Gill announces new coaching staff at LU

Two holdovers from the previous staff, two former Division I head coaches and a number of men with Nebraska ties highlight Turner Gill’s first football coaching staff at Liberty University.

Gill retained Marshall Roberts and Charlie Skalaski, two coaches who predated Danny Rocco’s tenure at Liberty. Roberts, who was Liberty’s special teams coordinator last season, will coach the Flames’ cornerbacks. Skalaski remains in his dual role as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.

Skalaski has played a key role in Liberty’s ability to recruit Florida, a state Gill is emphasizing in his recruiting.

"They understand the culture, they can recruit, and they have a great understanding in their preparation," Gill said. "I love the way they build relationships with the student-athletes, something I found in their background when I checked up on them. That’s why I decided to keep those two guys."

Gill hired former Western Carolina head coach Dennis Wagner as offensive coordinator, but that role will be administrative in nature. Gill said he’ll be the Flames’ chief play caller. Wagner resigned in November as WCU’s head coach after an 8-36 stint with the Catamounts. Wagner’s forte is working with offensive linemen. He was an offensive line coach for Nebraska from 2004-07 and Fresno State from 1997-2003. He’ll coach the O-line at Liberty.

"I love the way he coaches offensive line play," Gill said. "He gets his players to do the things they’ve been taught, and that’s what a great coach is all about. I saw that firsthand, and he’s done it for many years."

The other former head coach on staff is assistant head coach Carl Torbush, who was North Carolina’s head coach from 1998-2000. Torbush coached in the 1998 Gator Bowl, taking over the program after Mack Brown left for Texas. Torbush compiled a 17-18 record and led the Tar Heels to the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl.

Torbush was Gill’s defensive coordinator at Kansas but left his post before the 2011 season as he battled prostate cancer. Gill said doctors have cleared Torbush to return, and he’ll serve as Liberty’s linebackers coach next season.

"He still has that passion to coach," Gill said.

Robert Wimberly, who coached at Liberty from 2004-08 before leaving to join Gill’s staff at Buffalo, will return to Lynchburg as Gill’s defensive coordinator. Wimberly coached linebackers at Buffalo and safeties at Kansas. He’s been a full-time assistant for eight seasons, and Gill said Wimberly is more than ready for his first chance to be a coordinator.

"He’s a bright, bright person in terms of football and in terms of relationships," Gill said. "The time is right now. I’m just glad I had the opportunity to do it before somebody else could hire him. I know he’s very talented in every way. He knows Xs and Os. He knows how to recruit. He can teach."

Other coaches on the offensive staff are tight ends coach Aaron Stamn, quarterbacks coach Joe Dailey and running backs coach Jamaal Fobbs. Gill has worked with Stamn since 2004, when Stamn was a graduate assistant at Nebraska. Dailey was the on-campus recruiting coordinator at Kansas under Gill. The former North Carolina quarterback was the tight ends coach at Buffalo in 2009.

The other two defensive coaches are Vantz Singletary, the nephew of former San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary, and Mike Minter, the former Carolina Panthers’ safety and Nebraska standout. Vantz, who will coach the LU defensive line, worked with Gill at Buffalo in 2008, left to become the 49ers’ linebackers coach for two seasons, and returned to work with Gill as linebackers coach at Kansas last season.

Minter, who will be the special teams coordinator, spent last season as the assistant head coach at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte.

"I’ve always admired him as a person, No. 1, and No. 2 as a player," Gill said. "He was a dynamic person and a dynamic player. I know he’s going to be a guy that’s going to be great in this environment at Liberty. He’ll be great for our players. He can identify with them in a lot of different ways. Obviously, when you have NFL experience, it helps our program in a lot of ways."