DECORAH, IOWA - Luther College head football coach Joe Troche and Athletics Director Renae Hartl announced a new addition to the Norse coaching staff. Khayleb Willis will join Luther football as the Co-Special Teams Coordinator beginning in June 2023.
"I am very excited to join the Luther College football coaching staff" stated Willis. "I believe Luther has the tools and resources available to make this football team one of the best in the region, and I am excited to be part of that process. Luther has all the tools to be a successful football program: a knowledgeable staff, quality student-athletes who are eager to improve and an athletic department that shares the common goal of winning. "
Willis joins Luther after serving as the cornerbacks coach at Tusculum University in Greenville, Tennessee. In his first season with the program in 2022, Willis helped produce one of the best defenses in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC), as the Pioneers led the conference in pass efficiency defense, interceptions, turnovers and defensive touchdowns. That same season, three members of the secondary received All-Conference honors, including defensive backs Jermaine Witherspoon and Andrae Robinson. In addition to game day coaching duties, Willis spearheaded Tusculum's defensive scouting efforts and was specifically in charge of video breakdown for opposing teams' defensive schemes and tendencies.
Prior to his time at Tusculum, Willis also spent time at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota as both a player and coach. The three-time All-Conference running back served as the Oles cornerbacks coach from 2020-2022 and assisted with special teams workouts and recruiting both those seasons. During his playing career, Willis was voted team captain prior to the 2019 season and ranked second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in rushing yards per game, rushes and total rushing yard as a senior. Willis also received the program's Danielson Award for ongoing inspiration and leadership during his four-year playing career.
Willis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Exercise Science from St. Olaf in 2020 and received his Master of Arts in Sports Management from Tusculum this past winter.
