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VALDOSTA — Earlier this month, the Valdosta State football program completed its coaching staff by hiring Robby Brown as quarterbacks coach.

Brown comes to the Blazers from Henderson State University where he was the offensive coordinator of the Reddies in 2008.

“First and foremost, the program Valdosta has is first class in everything they do, and they have a great reputation,” Brown said. “That’s the main reason I came.”

Prior to Henderson State, Brown spent a year as the offensive coordinator at Division II Southwest Baptist. Before that he was a graduate assistant at Troy for two years. In 2004 Brown graduated from Georgia Tech where he played quarterback.

“I’m an even-keeled guy,” Brown said. “I didn’t have this unbelievable talent when I played, I was more of a student of the game. I don’t get real high or real low. I have a lot of energy so I’d say that’s my style on the field.”

The quarterbacks coaching spot at VSU opened up at the beginning of spring practice when former VSU quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner left to take the quarterbacks job at FCS Central Arkansas.

Brown said he and VSU head coach David Dean had connections with the Troy coaching staff, and when the VSU quarterbacks coaching spot became available the two had mutual interest. And of course the main reason Brown was brought in is because he knows how to run the wide open spread offense that VSU has become known for.

“When I was a GA at Troy I learned the offense that they run here, then I went to Southwest Baptist and ran this offense, then went to Henderson and ran this offense,” Brown said. “I’d say the offense is the reason I was hired here more than the people that I knew, and the fact that we’ve been successful in it.”

Brown has had great success as an offensive coach the last two seasons. In 2007 Southwest Baptist average 390 yards per game, including an average of 317 yards of passing per game. Last year Henderson State averaged 448 yards per game, including 330 yards through the air which was second best in the Gulf South Conference.

“I’ve never been accused of being conservative,” Brown said. “I like to win, so I’m not going to say just throw it every down just to throw it. I have no problem with the run game, but I’ve never been called conservative.”

The Reddies hosted the Blazers last year and Brown gave VSU a taste of its own medicine. The Reddies moved the ball at will on the Blazer defense, racking up 359 yards of total offense. HSU took a 23-7 into the fourth quarter before VSU rallied back to win 27-23 behind a couple of miraculous plays. It’s still a sore spot for Brown whose team came so close to knocking off the defending Division II champions.

Now he’ll get the chance improve an offense which pulls the type of talent Henderson State and Southwest Baptist don’t. As quarterbacks coach he’ll work with Kellen Lewis, a transfer from Indiana who is one of the best quarterbacks in Hoosiers’ history. There’s also Jimmy Coy, a transfer from El Camino Community College in California, Russ Callaway, a rising junior recovering from a torn ACL and incoming freshmen Brett Whitmire and Stephen Warren.

NCAA rules don’t allow coaches to work with players between spring practice and the start of fall camp, and the only one of those five quarterbacks that participated in spring practice was Russ Callaway. Brown was still at HSU at the time, so the only thing he has been able to do with the quarterbacks is watch film.

“I think they’re all good football players,” Brown said of Lewis, Coy and Callaway. “They’re all good kids. Each of them has been in here watching film with me, and I’ve only been here a week. I think it’s going to be interesting to see what happens.”

Another advantage Brown brings, along with his familiarity of the VSU offense, is a familiarity with the GSC. The Blazers will face five teams this season that Brown faced at Henderson State last season.

“This will be my second year in the GSC, and I think it’ll help to be more familiar with it than coming in kind of blind,” Brown said. “It’s just good to be in a conference for the second year. It even helps just to know where the stadium is and even the locker rooms.”

One of those teams is North Alabama which made a huge splash in hiring Terry Bowden as head coach. Since the hiring, UNA has brought in many high profile Division I transfers and has put the rest GSC on alert.

“I think that they’re going to be a good football team, but I don’t think that’s any different from the past,” Brown said. “Any time that you line up against them you better be ready to play. That’s not going to change.”