STATESBORO - Georgia Southern head football coach Chad Lunsford announced Wednesday the hiring of two new additions to his football support staff. Danny Payne will serve as the new Director of Player Personnel while Matt Transue will serve as the Director of Football Operations.

"We're fired up to be able to get Danny and Matt in here to be integral parts of our program," Lunsford said. "Both of them have substantial experience at big-time programs and I'm confident they'll be able to hit the ground running to be able to impact our program quickly. These are the types of hires that will take us to the next level."

Payne, who is no stranger to the talent-rich area of Georgia, will work with head coach Chad Lunsford and recruiting coordinator Victor Cabral in several areas pertaining to recruiting, including the coordination of the recruit evaluation procedure, prospect identification and evaluations and the assistance with on-campus recruiting. He will also oversee the communication and building of relationships with high school coaches and continue to build the database of GS alumni that are high school coaches and/or high school administrators.

Payne comes to Statesboro after four years at Army West Point as the Director of Scouting. There, he was responsible for identifying prospective cadet-athletes and assisting assigned coaches with recruiting duties. Payne also created content for recruiting purposes, while maintaining the gameday analytics as well. He also worked closely with the Director of Football Operations to handle logistics for the team.  While working for the program, the Black Knights competed in three bowl games and also beat Navy three times.

FULL BIO | Follow Danny Payne on Twitter

Transue oversees the daily administrative and operational duties within Georgia Southern's football program, the handling of team travel, and other assorted responsibilities to ensure that the program functions smoothly and efficiently.

Transue comes to Statesboro after five years on the Virginia Tech football staff, serving as the assistant director of football operations and director of pro scouting. There, he was responsible for assisting in the day-to-day operations of the Hokies' operation and recruiting departments. He also supported the planning and execution of team travel, handled all advance travel duties, and was involved in all internal and external operations and communication for the Virginia Tech football program. He also served as the team's pro liaison to the NFL, coordinating all NFL personnel visits and Virginia Tech's annual Pro Day. During his time at Tech, Transue also assisted with academic monitoring, admissions, recruiting visits (unofficial and official), summer camps, database management, graphic design for the program's social media channels and other general duties as assigned.

FULL BIO | Follow Matt Transue on Twitter