South Alabama football coach Kane Wommack had two spots to fill on his staff this past winter, and went in a different direction with each hire.

Wommack went with experience for the vacancy at cornerbacks coach, bringing in former Southern Miss and Alcorn State head coach and veteran defensive coordinator Jay Hopson. For special teams coordinator, he chose 27-year-old Tre’ Williams, for whom 2022 was his first season as a full-time college coach.

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“Jay Hopson is just such an experienced coach,” Wommack said. “He understands the game of football as a big picture. He recognizes what the head coach is trying to get done. When you’re a head coach yourself there’s a strong learning curve when you walk into a program. I think those corners are already starting to lean on his wisdom and knowledge that he’s bringing to them. They recognize that he can move the dial forward for them in terms of their understanding. They want more and more of it. So that’s exciting to see.

“And then Tre’ Williams is swimming right now, as you would think. Going into one week on the job, he’s drinking from a fire hose. And yet he’s bringing a tremendous amount of energy, connecting with our players already, doing some things in recruiting that are going to help us. I’m really excited about both those guys and what they bring to the table.”

Hopson, 54, has coached all over the South in a career stretching back to the early 1990s. He’s spent time at Tulane, LSU, Florida, Marshall, Ole Miss, Memphis and Alcorn State, in addition to three different stints at Southern Miss, where he was head coach from 2016-20.

Hopson resigned after the 2020 season-opener at Southern Miss (coincidentally, a loss to South Alabama), but spent the last two seasons as director of high school relations at Mississippi State (in another twist, former Jaguars head coach Steve Campbell replaced Hopson in that role). When cornerbacks coach Dwike Wilson left South Alabama for Southern Miss (more coincidence?), Hopson quickly realized he was itching to get back into an on-field role.

“You do it for three decades, it’s easier to get back in,” Hopson said. “Over the last two years, I was offered a few jobs, so I knew I was going to get back in at some point. I was happy where I was in Starkville, though. And then Kane called me, and I came down to visit with him and he just won me over.

“He does such a great job with the culture and the climate of this program and all you’ve got to do is just listen to him for about 10 or 15 minutes and you can tell he’s got ‘it.’ And so that’s what I think that probably attracted me. He’s running the program and the things he does are all first class. And so for an old coach, that was attractive.”

Hopson and Wommack have some history, as Wommack’s father, Dave, was linebackers coach under defensive coordinator Hopson at Southern Miss in 2007. Kane Wommack played on that team as a walk-on tight end and special teams holder, transferring from Arkansas to join his father with the Golden Eagles.

Hopson said he has watched from afar as Wommack’s career flourished, first from defensive coordinator roles at Eastern Illinois, South Alabama and Indiana and then after he became head coach of the Jaguars in 2021. He said he’s happy to be able to help contribute to the “Swarm D.”

“It’s truly one of the blessings of football, when you have former players that are ultra-successful and former assistant coaches that are ultra-successful,” Hopson said. “That to me is about a rewarding as it is. Sometimes you’re not ‘Dad’, you’re like ‘Granddad’ almost, but that’s the beauty of football. It teaches life. It teaches everything. It’s great to see guys that you’ve been associated with and coached, to see them go to greater and greater heights.”

Williams left Mobile’s St. Paul’s Episcopal School as a five-star recruit to Auburn, but a chronic shoulder injury short-circuited what could have been an even-better playing career. He still managed to get voted as a team captain and become a second-team All-SEC linebacker as a senior in 2017, and played in the Senior Bowl in his hometown after that season.

Pro football didn’t work out, so Williams went into coaching, first in Auburn’s recruiting office, then at Thompson High School in the Birmingham area and later as a graduate assistant for former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn at Central Florida. He spent the 2022 season as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Division II Arkansas-Monticello.

“Of course I had a ‘Plan A,’ playing ball,” Williams said. “That was my life. But growing up within the game, I always knew I wanted to coach for sure, but I didn’t know when that time was going to come. So coming out of my senior year at Auburn, dealing with the injury, I was like, ‘maybe I need to go ahead and lock in on that being a possibility real soon.’ So Coach Malzahn gave me the opportunity to work in the recruiting office in 2018, and it went on from there.”

South Alabama special teams coach Jamael Lett left earlier this month for North Carolina, opening up a spot for Williams at his hometown school. Wommack said Williams’ interview was one of the most impressive he’s ever been a part of, particularly for such a young coach.

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind for Williams the last few weeks. His first official day on the job was March 14, a mere three days before the Jaguars began spring practice.

“No doubt, it is moving pretty quickly,” Williams said. “I got hired one day and the next day I was in a staff meeting. But, they’re helping me out — any questions I have, they’re able to answer it. And then the players are great. Everybody around the program is really great, so they’re helping me transition.

“I’m just so excited to be here. It’s a real blessing.”

South Alabama was back on the practice field Wednesday morning. The annual Red-White spring game is set for April 15 at Hancock Whitney Stadium.