UNA alum Ben Thomas named offensive line coach

North Alabama Athletics
Max Cohan
Sports Director

Max Cohan grew up in New York and attended the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications. He spends his downtime watching sports, reading about sports, and catching up on sports.

Author email
Dec 11, 2024
Dec 11, 2024 Updated Dec 11, 2024
0

FLORENCE, Ala. (December 11, 2024) – A former Lion and Florence native is coming home.

University of North Alabama head football coach Brent Dearmon announced a new addition to his staff Wednesday, naming Ben Thomas to the role of offensive line coach. Thomas will officially begin this role on January 9, 2025.

Thomas spent the last four seasons at Southern Miss, including this past season as the assistant offensive line coach.

“We are thrilled to bring Ben Thomas back to UNA,” said Dearmon, who just completed his second season at the helm. “The former Lion has developed a name in the business as one of the best young OL coaches in the country.”

Thomas joined the UNA roster in 2012 out of nearby Central High School, where he was named all-county in 2010 and 2011. After redshirting his first season, Thomas went on to help UNA win three Gulf South Conference titles as an offensive guard in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Lions went a combined 28-8 in that span under legendary head coach Bobby Wallace.

Following his playing career, Thomas began coaching as an assistant coach at Mars Hill Bible School in 2016. He then became a graduate assistant offensive line coach at UNA from 2017 through the spring of 2019. He assisted in multiple areas, including the recruitment areas of Northwest Alabama and Northeast Mississippi.

Thomas left UNA in 2019 to become a graduate assistant at Tulane for two seasons. He left that post in 2021 to join UNA alum Will Hall at Southern Miss. He served as an offensive quality control coach for three seasons and was elevated to assistant offensive line coach in 2024.

While at Southern Miss, Thomas helped the Golden Eagles achieve a 7-6 record in 2022 and win the LendingTree Bowl against Rice, 38-24, hosted in Mobile, Ala.

“I am incredibly grateful and excited to be back here at UNA,” said Thomas. “Being able to return home to a place where I played, graduated from and started my coaching career is very special. It’s truly hard to explain how incredible this university and wonderful city is. There is a great tradition of winning here, and I’m so glad to be part of it again. I can’t wait to get started and look forward to contributing to this university and community once again. There are exciting times ahead here at UNA. Roar Lions!”