Hampton football coach Robert Prunty announced the addition of Kentwan Balmer to the coaching staff as defensive line coach. It marks Balmer's second stint with on the Pirate staff. He previously served as defensive line coach in 2021-22.

"He coached with me before and I know what he can do," Prunty said. "He's a very fundamentally sound coach. He's a good recruiter and brings toughness to the D-line."

Balmer played his collegiate football at North Carolina where he was team captain. He was an honorable mention All-America pick and was named second-team All-ACC in 2007. After playing in the Senior Bowl, he was drafted in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He spent two years as a defensive end with the 49ers, as well as with the Seattle Seahawks (2010), Carolina Panthers (2011), and Washington Redskins (2011-12).

His NFL career spanned six seasons and he was named San Francisco's Most Improved Player in 2009. Balmer was a member of the NFC West Champion Seattle Seahawks in 2010.

A native of Ahoskie, N.C., he turned his energies to coaching in 2015 at Shaw where he served as special teams coordinator and assistant defensive line coach. After spending a year as an assistant coach at Kipp High School, he joined the coaching staff at Virginia University-Lynchburg as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 2017-18.

In 2019, he coached at Samford before moving to Alabama A&M for two seasons (2020-21) as defensive ends coach. Alabama A&M won the SWAC title and his defensive line led the conference in sacks and hurries. Balmer worked at Hampton as defensive line coach for Prunty in 2021-22.