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Football Makes Changes to Coaching Staff
March 23, 2006 ORONO, Maine - University of Maine head football coach Jack Cosgrove announced on Thursday two changes to his coaching staff, as Robb Smith was promoted to defensive coordinator and former wideout Dwayne Wilmot was hired as the defensive line coach. Smith has been with Maine the previous four seasons, serving as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach in 2005. The "Black Hole" defense turned in a solid campaign in 2005, as it finished 27th nationally in total defense. Smith spent the first three seasons in the program as the defensive backs coach. Wilmot comes to Orono after spending the previous two seasons on the coaching staff at Tennessee-Martin. While at UT-Martin, Wilmot served as the recruiting coordinator and recently coached the safeties and outside linebackers. "We're very excited about the promotion of Robb and the addition of Dwayne to our coaching staff," Cosgrove said. "Robb has a veteran presence on our staff and has a great working knowledge of our defense and personnel. It's always great to have former players return to coach on our staff and I'm thrilled that Dwayne is here. He has a tremendous working knowledge about the University of Maine and will be a great ambassador for our program." In his first four seasons on the Black Bears staff, Smith has mentored three players who have been named to the All-Atlantic 10 First-Team and one who has earned All-America status. In addition, the leading tackler each of the last two seasons has come from the position he has coached. Smith tutored linebacker Jermaine Walker last season, as the senior co-captain was named to the conference's first-team, while finishing fifth in the conference and 23rd nationally in tackles per game at 10.36. Walker led the squad in tackles with 114. In the 2004 season, Smith worked with Brandon McGowan who was named a third-team All-American and first-team All-Conference after he led the team in tackles with 101. McGowan was a starter in several games for the 2005 NFC North Champion Chicago Bears last season. Smith also coached Dave Cusano, who was named to the 2002 All-Atlantic 10 First-Team as a defensive back. Before joining the staff at Maine, Smith worked as the quality control/defensive graduate assistant at the University of Iowa from 1999-2001. He was with the 2001 Hawkeye squad that defeated Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl and served as a stepping stone to its berth in the Bowl Championship Series and an appearance in the Orange Bowl the following season. Iowa's defense was ranked second in the Big Ten Conference in 2001. Wilmot brings a tremendous amount of experience in planning and recruiting to the Maine staff. In addition to serving as the recruiting coordinator at UT-Martin the last two years, he has also coached safeties, outside linebackers, defensive backs and wide receivers. Wilmot coached the safeties during the 2005 season, as UT-Martin finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference in pass defense by limiting opponents to an average of only 166.1 yards passing per game. The Skyhawks led the OVC in total defense and finished third in turnover margin. He also tutored Jack Greenwood, who finished tied for seventh in the conference with three interceptions. He served as the defensive backs coach during the 2004 season and worked with Rayvon Sims, who went on finish tied for third in the conference in 2005 in interceptions with four. As the recruiting coordinator, Wilmot was responsible for planning recruiting weekends, which included arranging meetings with coaches, parents and prospective student-athletes. He also organized host players for prospective recruits and managing football facilities for presentation during visits.
Wilmot is a 2001 graduate of the University of Maine. He was a four-year letterwinner who was elected captain during his senior season. Wilmot ranks in the top 10 all-time in program history in receptions (169) and receiving yards (1,981). After his playing career at Maine, Wilmot signed a free-agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts in 2001 and remained with the team through both mini-camp and training camp. He played for the Charleston SwampFoxes of the AF2 in 2002 and led the team in receptions (80), yards (1,100) and touchdowns (20).
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