Andre Crenshaw Named New Running Backs Coach; Taylor Reed Moved To Tight Ends Coach
1/17/2026 1:50:00 PM | Football
New Hire has a decade of experience coaching backs
STATESBORO - Andre Crenshaw has been named the new running backs coach of the Georgia Southern football program, as announced Saturday by head coach Clay Helton. With the hire, Taylor Reed will move to coach the tight ends.
"I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to join the coaching staff at Georgia Southern," Crenshaw said. "I want to thank Coach Helton and Coach Aplin for trusting me with this role. Georgia Southern has a proud tradition and a standard of excellence, and I'm excited to get to work. My focus is on doing everything possible to help bring championships back to Statesboro. GATA!
"Andre Crenshaw is an outstanding addition to our football program," said head coach Clay Helton. "He has over a decade of experience coaching running backs and has done it at a high level, from winning an FCS national championship to helping build explosive offenses at Western Kentucky and Coastal Carolina. Andre understands what it takes to develop complete players on and off the field, and we're confident he'll have an immediate impact on our running back room and our overall offense. We're also excited to be able to move Taylor Reed and the knowledge and experience he brings to our offense to our tight ends room. That group plays a pivotal role in our offense and I'm excited to see the impact Taylor will have on them."
Crenshaw comes to Statesboro after a year as the running backs coach at fellow Sun Belt member Coastal Carolina. He spent the prior two seasons coaching the backs at high-powered Western Kentucky. WKU averaged over 100 yards per game on the ground in 2024 (109.3) and scored 14 rushing touchdowns. Elijah Young ran for over 800 yards and scored three times and also had 384 yards receiving out of the backfield with two scores. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs after his playing days with the Hilltoppers were done.
In 2023, Crenshaw helped the Hilltoppers to one of the top-producing offenses in Conference USA. WKU finished the year second in the league in scoring with 30.5 points per game, and the Hilltoppers' 50 offensive touchdowns in 2023 ranked second in CUSA.
Crenshaw came to WKU from South Dakota State where he served as running backs coach during the team's run to winning the 2022 FCS National Championship. He spent two seasons with the Jackrabbits, leading one of the best running backs rooms in the country. In his first season with SDSU, he mentored Pierre Strong Jr., who led the FCS in rushing with 1,686 yards. Strong went on to be selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. During the national championship season, Crenshaw's star pupil was Isaiah Davis, who produced 1,451 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. He went on to be drafted by the New York Jets.
Before arriving in South Dakota, Crenshaw coached running backs at Southeast Missouri State during the pandemic-shortened season. Despite playing only eight games that year, Crenshaw helped running back Geno Hess gain 708 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns.
Crenshaw began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Dakota Wesleyan before moving on to Morehead State for two seasons and spending the 2017 campaign at Tennessee Tech. In 2018, he moved to Missouri Western where he helped the Griffins average 219.5 rushing yards per game, ranking among the top-25 of all Division II programs that season.
A native of Lancaster, California, Crenshaw attended the University of Oregon from 2006-09 where he played running back and earned his bachelor's degree in sociology. He later earned a master's degree in educational policy and administration from Dakota Wesleyan in 2015.
He and his wife, Ashley, have two sons, Kalin and Zaylin, and a daughter, Kortlyn.
The hiring is contingent on a successful background check.
"I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to join the coaching staff at Georgia Southern," Crenshaw said. "I want to thank Coach Helton and Coach Aplin for trusting me with this role. Georgia Southern has a proud tradition and a standard of excellence, and I'm excited to get to work. My focus is on doing everything possible to help bring championships back to Statesboro. GATA!
"Andre Crenshaw is an outstanding addition to our football program," said head coach Clay Helton. "He has over a decade of experience coaching running backs and has done it at a high level, from winning an FCS national championship to helping build explosive offenses at Western Kentucky and Coastal Carolina. Andre understands what it takes to develop complete players on and off the field, and we're confident he'll have an immediate impact on our running back room and our overall offense. We're also excited to be able to move Taylor Reed and the knowledge and experience he brings to our offense to our tight ends room. That group plays a pivotal role in our offense and I'm excited to see the impact Taylor will have on them."
Crenshaw comes to Statesboro after a year as the running backs coach at fellow Sun Belt member Coastal Carolina. He spent the prior two seasons coaching the backs at high-powered Western Kentucky. WKU averaged over 100 yards per game on the ground in 2024 (109.3) and scored 14 rushing touchdowns. Elijah Young ran for over 800 yards and scored three times and also had 384 yards receiving out of the backfield with two scores. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs after his playing days with the Hilltoppers were done.
In 2023, Crenshaw helped the Hilltoppers to one of the top-producing offenses in Conference USA. WKU finished the year second in the league in scoring with 30.5 points per game, and the Hilltoppers' 50 offensive touchdowns in 2023 ranked second in CUSA.
Crenshaw came to WKU from South Dakota State where he served as running backs coach during the team's run to winning the 2022 FCS National Championship. He spent two seasons with the Jackrabbits, leading one of the best running backs rooms in the country. In his first season with SDSU, he mentored Pierre Strong Jr., who led the FCS in rushing with 1,686 yards. Strong went on to be selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. During the national championship season, Crenshaw's star pupil was Isaiah Davis, who produced 1,451 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. He went on to be drafted by the New York Jets.
Before arriving in South Dakota, Crenshaw coached running backs at Southeast Missouri State during the pandemic-shortened season. Despite playing only eight games that year, Crenshaw helped running back Geno Hess gain 708 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns.
Crenshaw began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Dakota Wesleyan before moving on to Morehead State for two seasons and spending the 2017 campaign at Tennessee Tech. In 2018, he moved to Missouri Western where he helped the Griffins average 219.5 rushing yards per game, ranking among the top-25 of all Division II programs that season.
A native of Lancaster, California, Crenshaw attended the University of Oregon from 2006-09 where he played running back and earned his bachelor's degree in sociology. He later earned a master's degree in educational policy and administration from Dakota Wesleyan in 2015.
He and his wife, Ashley, have two sons, Kalin and Zaylin, and a daughter, Kortlyn.
The hiring is contingent on a successful background check.
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