per game.
āObvisously Carl Torbush has an extensive record of leading top defenses and his experience not only as a coordinator but also as a head coach makes him a great fit for our staff,ā Mullen said.
Prior to joining Franchioneās staff at Alabama, Torbush spent three years as head coach at North Carolina where he posted a 17-18 overall record, including a pair of bowl victories. Torbush had served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for 10 seasons under head coach Mack Brown before taking over as the Tar Heelsā head coach. During his tenure as defensive coordinator, Torbushās defenses led the Atlantic Coast Conference each of the last three seasons and UNC played in bowl games in his final five seasons.
Torbush graduated from Carson-Newman in 1974 where he lettered in both football and baseball and earned first-team NAIA All-American honors in both sports his senior season. He played professional baseball in the Kansas City Royals organization before earning his masterās degree at Baylor while serving as a graduate assistant under legendary head coach Grant Teaff.
The Knoxville, Tenn., native coached on the defensive side of the ball at Southeastern Louisiana and Louisiana Tech before serving for three years as defensive coordinator at Ole Miss. His 1986 defensive unit led the Southeastern Conference in total defense, and he spent one season as head coach at Louisiana Tech in 1987. The following season he joined Brownās staff at North Carolina.
Wilson joins the Mississippi State staff after spending one season as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern Mississippi. Under Wilsonās tutelage, the Golden Eagles averaged nearly 200 yards rushing, and tailback Damion Fletcher led Conference USA and finished 16th nationally with 1,313 total rushing yards. And his work in recruiting helped USM put together the highest rated class in school history.
āFrank Wilson not only has experience as a head coach on the high school level but has championship experience,ā Mullen said. āHe has ties to the south Louisiana and south Mississippi areas, and heās both an excellent football coach and an excellent recruiter.ā
Wilson joined the USM staff after spending three seasons as the running backs and assistant special teams coach at Ole Miss. While in Oxford, Wilson coached BenJarvus Green-Ellis to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He also mentored Mico McSwain to honorable mention Freshman All-America honors in 2005.
Prior to working at Ole Miss, Wilson served in 2004 as Director of Athletics for the New Orleans Public School System. He was head coach at O. Perry Walker High School in New Orleans from 2000-2003. While at O. Perry Walker, Wilson led the Chargers to the 2002 Louisiana 4A state finals and to the District 10-4A Championship in 2001 and 2002.
He was honored by the NFL as the 2002 Coach of the Year for the state of Louisiana and was also voted by his peers as the Louisiana Class 4A Coach of the Year. Wilson was also a 2002 Nike National Coach of the Year finalist.
Wilson was selected to coach the Orleans Parrish All-Star team against the Jefferson Parrish All-Star team in 2002, leading his group of players to the win in the Louisiana Superdome. He was also honored as the state of Louisiana, New Orleans Metro-Area and District 10-4A Coach of the Year in 2001.
During his three-year tenure as head coach at O. Perry Walker, Wilson helped guide 22 players to earning Division I scholarships, including 11 in 2002 which ranked as the largest class of Division I signees by any high school in the nation.
Wilson spent three years as an assistant coach at Edna Karr High School, also in New Orleans, prior to his time at O. Perry Walker. He served as offensive coordinator at Edna Karr during the 1999 season, in which the team reached the Class 3A State finals and the offense recorded the best statistical season in the program's history.
A three-year letter winner at Nicholls State, Wilson began his career at his alma mater, working with the running backs in 1996.
CARL TORBUSH BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Education:
Masterās in Physical Education ā Baylor, 1976
Bachelorās in Physical Education ā Carson-Newman, 1974
Personal:
Birthdate: October 11, 1951
Birthplace: East Spencer, N.C.
Hometown: Knoxville, Tenn.
Family: Married to the former Janet Gilbert
Son Trey
Mullen Adds Torbush, Wilson To Staff At Mississippi State
December 30, 2008
STARKVILLE, Miss. ā Carl Torbush, a former head coach at Louisiana Tech and North Carolina and defensive coordinator at Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, and Frank Wilson, who has coached at both Ole Miss and Southern Mississippi, will join head coach Dan Mullenās staff at Mississippi State, it was announced on Tuesday. The hires are pending approval by the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.
āWeāre excited to add two experienced coaches to this staff,ā Mullen said. āBoth of these coaches have strong ties in the South and especially to the state of Mississippi.ā
Torbush comes to Mississippi State from his alma mater Carson-Newman, where he spent the past three seasons as assistant head coach and linebackers coach. During his time in Jefferson City, Tenn., the Eagles posted a record of 25-8, including a 10-1 mark in 2007.
