Hampton University Athletics

Tremayne Henry is beginning his third full season with the Hampton University football program, where he serves as defensive line coach under head coach Connell Maynor. Henry also spent half of the 2014 season as the interim defensive coordinator for the Pirates.

He helped guide a defense in 2016 that finished second in the MEAC in total yards per game (340.5), third in rushing yards allowed per game (159.0) and tied for fourth in points per game (24.5) against a schedule with a FBS bowl opponent and two perennial FCS playoff contenders.

In 2015, the Pirates rack up 25 sacks on defense, including 8.5 from Miles Grooms, who was a First Team All-MEAC selection and ranked second in the conference in that category. He also had 15 quarterback hurries and 16.0 tackles for loss on the season.

In addition, Charles Owens was a Third Team All-MEAC selection last season.
Henry took over prior to the Pirates’ contest against North Carolina A&T in 2014, meaning he served as defensive coordinator for seven contests. Perhaps the Pirates’ best defensive effort of the season came at Delaware State, where the Pirates won 23-0 and recorded their first shutout since 2009.

In that game, the Pirates held Delaware State to just 237 total yards of offense, including 34 on the ground.

Two of the student-athletes Henry coached on the defensive side of the ball – linebacker Joshua Thorne and defensive lineman Miles Grooms – earned All-MEAC accolades. Thorne, who led the MEAC with 113 tackles, was named Second Team All-MEAC, while Grooms was a Third Team All-MEAC selection.

Grooms had 52 total tackles and five sacks last season.

Before coming to Hampton, Henry was most recently the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at St. Augustine’s. He served in that capacity for eight years, and he spent more than a decade overall with the Falcons. Under his tutelage, St. Augustine’s consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally in defense.

Heading into last season, Henry was a nominee for the 2014 AFCA Div. II Assistant Coach of the Year award. Henry, whose specialty is the defensive line, produced eight AllAmericans and 10 All-CIAA players during his tenure, including two all-conference linemen last season. One of his players was Shonquez Nelson, a stout defensive tackle who led all NCAA Division II players in sacks per game in 2013. The previous year, Javarous Faulk, who is legally deaf, ranked second nationally in Div. II in sacks per game.

Henry’s most celebrated pupil was Alex Hall, an All-American defensive end for the Falcons in 2006 and 2007 who was drafted by the NFL’s Cleveland Browns in 2008. Hall is the Falcons’ only NFL draft pick since the football program was re-started in 2002.