Kenny Ray
Assistant Coach (Offensive Line)
BIRTHDATE: December 26, 1971
HOMETOWN: Birmingham, Ala.
EDUCATION: B.S., Southern Mississippi, 1995 (Business Administration)
COACHING: Assistant Coach, Samford, 1998-99
Assistant Coach, Louisiana Monroe, 1999-03
Assistant Coach, Graceland, 2004-06
Offensive Coordinator, North Carolina A&T, 2006-08
Assistant Coach, Alabama State, 2009
Assistant Coach, Howard, 2010
Assistant Coach, Tennessee State, 2011-12
Offensive Coordinator, North Greenville, 2012-13
Assistant Head Coach, Gardner-Webb, 2013-20
Assistant Head Coach, Fort Valley State, 2020-25
Offensive Coordinator, Miles, 2025-26
Assistant Coach, Hampton, 2026-present
Kenny Ray begins his first season at Hampton after working at Miles as offensive coordinator/running backs coach. With the Pirates, he will serve as offensive line coach.
Prior to his time at Miles, he spent the five seasons as the offensive line/run game coordinator/associate head coach at Fort Valley State. During his tenure, Ray's offensive line played a pivotal role in the team's success, paving the way for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (SIAC) top rushers, including current Green Bay Packer Emanuel Wilson and standout Brandon Marshall. Under Ray's leadership, the 2024 offensive line allowed the fewest sacks in the SIAC.
Before Fort Valley State, Ray mentored numerous Gardner-Webb student-athletes, including four-year starter and 2019 graduate, Will Millikan, who earned All-Big South Conference first-team honors in 2018. Gardner-Webb topped the 400-yard mark in total offense three times that season with three different running backs posting at least one game with 100+ yards on the ground.
The Gardner-Webb offensive line cleared the way for a pair of 900-yard rushers for the first time in school history. They also allowed Tyrell Maxwell to move into second on the all-time rushing list. Maxwell earned Big South Conference Offensive Player of the Year and All-America honors as a result. Offensive linemen David Sutton and Caleb Smith earned all-conference honors.
Ray’s group cleared a path for a much-improved rushing attack in 2015, which helped Maxwell set a school record for quarterback rushing yardage in a season – a record he broke one year later. Gardner-Webb also reduced its sacks allowed from the previous season – a 60 percent improvement.
In his first season with the program, he helped the Runnin’ Bulldogs produce just the third 1,000-yard rusher since 2000 and saw his line play a key role with Kenny Cook becoming the first 1,000-yard receiver at Gardner-Webb since 1992. With Lucas Beatty topping 2,000 yards through the air, Gardner-Webb was one of only five FCS programs with a 2,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver.
A former college center himself at Southern Mississippi, Ray joined the Gardner-Webb staff after one season at North Greenville, where he served as offensive coordinator/offensive line coach in 2012. While there, he helped mold the Crusaders into a successful group by season’s end with five wins over the final six games – and four wins in a row to close out the campaign.
Prior to his time at North Greenville, Ray coached the 2011 season at Tennessee State, mentoring the tackles and tight ends. Tennessee State won four more league games in the Ohio Valley Conference than the previous season, and ranked in the top-35 nationally in four major offensive categories as a team.
Ray has major Division I FCS experience with 16 seasons combined at Division I FCS programs at Tennessee State, Howard, Alabama State, North Carolina A&T and Samford. He also coached in the FBS ranks from 1999-2003 at Louisiana-Monroe.
He spent time as offensive coordinator at North Carolina A&T and his line cleared a path for running back Michael Ferguson to finish his career with 2,524 yards and 27 touchdowns – including a 1,000-yard season in 2007. Ferguson finished as the sixth-leading rusher in school history.
Ray’s first taste of coordinator duties came at Graceland (Iowa), where he served from 2004-2005. During his time calling plays for the Yellow Jackets, the team posted a 17-5 record and advanced to the 2005 NAIA Playoffs. The program’s 2005 Heartland of America Athletic Conference title was its first since 1975, and the playoff appearance was the first in school history. Offensive lineman Rufus Williams earned NAIA All-American second-team honors in 2005 while quarterback Clayton Braddock and receiver Anthony Ferguson earned honorable mention All-America honors.
Williams, Braddock, and Ferguson led a group of seven all-conference selections for the Yellow Jacket offense in 2005. The Yellow Jackets averaged an impressive 430.3 yards total offense per game and ranked eighth nationally and ranked in the top-10 in fewest sacks allowed (0.8 per game), pass efficiency (146.20 rating) and third down conversions (44.3 percent). Graceland also excelled offensively in 2004, ranking No. 2 nationally with 456.4 yards per game and No. 9 with 32.9 points per contest.
Ray started his coaching career at Samford, where he coached tight ends.
As a player, Ray was a three-year starter from 1990-1994 at Southern Mississippi, where he helped the Golden Eagles to a pair of winning seasons. In 1994, the Eagles defeated LSU 20-18 on the road in his final college game. Ray was a teammate of future NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre. In 1995, he graduated from Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
He and his wife, Dr. KaShanda Smith Ray, have two sons, Keenan and Kendall. Keenan a graduate student at Clemson and Kendall is an 11th grader at Northside High School and a member of MGA Cheer Extreme. A native of Birmingham, Ala., Ray is the son of a high school coach and administrator.
