Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brad Glenn is in his third season at Georgia State after directing record-setting offenses his first two years in Atlanta.
Glenn’s offenses have displayed both explosiveness and balance, averaging more than 212 yards rushing and 220 yards passing for his two seasons combined to help the Panthers to consecutive winning seasons and bowl berths.
The GSU offense is coming off a 2020 season in which the Panthers averaged a school-record 33.3 points per game, along with 424.3 yards of total offense. That feat is particularly noteworthy because the unit was directed by a first-year starting quarterback in Cornelious Brown IV, who did not have the benefit of a traditional spring practice, offseason and preseason camp due to the pandemic. Brown finished second in the Sun Belt in passing (227.8) and total offense (257.9) per game and was the MVP of the LendingTree Bowl.
Six offensive players were named to the 2020 All-Sun Belt Conference team: offensive linemen Shamarious Gilmore and Malik Sumter, receivers Sam Pinckney and Cornelius McCoy, tight end Roger Carter and running back Destin Coates.
In 2019 in his first season at GSU, Glenn orchestrated the most prolific offensive season in program history with school records for points, scoring average (surpassed in 2020), total offense, total offense per game, rushing yards, rushing yards per game and per attempt and first downs. That earned him a nomination for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.
Eight offensive players earned All-Sun Belt honors in 2019, including quarterback Dan Ellington, who passed for 2,447 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 668 yards and six scores, despite playing the final four games with a torn knee ligament.
The Panthers ranked No. 13 in FBS in rushing with 241.6 yards per game in 2019, led by Sun Belt rushing leader Tra Barnett.
Glenn joined the GSU staff in February 2019 after seven seasons as the associate head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Western Carolina. He previously served seven years at Appalachian State on the same offensive staff as head coach Shawn Elliott as the Mountaineers won three straight NCAA FCS titles (2005-07).
Glenn’s tenure at Western Carolina (2012-18) was marked by outstanding play from his quarterbacks. For the last five seasons, the Catamounts’ starting quarterback has averaged over 2,400 yards passing and more than 600 yards rushing. His first quarterback, Troy Mitchell, finished as the school’s career leader in total offense with 9,397 yards, while Mitchell’s successor, Tyrie Adams is poised to break many of Mitchell’s records. In 2016, Adams was the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and a finalist for the STATS FCS National Freshman of the Year honor.
In his time at Appalachian State, Glenn coached tight ends for one season (2005) and slot receivers for three years (2006-08) before taking over as quarterbacks coach (2009-11).
While at Appalachian State, Glenn coached two Southern Conference Offensive Players of the Year in quarterbacks Armanti Edwards, who also won the Walter Payton Award as the top player in the FCS, and DeAndre Pressley.
A total of six individuals who played in Glenn’s offensive system, including three at Western Carolina and three at App State, were named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List.
Glenn began his coaching career as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Greer (S.C.) High School from 1995-2000, helping lead the program to a 25-3 record and back-to-back Upper State runner-up finishes his final two seasons. He earned his first collegiate position in 2001, coaching tight ends at Elon before spending the next two seasons as the offensive coordinator at North Greenville College. He returned to prep ranks for one season (2004) at Seneca (S.C.) High School before moving to App State.
The native of Seneca, S.C., is a 1995 graduate of Clemson. He is married to the former Anna Thompson, and the couple has two daughters, Zoey and Landry, and a son, Hank.
