LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – New UNLV football head coach Barry Odom continued filling out his first Rebel coaching staff by announcing the addition of two new and two returning assistant coaches Friday.

Cornell Ford will serve as running backs coach and Akeem Davis will oversee the cornerbacks while Nate Longshore returns to coach tight ends and Damon Magazu is back with the Rebel safeties.



Ford joins UNLV after spending the last two seasons coaching cornerbacks at his alma mater Toledo. He previously coached for the Rockets for seven seasons under former head coach Gary Pinkel and spent 19 seasons as an assistant at Missouri under Pinkel and then as assistant head coach and running backs coach under Odom when he led the Mizzou program from 2016-19. Ford was a graduate assistant coach with the Rockets from 1991-92 before joining the staff as an assistant coach at Marietta from 1993-95. He returned to Toledo in 1996 to serve as the wide receivers coach, then followed Pinkel to Missouri when he took the head coaching job with the Tigers in 2001. Ford was a part of Rocket teams that went 39-18 and won a MAC West Division title in 1997. Toledo set 10 passing records in 1997 and finished with a 10-1 record in 2000. Ford mentored one of the top receivers in Rocket history, Mel Long Jr., who caught 175 passes from 1997-2000. At Missouri, Ford coached the outside safeties from 2001-03 and the cornerbacks from 2004-15. During Ford's tenure at Missouri, the Tigers won three Big 12 North Division titles and two SEC East Division crowns. He spent the 2020 season as a volunteer assistant at Toledo before rejoining the staff full time. A native of Gary, Indiana, Ford earned his bachelor's degree in physical education (1991) and master's degree in sports administration (1993) from Toledo. Ford and his wife, Dawn, are the parents of a son, Devin, and a daughter, Taylor.

FORD'S COACHING FILE
2022-PR            UNLV – Running backs
2021-22             Toledo – Cornerbacks
2020                 Toledo – Volunteer Coach
2016-19            Missouri – Assistant Head Coach, Running Backs
2004-15            Missouri – Cornerbacks
2001-03            Missouri – Outside Safeties
1996-2000        Toledo – Receivers
1996                  Toledo – Receivers, Recruiting Coordinator
1993-95            Marietta – Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers
1991-92            Toledo – Graduate Assistant



Davis, a former NFL player, comes to Las Vegas after three seasons as co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Austin Peay State University, including both the spring and fall seasons for the ASUN Conference program in 2021. This fall, two of Davis' DBs earned all-conference honors, including Third Team All-American Demetries Ford, as APSU grabbed 13 interceptions. In fall of 2021, the Governors ranked second in the FCS with 19 interceptions and fifth in pass efficiency defense. That season, Davis coached two consensus All-Americans in Johnathon Edwards and Conference Defensive Player of the Year Koby Perry. Prior to his time in Clarksville, Tennessee, Davis was a member of the Southern Miss coaching staff for four years beginning as a defensive graduate assistant for the 2017 season. He was elevated to USM's cornerbacks coach in 2019 and then moved to oversee the Golden Eagles' running backs before the 2020 season when he coached Frank Gore Jr. to Second Team All-Conference USA honors. Davis was an undrafted free agent signee by the NFL's Washington Commanders in 2014 and spent parts of three seasons on the active roster at Washington, New Orleans, Seattle, Indianapolis and Jacksonville. He played 21 games in the NFL, finishing with 11 tackles and a forced fumble. The NFL Network documented Davis' journey from undrafted free agent to making a 53-man NFL roster in its "Undrafted" series. Off the field, Davis established the AD47 Football Leadership Academy. AD47 is a free, one-day football skills camp dedicated to implementing the "Five Pillars" core curriculum of Character, Leadership, Discipline, Follow-through, and Grit. The academy is sanctioned and insured by the NFL Foundation and run in partnership with USA Football through the FUNdamentals program. In college, Davis played three seasons at Memphis, posting 162 tackles, three interceptions, five forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries in 34 career games for the Tigers. He earned his bachelor's degree from Memphis in finance and his master's from USM in sports administration in 2019. Davis is married to the former Sierra Byrd and the couple has a daughter, Carsyn, and son, CJ.
 
