Tremayne Henry has been a highly successful defensive coach at Saint Augustine University for 10 seasons. Recently, he shared some of his football wisdom at the American Football Coaches Association Convention, which was held January, 6-9, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. Henry was the guest speaker during a one-hour session on the fundamentals of defensive line play.

“I talked about how we've been successful and why we've been successful at Saint Augustine's University,” said Henry, the Falcons' defensive coordinator and head recruiting coordinator. “We're always ranked nationally in tackles for loss and sacks.”

Henry has the credentials to talk about defense. During his tenure at St. Aug under Head Coach Michael Costa, the Falcons have produced some of the best defensive teams in the CIAA and NCAA Division II each season. From 2004 to 2010, the Falcons were ranked among the top 25 Division II teams in the nation in total defense including fourth in 2005, second in 2006 and fifth in 2007.

Henry's specialty is the defensive line where he has developed two All-Americans and nine All-CIAA players. The Falcons ranked third nationally in Division II in sacks and 13^th in tackles for loss in 2012.

Henry coached former standout defensive end Alex Hall, who was drafted by the NFL's Cleveland Browns in 2008. His latest star pupil is defensive end Javarous Faulk, who finished the 2012 season tied for second in sacks per game (1.3) in Division II. Faulk, a junior from Macon, Ga., is hearing impaired. He was an All-CIAA first team selection.

Tai Brown, the AFCA director of education, noticed Faulk's ranking and sent word through Costa asking Henry if he could speak at the convention. Henry gladly obliged.

The session drew praise from the defensive line coaches in the audience. Henry's message was straight to the point.

“There's no secret to it (football),” said Henry, a native of Statesville, N.C., and three-time college football letterman at Mars Hill College. “You have to have great players. It's not about the coaches. Great coaches have great players.”

The entire St. Aug full-time football coaching staff were among the 6,000 or so college and high school coaches who attended the AFCA Convention. The staff included offensive coordinator Jermaine Gales, running backs coach Tim Chavous, wide receivers coach Kevin Dial, linebackers coach Demius Frazier, tight ends/special teams coach William Frizzelle, offensive line coach Jimmy Heggins and secondary/cornerbacks coach Chris Parker in addition to Costa and Henry. The convention was beneficial to the coaches, including Henry, who would speak again if asked.

“I enjoyed it,” Henry about his session. “It was a good experience.”