The longest tenured coach on staff, Larry Wilson enters his 17th season as wide receivers coach/special teams coordinator in 2021.
Wilson has worked with 26 All-PSAC West wide receivers during his time with the Vulcans and mentored at least one All-PSAC West First-Team selection in 14 of his 15 years with the program (excluding 2020). Additionally, he has developed six All-American wide receivers over the past 13 years and 10 wide receivers have posted 1,000-yard seasons in that span.
On special teams, Wilson has tutored 17 All-PSAC West selections with 10 first-team honorees. He has worked with both an All-American kicker and punter while being responsible for some of the top special team units in the country.
Wilson started his college coaching career in 2005 and worked with a pair of All-PSAC West First-Team wide receivers in Nate Forse and Marcellus Garner. Forse, who was inducted into the Cal U Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, finished his career among the school’s all-time leaders in both receptions and receiving yards. He ranked third in the PSAC with 10 touchdown receptions as a senior, as the Vulcans posted an undefeated regular season and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals.
The Vulcans also featured a pair of All-American specialists in 2007 with punter Jace Amore and kicker Tyler Lorenz, who totaled 117 points and set a single-season school record with 21 field goals.
In 2008, Wilson worked with a pair of All-PSAC West First-Team wide receivers in Marcel Pestano and A.J. Jackson. Pestano led the conference with 80 receptions and 15 touchdown receptions, while becoming the program’s first wide receiver in 25 years to eclipse 1,000 yards. The following year, Jackson was an All-American after setting then-school records of 1,424 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns. Terrance Moore also reached the 1,000-yard milestone in 2009, as the Vulcans advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the third-straight year.
Following consecutive 1,000-yard seasons at Concord, wide receiver Thomas Mayo was a consensus All-American for the Vulcans as a senior in 2011. In his only year with the program, he led the PSAC with 16 touchdown receptions and finished sixth in the country in receiving yards per game. Mike Williams then developed into a two-time All-PSAC West selection and was a D2Football.com All-American as a junior after posting 10 touchdown receptions and over 1,000 receiving yards.
The Vulcans featured a pair of All-PSAC West First-Team specialists in punter Andrew Cerett and kicker Cody Nuzzo in 2014. Cerett ranked among the top 10 in the country in punting as both a junior and senior and earned All-America status in 2014. A four-year kicker, Nuzzo shattered the career school records for kickers and finished second all-time in school history with 294 points on 42 field goals and 168 PAT attempts.
Also in 2014, wide receiver Garry Brown burst on the national scene as a sophomore after ranking sixth in the country with 114.3 receiving yards per game. The Vulcans featured a pair of 1,000-yard wide receivers for just the second time in school history in 2015, as Brown and Kowan Scott reached the milestone.
Brown was one of the elite playmakers in the country as a senior in 2016. He was a consensus First-Team All-American at wide receiver and led the nation with 26 total touchdowns. A national finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, Brown ranked fifth in the country with a school-record 1,475 receiving yards and finished second in the country with over 2,200 all-purpose yards behind nearly 700 combined return yards with three return touchdowns. Brown, who was also selected the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Year as a senior, shattered the all-time school records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
In 2016, Wilson also mentored the development of All-PSAC West First-Team kicker Will Brazill. He ranked fourth in the league with 111 points after making a school-record 78 PAT attempts and 11 field goals. Brazill was selected a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Second-Team Academic All-American in his first year eligible for the award.
The following year, Brazill repeated as an Academic All-American and was a national finalist for the Fred Mitchell Award which recognizes the top collegiate kicker that also performs community service during the offseason. He became only the second kicker in school history to convert at least 20 field goals in a season and closed his career ranked fourth in school history with 282 points. Wilson also mentored a pair of senior wide receivers that combined for over 2,000 yards and 140-plus receptions.
Recently, Wilson has aided in the development of two-time, All-PSAC West First-Team wide receiver Tyson Hill. He has totaled over 1,800 receiving yards with 13 touchdowns in his last two seasons after making just eight catches as a redshirt freshman. Hill teamed with Jordan Dandridge to become a prolific tandem at wide receiver, as Dandridge earned All-PSAC West status as both a junior and senior following a combined 12 touchdowns and 1,300-plus yards.
Wilson served as the head coach at Frazier High School prior to starting his college coaching career. He was an all-state wide receiver at Frazier before playing three seasons at Slippery Rock, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sports management.
Wilson and his wife Kristin live in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, with their sons, Cooper and Camden.
