Belin Rounds Out Grantham's Staff

UPDATE: If you're interested, here's a nice blog post with some background on Warren Belin.

From UGA release...

Warren Belin, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Vanderbilt, has been named a linebackers coach at the University of Georgia according to an announcement Friday by Bulldog head coach Mark Richt.

Belin just completed his eighth season with the Commodores coaching linebackers. The 20-year veteran also just completed his second year as recruiting coordinator after having worked as special teams coordinator in 2006-07.

“I want to thank Coach (Bobby) Johnson and the Vandy staff for eight great years competing in the SEC and everything they have provided me and my family,” said Belin. “I’m looking forward to the next step in my career with Coach Richt and the opportunity to compete for SEC and national championships. I look forward to working with Coach Grantham, Coach Garner and Coach Lakatos in installing the new defensive package. My wife and family are excited about the opportunity to become part of the Athens community, Bulldog Nation and the great tradition at UGA.”

“Warren has had some of the best linebackers and tacklers in the league for years,” said Richt. “I’ve always admired his work at Vandy and people have been talking to me about him for quite a while. When Todd (Grantham) and I interviewed him, we were very impressed with his knowledge of the game, schemes, and fundamentals. He’s going to be a perfect mentor for our players as well.”

During Belin's tenure at Vanderbilt, he developed numerous outstanding linebackers including second team All-SEC Patrick Benoist (2008) and Freshman All-SEC Chris Marve (2008), both of whom were among the SEC’s top tacklers; All-SEC Jonathan Goff (2006-07) and Marcus Buggs (2006-07), both of whom are in their second year in the NFL (Goff with the Giants and Buggs with the Bills); All-SEC Moses Osemwegie (2004-05); and All-SEC Hunter Hillenmeyer (2002) who earned the National Student-Athlete Award after leading the SEC in tackles.

Belin served in a similar role at Southern Methodist before coming to Vanderbilt. In five years at SMU, at least one of Belin's linebackers was named All-Western Athletic Conference each year of his service. Vic Viloria was named first team All-WAC as a junior. Another SMU pupil, Jason Simonton, was a two-time All-WAC selection. A third player, Chris Bordano, was WAC Western Division Defensive Player of the Year in 1997. Prior to joining the SMU staff, Belin worked as an assistant coach at William & Mary, Cornell and East Tennessee State.

A native of Marshville, N.C., Belin was a three-year starter and four-year letterman at Wake Forest from 1987-90. He earned a B.S. in Health and Sports Science from Wake Forest, graduating cum laude. He was named to the ACC All-Academic Team in 1990 and was a two-time ACC Academic Honor Roll recipient.

Belin is married to the former Yolanda Taylor. They are the parents of three daughters: Camryn, 7; and 4-year-old twins Morgan and MacKenzi.

ADDENDUM: A few of you have asked my thoughts...

Truth be told, I don't know a ton about the guy, but he has an impressive enough track record. For the past two years, I thought Chris Marve was one of the more impressive linebackers I've seen, so that speaks well of Belin.

I definitely like that he's been the recruiting coordinator for a school that has brought in some solid talent even though getting those players to come to Vandy is a tough task. His ties to the south and to the SEC will be a nice balance on the recruiting trail with Grantham and Lakatos.

And lastly, it's a detail sort of snuck into the release, but he served two seasons as a special teams coordinator.

Sounds to me like he essentially fills every need Georgia was looking for.