Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry announced several football support staff changes and additions.
The talented group brings years of experience from Power Five programs, including Wisconsin, Clemson, West Virginia and Penn State.
Jan Johnson moves from his role as a defensive analyst to a graduate assistant position while Rob Branch assumes a new role as a graduate assistant, after serving in player personnel. In addition, Pry has added Rachid Ibrahim as a graduate assistant and Brandon McCombs as a special teams analyst.
“Jan and Rob are extremely bright individuals who have been in our program and understand our culture and vision,” Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry said. “It’s exciting to see their passion for the game and I can’t wait to watch them grow as they take the next step in their coaching journey.”
Pry continued, “We are thrilled to welcome Rachid and Brandon to Blacksburg. They are both highly motivated and pay great attention to detail. With their depth of experience at highly successful Power Five programs, they will be great assets to our team’s preparation, providing us with a competitive edge.”
Johnson (Mohnton, Pa., Governor Mifflin) spent the 2022 season as a defensive analyst at Tech. He played linebacker for Pry at Penn State from 2015-19 where he was a member of the 2016 Big Ten Championship team. Johnson played in two New Year’s Six bowl games, the Rose Bowl following the 2016 season as well as the 2019 Cotton Bowl. A team captain as a senior in 2019, he started all 13 games, earning honorable mention All-America honors from Pro Football Focus and honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media. In addition, Johnson served as a heavyweight on Penn State’s national championship-winning wrestling squad in 2015. He was a member of the Tennessee Titans practice squad in 2021 after originally entering the NFL as a free agent with the Houston Texans in 2020.
Johnson graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in management and organizational leadership.
Branch (Baltimore, Md., Gilman) spent last season as a player personnel assistant for the Hokies. He joined Pry’s staff after spending four years at West Virginia State where he was the safeties and corners coach, managing his position rooms and developing all-conference athletes in addition to assisting on special teams. Branch also served as the head recruiter for athletics in the admissions department.
He won a national championship playing for James Madison in 2016 where he played safety for two seasons. Branch concluded his playing career at West Virginia State where he was a team captain and earned the program’s MVP award.
Ibrahim (Rockville, Md., Avalon) was a standout running back at both Pittsburgh and Wisconsin, playing in 42 career games. As a senior with the Badgers in 2017, he served as the primary third-down back, registering 28 carries for 130 rushing yards, capping the season with a New Year’s Six bowl appearance in the Orange Bowl. Ibrahim rushed for 399 yards on 60 carries in two seasons of action at Pittsburgh. He spent the 2022 season as an offensive assistant at Wisconsin.
A Rockville, Maryland native, Ibrahim earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at Pittsburgh before earning a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy analysis from Wisconsin in 2019.
Johnson and Ibrahim join Austin Fields, who remains as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line and line coach Ron Crook.
McCombs (Easley, S.C., Easley) spent 13 seasons in a full-time capacity at Clemson, including the last 10 as an assistant for special teams analysis. Clemson won at least 10 games in every year of McCombs’ tenure assisting Clemson’s coaching staff on special teams, including seven ACC titles, six CFP berths and two national championships. During that time, Clemson finished in the top half of the ACC in kickoff coverage seven times, including leading the conference and finishing 13th in the country with 17.56 yards allowed per return in 2019.
McCombs began his career working as a student assistant at Clemson in 2005 and was a player development coach in the strength training room from 2010-12. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Clemson in 2009.
Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry announced three new hires to the program’s support staff, Caleb Selk in the position of director of football operations, Kelsey Vinson in the role of director of sports science and Camden Gresham as a recruiting assistant.
“I am thrilled to add Caleb, Kelsey and Camden to our staff,” said Virginia Tech Head Coach Brent Pry. “They are high caliber individuals who bring unique skill sets and diverse experiences to our program with an ability to greatly impact Virginia Tech football on and off the field.”
Selk (Manteno, Ill., Manteno) brings more than six years of experience in the NFL along with another six years in college athletics. He served in operations and marketing roles with the NFL’s Chicago Bears (2017-19) after previously working as an equipment intern in the organization. During his time in Chicago, Selk oversaw operations for the Bears Training Camp in 2017 and 2018, including lodging, transportation, meals, credentials, facilities, team itineraries and vendor logistics.
He arrives in Blacksburg after spending the last year as the director of football operations and player development at Eastern Illinois University. In that capacity, Selk played a key role in all day-to-day operations of the Panthers’ football program. In addition to assisting with all team travel logistics, he coordinated the team’s community service efforts and served as a liaison with compliance, fundraising and facility management. His duties involved assisting with player personnel, recruiting strategy and managing the team’s budget.
Selk spent last summer in technology operations as a minor league video coordinator for the Milwaukee Brewers double-A team in Biloxi, Mississippi, following college baseball coaching stints at Greenville University (2020-21) and McKendree University (2021-22).
A Manteno, Illinois native, Selk is a 2019 graduate of Wheaton College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business and economics while playing baseball and serving as a team captain.
Vinson (Laurens, S.C., Laurens District 55) will work collaboratively with Pry, as well as director of football strength and conditioning Dwight Galt IV, Tech’s sports medicine and athletic training team and the rest of the football staff. She will strive to reduce the risk of non-contact injury, improve athletic qualities conducive to sport success and promote game day readiness. Through the use of wearable devices, Vinson will examine volumes, intensity, explosive efforts, change of directions and speed, while also tracking sleep patterns, recovery and heart rate. Sports science data will serve as an investment for the health and success of Tech student-athletes.
Vinson joins the Hokies after serving for the past year as a sports scientist and data analyst with Bear Cognition, a data intelligence firm in Charleston, South Carolina focused on simplifying the world of data and analytics for businesses. She worked with coaches and athletes from various backgrounds in the ACC, SEC, Big 12, Sun Belt, Mountain West and American conferences. Along with collegiate programs, she worked with the US Olympic and Paralympic Committees, guiding decision-making to optimize sports performance. She utilized analytics and statistical models to highlight key performance indicators and help maximize competitive advantages.
Vinson previously established and developed a Sports Science program at Auburn, compiling performance metrics for 17 teams and more than 400 student-athletes. She worked as an applied sports scientist with the University of Virginia football team in 2021, following a year as a data analyst and recovery assistant with the Clemson Applied Science Lab.
Vinson completed her bachelor’s degree in health science from Clemson University in 2019 and received her master’s in applied health research and evaluation from the school in 2020.
Gresham (Greensboro, N.C., Northwest Guilford) joins the player personnel department in the role of recruiting assistant as Pry continues to strengthen Tech’s recruiting efforts. A 2022 graduate of Virginia Tech’s Pamplin School of Business, she worked as a student assistant during her time as an undergraduate before earning a post-graduate recruiting internship with the Hokies.
Gresham’s duties include prepping mailing materials for prospects, entering data into the recruiting database and interacting with prospects and their families during recruiting events. She plays an essential role in planning and executing all prospect visits to campus, camps and game day visits. Gresham’s new role will allow her to expand the depth of her involvement in the program’s day-to-day recruiting operations while helping assemble and develop the Hokies’ recruiting classes.
Gresham is a native of Greensboro, N.C.
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