UAlbany Names John Allen & Eric Evans Assistant Football Coaches & Juan Torres Operations Dir.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. -- University at Albany head coach Bob Ford announced on Wednesday, March 25 the hiring of John Allen and Eric Evans as assistant football coaches and Juan Torres as director of operations. Allen will coach the receivers and Evans will work with the tight ends. In addition, UAlbany has promoted Ryan McCarthy to offensive coordinator after serving as quarterbacks coach the previous three seasons. Mike Morita takes over as offensive line coach after working with the tight ends and tackles last year.

Ford, the winningest active coach at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level with 225 career victories, begins his 36th varsity campaign in the fall. Ford has 48 lettermen, including 12 starters, returning off last year's Northeast Conference championship team. The Great Danes won their third NEC title since joining the conference in 1999.

Allen previously was the head coach of NFL Europe's Berlin Thunder until the National Football League ceased league operations in June 2007. He had been the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Amsterdam Admirals from 2004-07. The Admirals won the 2005 World Bowl championship when they led NFL Europe in scoring and total offense. Allen has also served as a coaching intern with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers.

On the collegiate level, Allen was the wide receivers coach at Bucknell University in 2002. He worked with the FCS program's punt return team and recruited the state of Pennsylvania, including the Philadelphia area. Allen was the offensive coordinator from 2000-02 and receivers coach from 1996-00 at Lock Haven University, a Division II program in Pennsylvania. He coached six all-conference players and one ECAC all-star as well as handled special teams and recruiting. In addition, Allen was an assistant at the 2005 East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco, Calif.

A native of Chester, Va., Allen was a senior captain and four-year letterman at James Madison University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in office systems management. Allen played on JMU teams that advanced to the NCAA FCS quarterfinals in 1991 and 1994.

Evans comes to the UAlbany program from Northwestern University where he was a graduate assistant the last two years. He assisted with the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends and helped build the Big Ten Conference's top passing offense at 307.9 yards per game. Evans also coordinated the scout defense and special teams and handled offensive quality control.

Previous to Northwestern, Evans was a graduate assistant coach at the University of Dayton from 2004-05. He coached the tight ends and tackles and helped develop the program's first All-America tight end since 1999. In addition, Evans was responsible for the punt return and field goal units on special teams and recruited in Illinois, Wisconsin and northern states. As an undergraduate at DePauw University in Indiana, Evans spent four years as a student assistant. He received his B.A. in kinesiology with a minor in history. A native of St. Charles, Ill., Evans earned a master's degree in exercise science from Dayton in 2006 and has completed some coursework on another master's in liberal studies.

Torres, who previously worked with the UAlbany football program from 2001-06 in video operations, joins the staff in the role of director of operations. He will handle administrative duties, travel and coordinate video operations. Torres, who had been employed by the Starbucks Corporation, earned a B.A. in Spanish from the University at Albany in 2006.