NC State named two offensive coordinators from within its staff after Eli Drinkwitz left to become the head coach at Appalachian State, and Wolfpack offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford was not among them.
Turns out, there was a good reason for that. He’s joining the staff of the former Appalachian State head coach at a different ACC school.
That Meereenese Knot of coaching moves unwinds with Dwayne Ledford leaving NC State to become the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Louisville.
“Adding a coach with the experience of Dwayne Ledford is a key addition to our offensive staff,” new Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield said. “Dwayne’s one of the top offensive line coaches in the nation and has produced some of the best offensive lines in the country during his career. His units are technically sound and his players play with great passion. This is an excellent hire in the development of our program.”
Ledford spent three seasons at NC State, ending a program-record streak of eight straight seasons without a 1,000-yard rusher by producing a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his three seasons with the program.
This season, NC State had two linemen -- center Garrett Bradbury and left tackle Tyler Jones -- make the All-ACC team, the first time that’s happened in Raleigh, while a third guard Terronne Prescod was an AP Third Team All-American. Bradbury also won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center.
NC State also finished fourth nationally in sacks allowed this season after placing 113th in the year prior to Ledford’s arrival.
Ledford worked for Satterfield previously at Appalachian State before joining Dave Doeren‘s NC State staff. He is a North Carolina native and East Carolina graduate. This will not only be his first offensive coordinator job, it will be just the third time he’s coached outside of his home state, following a 2-year stint with the Frankfurt Galaxy and one year at Tennessee State.
Ledford also played seven seasons in the NFL for a variety of clubs.