āI had the opportunity to coach against Coach Mullen when he was at Utah and I was impressed by his offensive schemes and how they went about attacking defenses,ā Torbush said.ā I admire the fact that he has worked so hard to become a head coach in the toughest conference in the country, and it says a great deal not only about his coaching ability but also his leadership and communication skills. Iām thrilled and excited to be back in the SEC and at Mississippi State and I hope to be an asset both to the athletic department and the community.ā
Before returning to his alma mater in 2006, Torbush served for five seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Alabama and Texas A&M under head coach Dennis Franchione. His 2001 Alabama defensive unit led the Southeastern Conference and ranked third nationally allowing only 257.3 yards per game.
āObvisously Carl Torbush has an extensive record of leading top defenses and his experience not only as a coordinator but also as a head coach makes him a great fit for our staff,ā Mullen said.
Prior to joining Franchioneās staff at Alabama, Torbush spent three years as head coach at North Carolina where he posted a 17-18 overall record, including a pair of bowl victories. Torbush had served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for 10 seasons under head coach Mack Brown before taking over as the Tar Heelsā head coach. During his tenure as defensive coordinator, Torbushās defenses led the Atlantic Coast Conference each of the last three seasons and UNC played in bowl games in his final five seasons.
Torbush graduated from Carson-Newman in 1974 where he lettered in both football and baseball and earned first-team NAIA All-American honors in both sports his senior season. He played professional baseball in the Kansas City Royals organization before earning his masterās degree at Baylor while serving as a graduate assistant under legendary head coach Grant Teaff.
The Knoxville, Tenn., native coached on the defensive side of the ball at Southeastern Louisiana and Louisiana Tech before serving for three years as defensive coordinator at Ole Miss. His 1986 defensive unit led the Southeastern Conference in total defense, and he spent one season as head coach at Louisiana Tech in 1987. The following season he joined Brownās staff at North Carolina.
Wilson joins the Mississippi State staff after spending one season as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern Mississippi. Under Wilsonās tutelage, the Golden Eagles averaged nearly 200 yards rushing, and tailback Damion Fletcher led Conference USA and finished 16th nationally with 1,313 total rushing yards. And his work in recruiting helped USM put together the highest rated class in school history.
āFrank Wilson not only has experience as a head coach on the high school level but has championship experience,ā Mullen said. āHe has ties to the south Louisiana and south Mississippi areas, and heās both an excellent football coach and an excellent recruiter.ā
Wilson joined the USM staff after spending three seasons as the running backs and assistant special teams coach at Ole Miss. While in Oxford, Wilson coached BenJarvus Green-Ellis to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He also mentored Mico McSwain to honorable mention Freshman All-America honors in 2005.
Prior to working at Ole Miss, Wilson served in 2004 as Director of Athletics for the New Orleans Public School System. He was head coach at O. Perry Walker High School in New Orleans from 2000-2003. While at O. Perry Walker, Wilson led the Chargers to the 2002 Louisiana 4A state finals and to the District 10-4A Championship in 2001 and 2002.
He was honored by the NFL as the 2002 Coach of the Year for the state of Louisiana and was also voted by his peers as the Louisiana Class 4A Coach of the Year. Wilson was also a 2002 Nike National Coach of the Year finalist.
Wilson was selected to coach the Orleans Parrish All-Star team against the Jefferson Parrish All-Star team in 2002, leading his group of players to the win in the Louisiana Superdome. He was also honored as the state of Louisiana, New Orleans Metro-Area and District 10-4A Coach of the Year in 2001.
During his three-year tenure as head coach at O. Perry Walker, Wilson helped guide 22 players to earning Division I scholarships, including 11 in 2002 which ranked as the largest class of Division I signees by any high school in the nation.
Wilson spent three years as an assistant coach at Edna Karr High School, also in New Orleans, prior to his time at O. Perry Walker. He served as offensive coordinator at Edna Karr during the 1999 season, in which the team reached the Class 3A State finals and the offense recorded the best statistical season in the program's history.
A three-year letter winner at Nicholls State, Wilson began his career at his alma mater, working with the running backs in 1996.
CARL TORBUSH BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Education:
Masterās in Physical Education ā Baylor, 1976
Bachelorās in Physical Education ā Carson-Newman, 1974
Personal:
Birthdate: October 11, 1951
Birthplace: East Spencer, N.C.
Hometown: Knoxville, Tenn.
Family: Married to the former Janet Gilbert
Son Trey
