Big Ten school hires Gators strength coach Edward Thompson Jr.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Another member of Florida’s strength staff has left the program. Edward Thompson Jr., one of two strength and conditioning assistants for UF, was hired this week by Washington.
Thompson was announced as the Huskies’ director of speed and athletic performance. He had served as a speed coach with the Gators for the past two and a half years under coach Billy Napier.
Thompson is the latest shakeup to a Florida strength and conditioning program that underwent several changes this offseason, some by design and others as a result of staffers being hired away.
Napier reassigned head strength coach Mark Hocke to a front-office role as director of player relations, hiring Craig Fitzgerald from the New York Giants as director of football performance.
But after five weeks, Fitzgerald left for Boston College to reunite with Bill O’Brien and took two UF strength coaches: Karmichael Dunbar II and Tevin Geddis, who came with Fitzgerald from the Giants.
Napier promoted director of player athletic development Tyler Miles, who was mentored by Fitzgerald at Tennessee, to director of football strength and conditioning. Miles was one of a handful of new hires.
Napier brought in associate director of player performance Jesse Ackerman, director of football nutrition and assistant strength & conditioning coach Jake Sankal, director of player athletic development Rodney Hill and assistant director for player athletic development Reed Roberts.
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Napier also decided to part ways with Tiger Jones, the director of speed improvement and skill development, and Miguel Carodine, a performance and return to play coach. Jones recently joined Alabama’s strength staff.
With Thompson’s departure, assistant director for player athletic development Frank Ogas and strength and conditioning assistant Alex Watkins are the only returning members of Florida’s strength staff from a year ago.
Edward Thompson background
A native of Houston, Thompson joined the Gators after spending the 2021 season as the head assistant strength coach and director of speed development at Louisiana. Thompson, who was a defensive back with the Ragin’ Cajuns from 2014-16, started his strength coaching career at Louisiana in 2017 as an intern. His resume includes stops at Houston, Georgia Tech, Austin Peay State, LSU and the New York Giants.
Thompson is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and is a certified coach by USA Weightlifting, the national governing body for weightlifting in the United States. He is also certified as a speed specialist by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
