Kenneth Ray

Title

Associate Head Coach/Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator
Email

kenneth.ray@fvsu.edu
Phone

478-825-4608

Kenneth Ray started his first season with Fort Valley State as the Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator in February 2020. He comes to FVSU after spending the past seven seasons as the Offensive Line/Assistant Head Coach at Gardner-Webb University.

            Coach Ray mentored numerous Gardner-Webb student-athletes, including four-year starter and 2019 graduate, Will Millikan, who earned All-Big South Conference First Team honors following the 2018 campaign. In 2018, Gardner-Webb topped the 400-yard mark in total offense three times, with three different running backs posting at least one game with 100+ yards on the ground.

            The Gardner-Webb offensive line cleared the way for a duo of 900-yard rushers, the first time in school history. They also allowed Tyrell Maxwell to move into second place on the all-time rushing list. Maxwell earned Big South Conference Offensive Player of the Year and All-America honors as a result. Two additional offensive lineman earned all-conference honors - David Sutton and Caleb Smith.

            Coach Ray’s group cleared a path for a much-improved rushing attack in 2015, which helped Maxwell set a school record for quarterback rushing yardage in a season – a record he broke one year later. GWU also cut down on its sacks allowed from the previous season – an improvement of more than 60 percent.

            In his first season with the program, Coach Ray helped the Runnin’ Bulldogs produce only the third 1,000-yard rusher since 2000 and saw his line play a key role in Kenny Cook becoming the first 1,000-yard receiver at GWU since 1992. With Lucas Beatty topping 2,000 yards through the air, Gardner-Webb was one of only five FCS programs with a 2,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver.

            A former college center himself at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), Coach Ray joined GWU after one season at North Greenville University in Tigerville, S.C., where he served as Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line in 2012. While there, he helped mold the Crusaders into a successful group by season’s end with five wins over the last six games – and four wins in a row to close out the campaign.

            Prior to his time at North Greenville, Coach Ray coached the 2011 season at FCS member Tennessee State, mentoring the tackles and tight ends. Tennessee State won four more league games in the Ohio Valley Conference than the previous season, and ranked in the top-35 nationally in four major offensive categories as a team.

            Coach Ray has heavy Division I FCS experience with 15 seasons combined at Division I FCS programs at Tennessee State, Howard, Alabama State, North Carolina A&T and Samford. He also coached in the FBS ranks from 1999-2003 at The University of Louisiana-Monroe.

            Coach Ray spent time as Offensive Coordinator at North Carolina A&T and his line cleared a path for running back Michael Ferguson to finish his career with 2,524 yards and 27 touchdowns – including a 1,000-yard season in 2007. Ferguson finished his career as the sixth-leading rusher in school history.

            Coach Ray’s first taste of coordinator duties came at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, where he served from 2004-2005. During his time calling plays for the Yellow Jackets, the team posted a 17-5 overall record and made the NAIA Playoffs in 2005. The program’s 2005 Heartland of America Athletic Conference title was its first since 1975, and the playoff appearance was the first in school history on the gridiron. Offensive lineman Rufus Williams earned NAIA All-American Second Team honors in 2005 – while quarterback Clayton Braddock and receiver Anthony Ferguson earned All-American Honorable Mention.

            Williams, Braddock, and Ferguson led a group of seven All-Conference selections for the Yellow Jacket offense in 2005. The Yellow Jackets averaged a healthy 430.3 yards of total offense per game to rank No. 8 nationally and ranked in the top-10 nationally in fewest sacks allowed (0.8 per game), pass efficiency (146.20 rating) and third down conversions (44.3 percent).

            Graceland also excelled offensively in 2004, ranking No. 2 nationally with 456.4 yards per game and No. 9 with 32.9 points per contest.

Coach Ray started his coaching career at Samford, where he coached tight ends.

            As a player, Coach Ray was a three-year starter from 1992-1994 at University of Southern Mississippi, where he helped the Golden Eagles to a pair of winning seasons. USM defeated LSU, 20-18, on the road in his final college game in 1994. During his time at USM, Coach Ray was a teammate of future NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre.

He graduated from USM with a degree in Business Administration in 1995.

He and his wife, Dr. KaShanda Smith Ray, have two sons, Keenan and Kendall. He is a native of Birmingham, Ala., and is the son of a high school coach.

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Kenneth Ray