Josh Conklin is adding a veteran presence with extensive Power 5 coaching experience as he works to rebound at Wofford.
Sources tell FootballScoop that Conklin will add Shawn Watson, a coach with 40 years’ experience in college football, to the Terriers’ staff as offensive coordinator. Watson, per sources, also is expected to have an additional title along the lines of assistant head coach.
For Conklin, it’s a bold hire to run the Terriers’ offense in a new direction after the team had co-coordinators during the 2021 campaign on the heels of Wade Lang’s mid-summer retirement last year.
Watson has coached in each of the Power 5 conferences across his career, which also includes a three-year head coaching run at his alma mater, Southern Illinois.
Watson spent the 2021 season as an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa, after a stop the previous year on Kirby Smart’s Georgia staff. Watson also has been the chief play-caller at Colorado, Nebraska, Texas and Pittsburgh, where his path crossed with Conklin on the staff of Panthers’ coach Pat Narduzzi.
Watson also served as Charlie Strong’s offensive coordinator at Louisville, in addition to his time with Strong at Texas, and the duo helped lead Louisville to a Sugar Bowl win against Florida – a contest that ultimately helped propel Strong to the head coaching position at Texas.
Wofford has made a pair of Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs appearances in Conklin’s three full seasons atop the program, after he was hired away from Pittsburgh where he had served as defensive coordinator.
The Terriers have their usual Southern Conference slate in 2022, but they also have a pair of intriguing games outside of league action; they visit Virginia Tech, led by new head coach Brent Pry, Sept. 17, and a week later travel to Kennesaw State in a rematch of the two teams’ 2019 playoff contest.