Blake Wilson, who has worked with the Eagle specialists for three seasons, has been hired as the special teams coordinator for the Georgia Southern football program, as announced by head coach Clay Helton. He replaces Turner West, who recently stepped down to pursue other professional opportunities.
"I am beyond excited to continue here at Georgia Southern," Wilson said. "I would like to thank Coach Helton for this opportunity as well as Coach Turner West for laying the foundation on how special teams are played here in Statesboro. I'm fired up to continue working with our players, as well as this great staff. Hail Southern!"
Wilson served as the senior analyst for special teams from 2022-24, working hand-in-hand with West in all four phases of game planning (KO, KOR, PUNT, PBR) and was also responsible for opponent game and personnel breakdown.
"We are happy to release that Blake Wilson has been promoted to Special Teams Coordinator," Helton said. "The team of Turner West and Coach Wilson produced terrific results in our special team units last season. Blake is a very popular choice for our players; someone they already have trust in. By also adding Anthony Beck II as Assistant Special Teams/Specialists Coach, I know this tandem will lead our special teams to even new heights."
In 2024, punter Alex Smith finished 17th in the FBS in net punting and earned second-team all-conference honors while Gavin Stewart was one of the most accurate kickers in the country, making 83 percent of his kicks.
In 2023, Michael Lantz set a school record with 23 made field goals and led the Sun Belt with 114 points scored. It was the second time in as many years an Eagle player led the league in scoring. Lantz was also perfect on 45 PATs, helping earn his All-Sun Belt first-team honors by Pro Football Focus. True freshman DeAndre Buchannon tied the school record with a 100-yard kickoff return against App State to help bolster his resume. Buchannon earned first-team Freshman All-America honors as a kick returner from College Football Network.
In 2022, Alex Raynor earned all-conference honors after leading the Sun Belt in scoring. The kicker went 18 of 20 on field goals and scored 103 points for the Eagles and went on to be a Lou Groza Award finalist in 2024. Anthony Beck II averaged over 43 yards per punt and finished his Georgia Southern career with the highest punting average and school history (43.25), along with the most 50-yard punts in a career (38).
Special teams ace NaJee Thompson was signed by the Minnesota Vikings and was a standout on punt coverage after making the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent in 2023. Beck II also had a mini-camp tryout with the Vikings.
Wilson came to Statesboro from Lake Erie College, where he was the middle linebackers coach and special teams coordinator in 2021. Before that, he was the middle linebackers/defensive line coach at Montana State University Northern from 2019 through the spring of 2021 and the University of San Diego as a defensive line graduate assistant in 2018.
Wilson was a two-year starting middle linebacker at Southwestern Junior College before transferring to Charleston Southern, where he was a middle linebacker. He earned a degree in communication with a minor in sociology from CSU in the fall of 2017.
The hiring is pending the completion of a successful background check.
