Brohm hires five former WKU assistants to Purdue staff

Purdue coach Jeff Brohm announced Monday the addition of eight new members to his staff. The group consists of six assistant coaches (Brian Brohm, Tony Levine, Nick Holt, Reggie Johnson, Anthony Poindexter and Dale Williams) and two support staff members (Greg Brohm and Robert Sampson).

Brian Brohm joins Purdue from Western Kentucky where he served as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2016 season. He helped guide a Hilltopper offense that averaged 45.5 points, 336.8 passing yards and 523.1 total yards per game.

Prior to joining WKU's staff, Brohm spent eight seasons playing professionally with the Green Bay Packers (2008-09) and Buffalo Bills (2009-10) in the National Football League, the Las Vegas Locomotives (2011-12) in the United Football League and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2013) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2014-15) in the Canadian Football League. He was a second-round pick (56th overall) by the Packers in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Levine comes to West Lafayette, Ind., after spending the 2016 season as Western Kentucky's special teams coordinator and co-offensive coordinator. Along with helping lead the potent Hilltopper offense, he oversaw top five nationally ranked kickoff and punt return teams which averaged 28.6 and 17.9 yards per return, respectively.

Individual standouts included junior Nacarius Fant, who scored on a pair of punt returns and averaged 15.6 yards per return – which would have ranked among the top five in the Football Bowl Subdivision had he qualified with enough returns – and junior kickoff returner Kylen Towner, who returned 26 kicks for 1,048 yards which averaged a NCAA-record 40.3 yards per return, and a touchdown.

Prior to WKU, Levine was at Houston for seven seasons as head coach (2011-14), assistant head coach (2010-11), special teams coordinator (2008-11) and inside receivers and tight ends coach (2008-11).

Holt rejoins Jeff Brohm's staff after coaching Western Kentucky to a 51-31 victory over Memphis as interim head coach.

Prior to being elevated to the interim role, Holt served as the Hilltoppers' associate head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2013 to 2016. A veteran of 31 years of coaching experience, including two as a head coach and 16 as a defensive coordinator, Holt has coached in 15 bowl games, including seven BCS bowls, was on the USC coaching staff that won the 2003 national championship and five Trojan Pacific-10 title staffs.

Under Holt's guidance, the Hilltoppers improved their scoring defense from 121st nationally in 2014 (39.9) to 41st in 2016 (24.6), their total defense from 120th (509.9) to 41st (376.6) and their rushing defense from 111th (220.8) to third (97.2) among FBS schools. In his first season at WKU, the Hilltoppers ranked 15th nationally in total defense (339.2) and 10th in passing defense (177.9).

Reggie Johnson joins the Boilermakers after spending the 2016 season at Western Kentucky where he coached the defensive ends. The Hilltoppers' four primary defensive ends racked up 98 tackles, including 22 for loss and 11 sacks, with six pass breakups, two fumbles recovered and an interception.

Before his lone season at WKU, Johnson spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator, linebackers and defensive line coach at Alabama A&M (2014-15), two seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Alabama Birmingham (2012-13) and four seasons as the linebackers coach at Arkansas (2008-11).

Williams comes to Purdue after spending the 2016 season as the offensive line coach at Western Kentucky. He has previous coaching experience at Florida Atlantic, Findlay, Gardner-Webb, North Greenville College and West Virginia.

At WKU in 2016, Williams' line helped protect a proficient Hilltopper offense that averaged 45.5 points, 336.8 passing yards and 523.1 total yards per game. WKU's line allowed merely 22 sacks on 471 passing attempts (one every 21.4 attempts). Senior left tackle Forrest Lamp, a two-time first team all-Conference USA selection, was named a third team All-American by The Associated Press. Classmate Max Halpin joined Lamp with first team all-conference honors, while fellow senior Darrell Williams earned second team recognition.

The eight new additions join former WKU assistant JaMarcus Shephard, who was hired as an assistant coach Dec. 8, and former WKU assistant Justin Lovett, who was hired as the director of strength and conditioning Dec. 21.