FOOTBALL FRIDAY: Seymore sets up coaching staff at Trinity

Brian Seymore has added three to his coaching staff at Trinity. (File Photo)

By TIM GAYLE

New Trinity coach Brian Seymore has finalized his football staff, adding three new Wildcat assistants for the 2023 season.

Between the end of the 2022 season and the first of June, Trinity had to replace an athletic director, a head football coach, both coordinators and an assistant coach. Seymore filled the role of athletic director and head football coach and the Wildcats had taken the first step toward replacing the staff by hiring Tommy Shoemaker as the defensive coordinator. 

Shoemaker started his coaching career at his alma mater, Alabama Christian, for coach Tim Perry in 1992. A year later, he was an assistant at Harding Academy in Arkansas, moving up to head coach in 1997. He moved over to Central Arkansas Christian in 2008 and served through the 2022 season. He was hired by former Trinity coach Granger Shook in March. 

“He actually was a candidate for the (head coaching) job here,” Seymore said. “He’s going to be the defensive coordinator. I really like him. He’s really sound, what he does fundamentally, and does a great job with the kids.”

Seymore, a defensive specialist himself, went to work installing a three-safety alignment at Trinity and was sold on Shoemaker’s quick grasp of the defense. 

“Not only can you use it to match up against the spread, you can do a lot of adjustments with it,” Seymore said. “It’s based on a pressure package and I think coach ‘Shoe’ has done a good job with our kids, implementing the cover schemes and the pressure package we have that goes with it.”

Also, Seymore said the fact that Shoemaker, who will handle the Wildcat linebackers, has previous head coaching experience provides another asset that can help the Wildcats. 

“That’s a guy I can bounce a lot of stuff off of,” Seymore said. “He has extensive coaching knowledge. He’s very helpful to me, a tremendous pickup for us. We met late in May or early June on a Friday morning and talked for a couple of hours and hit it off pretty quick. Some of the stuff he’s done in the past is similar to what we’ve done in the past. The biggest difference was terminology.”

Seymore said he encouraged Shoemaker to use his terminology and Seymore would adapt.

The new coach’s next step was to hire an offensive coordinator and an offensive line coach. He found both in former Demopolis assistant J.L. Gaston. 

“J.L. Gaston was my O-line coach at Demopolis and my strength guy at Demopolis,” Seymore said. “We’ll do it (determine the offensive strategy) together. I think he’s more versed in the run game. I think he understands up front. I think he’s one of the top young coaches in the state of Alabama. I’m very, very blessed to get him because I think he’s got a really good future ahead of him.”

The 25-year-old Gaston was a former standout at Monroe Academy, leading the Volunteers to the Class AAA state finals in 2015. A Troy signee, he played in 51 games for the Trojans, starting the final three years as a tackle. The past two years, he has worked with Seymore at Demopolis and the new Wildcat head coach said Gaston understands the brand of football Seymore wants to establish.  

“We’re going to play physical and we’re going to run the ball between the tackles,” Seymore said. “That’s something we’ve always done. But we’ll mix it up, be flexible, multiple formations and play with some tempo.”

Seymore retained Jarrod Cook, who will continue to coach defensive linemen, and Stan Milton, who formerly coached the receivers but will now coach the running backs. 

To replace Brad Parker, the former offensive line coach and top baseball assistant, Seymore hired Chad Mansmann to assist Cook with baseball and serve as the Wildcats’ receivers and defensive backs coach.

Mansmann played baseball and football at Edgewood Academy and coached with Seymore at Mary Montgomery in 2016. Mansmann graduated from Edgewood in 2007, from Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in 2010 and AUM in 2013. He coached at Edgewood from 2013-14; Pike County in 2015; Mary Montgomery in 2016; and for the past several years at Marbury Middle School.

“Coach Cook needs some baseball help and I knew (Mansmann), what kind of coach he was and what kind of person he was, so I reached out to him on a whim,” Seymore said. “I never thought we would get him, but he decided it was something he was interested in. Chad’s going to help with the wide receivers and with the DBs.”