UF has ‘pulse’ on FHSAA landscape with five former head coaches on staff
When Billy Napier’s army assembled Sunday for the 2022 team photo, a handful of UF staff members posed together in a separate picture.
Director of football logistics Ashour Peera, defensive analyst Jamar Chaney and quality control coaches Benedick Hyppolite and Kareem Reid and Yusuf Shakir gathered for a group shot on Steve Spurrier-Florida Field.
All five are former FHSAA head coaches now on the football staff at UF. Napier spoke Wednesday about having them as part of his program.
“I think it’s a big part of what we do, is having a pulse for that landscape,” Napier said. “What is that like? What are things they run into? How can we be a resource for high school coaches in this state? What things do we need to do behind the scenes to help? There’s a lot of area where we’ve heard opinions about things that can be improved within the state for high school coaches.
“So, I think that that’s pretty common strategy. But I also think that we’ve got really good people in those roles, and we hope to continue to do that. Some of the rules slow that down to some degree, but we found some different avenues there that have given us opportunity to hire some of those guys. So, I think it’s a positive, we’ll continue to use that in the future.”
Peera coached at both the collegiate and high school levels prior to assuming off-the-field duties, including serving as the head coach at East Ridge.
He now works directly with Shakir, who led Tallahassee Lincoln to a Class4A state title in 2010 and was also the head coach at Manatee and Gibbs High School.
Reid served as head football coach and assistant athletic director for Coconut Creek High School from 2013-16. He also led Westlake High School in Atlanta (2016-19) to win three consecutive GHSA Region 2-7A championships.
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Hyppolite has head coaching experience as both the head coach for Hallandale High School (2016) and Miami Carol City High School from 2017-2019.
Chaney was the head coach of his alma mater, St. Louice West Centennial High School, in 2018. He led the program to a 11-8-1 and its first playoff appearance in seven years.
When Peera met with the UF media in the spring, he shared his thoughts on the high school landscape in Florida.
“If I was not doing this, I don’t think I would go to any other level or any other place other than back to high school. I enjoyed it. I loved it,” Peera said. “I think it’s a great experience. I think you learn a lot by being a high school coach because you have to take whatever comes through the door.
“You’ve got to work with whatever you’ve got. You are the administrator. You are the coach. You are the janitor. You’re everything. You’ve got to wear all those hats. I think that’s why I’m in the position that I’m in is because of those experiences.”
