Photo: Corey Raymond; Credit: Alex Shepherd
When Florida Gators coach Billy Napier was introduced as the team’s next coach, he promised the Gator Nation an “army” to describe his coach.
The staff would be made up of assistants who have earned recognition among the best games in the world of college football.
“We’re going to hire an army of people here,” Napier said on Dec. 5 last year. “We will create an infrastructure not only in the staff department, but also in campus recruitment, creative media, name, image and the like. We will create, we have a great vision. The organization we will create here.”
Napier, of course, was referring not only to the assistant coaches he would eventually block, but also to the tremendous support staff – the 48 people who were eventually brought in to help train the staff.
That said, in the coming weeks, at AllGators will release profiles to get to know each assistant coach, including their background, hiring history, budgets, and more.
We’ll start with Napier’s best recruitment in terms of pedigree, skills and prestige: Assistant Coach Corey Raymond – Coach of Defense and Corner Defenders.
Background:
Raymond, 52, was hired by Napier on December 8 last year after spending the last 10 years with LSU Tigers as the DB / CB coach of the program, among other roles over the years.
He began his coaching career as a DB coach at New Iberia Senior High School (2003) and moved to Westgate HS as the school’s defense coordinator and strength and conditioning coach (2004-05).
After that, Raymond began his college coaching career at LSU as a fellow (2006) and as an assistant strength and conditioning coach (2007-08) before landing at Utah State (2009-10, CB coach) and finally Nebraska (2011, DB coach). . ).
Go Continue
Raymond began his career as a football player, CB at LSU, and was a three-year Tigers starter in the second division between 1989-91. He played six years in the NFL after signing with the New York Giants as a freelance free agent after spending three more years with the club with the Detroit Lions.
Hiring History:
During his career, Raymond was the main recruitment of 26 players, mostly during his time at LSU, according to 247Sports.
Among the 26 who landed, the following players stood out: Derek Stingley, Kevin Toliver II, Eli Ricks, Jamal Adams, Kelvin Joseph, Grant Delpit and Mohammed Seisay.
Raymond also had a hand in bringing in the players JaCoby Stevens, Kristian Fulton, Tre’Davious White, Donte Jackson, Greedy Williams and Patrick Queen.
All of the above players have gone on to play in the NFL, and most of them were coached by Raymond himself, one of the most successful developers of young college football talent.
How it goes:
Although Raymond has only been with the Gators since the end of last year, he already has a positive impact on Florida football. Along with security coach Patrick Toney, he worked as a general contractor for SI All-American’s No. 3 class for 2022 security, Kamari Wilsonstarting work in December 2021 with a deadline of two weeks.
Raymond continues to play as UF’s main contractor, and the Gators are firmly in contention for the nation’s 1 corner of 2023, and arguably an overview, in In Lake Gibson (Fla.) Cormani McClainamong many other major hires in his position.
Raymond’s team was also surprised by the UF’s spring match in April, perhaps showing better with Georgia’s final corner transfer. Jalen Kimber catch one pass and break two more.
Highlights:
“I know he is respectful of the players because he is very good at what he does. He has pedigree. He has a background. The more you know Corey, the more you get to know that he cares about people. He does a good job. He communicates with his boys and is a great teacher.” – Billy Napier Gators coach on Corey Raymond.
Stay tuned to AllGators for continued coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball, and hiring. Follow us on social media at @SI_AllGators And on Twitter Florida Gators Sports Illustrated Facebooken.
.