DAVIS' COACHING FILE
2022-PR            UNLV – Cornerbacks
2021-22             Austin Peay – Co-Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Backs
2020                 Southern Miss – Running Backs
2019                 Southern Miss – Cornerbacks
2017-18             Southern Miss – Graduate Assistant


 
Former standout collegiate quarterback Longshore is one of two holdovers from the previous staff to be members of the 2023 Rebels. He joined UNLV in January 2020 as the program's first-ever offensive analyst and was named tight ends coach prior to the 2021 season. During his first year in Las Vegas, he was responsible for optimizing learning systems within the program, assisting with game plan development and using analytics to create favorable strategic advantages in all phases of the game. Additionally, Longshore was activated as a countable coach and put on the road during the 2020 recruiting campaign, contributing to the new staff's signing of one of the top-ranked classes in UNLV history. Prior to joining the Rebels, Longshore was a trailblazer in the emerging trend of utilizing technology in sport. As the Head of Football with Eon Sports, Longshore led the team responsible for developing and implementing knowledge transfer technology within multiple NFL franchises. From 2010-14 Longshore coached at Santa Margarita (CA) Catholic High School in many capacities, ultimately as assistant head coach, for a team that was ranked as high as No. 1 in the country. He also served as the offensive coordinator for St. Margaret's Episcopal in California and Faith Lutheran in Las Vegas. Longshore played quarterback at the University of California where he was a four-year starter and led the Golden Bears to a share of the Pac-10 Conference Championship in 2006, earning Holiday Bowl MVP that season. Longshore and his wife Rachelle, have one daughter, Kailey.
 
LONGSHORE'S COACHING FILE
2021-PR            UNLV – Tight Ends
2020                 UNLV – Offensive Analyst
2019                 Faith Lutheran (NV) HS – Offensive Coordinator
2018                 St. Margaret's Episcopal (CA) HS – Offensive Coordinator
2010-2014        Santa Margarita Catholic (CA) HS – Assistant Head Coach


 
Magazu just completed his third season coaching in the Rebel defensive secondary. In 2022, his safeties helped UNLV finish 10th in the nation during the regular season with 15 total interceptions, which was the most for the program since 2012. He also tutored Jonathan Baldwin, who won Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week after the season-ending victory over UNR. Magazu came to Las Vegas in 2020 after spending the previous two seasons at Oklahoma where he helped coach the Sooner secondary as a graduate assistant. In his two seasons in Norman, the Sooners twice won the Big 12 Championship, extending their streak to five straight conference titles, and made back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff. Prior to Oklahoma, Magazu was a defensive GA at his alma mater, East Carolina, where he was a standout defensive back. His distinguished playing career, which began in 2010, included appearances in 50 games, 37 starts, 265 tackles and 11 interceptions. He was a two-time All-Conference USA selection who earned the program's defensive player-of-the-year award in 2013, was a Rock Roggeman Heart-of-the-Pirate Award honoree and recipient of the 2014 National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Bill Dooley Chapter Outstanding Scholar Athlete Award. Magazu graduated from ECU in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
 
MAGAZU'S COACHING FILE
2020-PR            UNLV – Safeties
2018-19             Oklahoma – Graduate Assistant
2016-17             East Carolina – Graduate Assistant
 
Now through March 31, 2023, renewal pricing, which starts at $125 per season ticket, is available and includes the option of using payment plans until the deadline. All football season ticket holders renewing before March 31 will pay a lower price than new season ticket holders.
 
New season tickets are also now on sale. The six-game slate includes dates with Hawai'i, Colorado State and Vanderbilt, which will be the first Southeastern Conference team to play at UNLV during the regular season. Call (702) 739-FANS or visit unlvtickets.com.