Commerce, Texas

Texas A&M University-Commerce head football coach Scotty Conley recently announced the hiring of Kevin Barbay as the quarterbacks/wide receivers coach and Randy Wilkins as the defensive line coach as well as the promotion of Jamie Critchlow to offensive coordinator.

Barbay begins his first season as Texas A&M University-Commerce as the quarterbacks/wide receivers coach after spending the last two years at Baylor University. He spent the 2006 season working the Bears defensive side ball and in 2005 he was involved with the offensive staff, handling multiple responsibilities. He also did an internship with the strength and conditioning department prior to getting involved with the football team. He spent nearly three years as an assistant coach at Kelly Catholic High School in Beaumont, Texas. As an assistant coach, he worked as the passing game coordinator and receivers coach. He was the offensive coordinator for the junior varsity teams and head coach of the freshman basketball team. During his playing days, at Nederland High School, he played on teams that reached three-straight state quarterfinals and earned all-district and honorable mention all-state honors. After high school, he went on to play for Doug Williams at Grambling University for one season, where they were the 2002 SWAC and Black College national champions and he spent his last three years at Lamar University in Beaumont. Barbay is married to the former Kacie Wilcox of Port Neches, who is a recent graduate of Baylor University Law School.

Wilkins comes to A&M-Commerce after being a graduate assistant at Troy University for the last two years. Wilkins has spent the last two years as a graduate assistant at Troy University. The Jacksonville, Florida native coached the defensive front for the Trojans in the 41-17 New Orleans Bowl victory over Rice after the defensive line coach left for another position at the end of the 2006 season. As the graduate assistant during the season, he coached the defensive ends for a unit that tied for 16th in the country in sacks and tied for 25th in tackles for a loss. Wilkins was also involved in the scouting and film breakdowns of the upcoming opponent. He played collegiately at Florida State University, where he worked his way into the defensive line rotation from a walk-on position to a scholarship prior to his junior season. He was a member of five bowl teams, including four national championship games. He saw action both as a defensive end and as a nose guard while serving as a crucial backup to an eventual All-American and playing on special teams units as a three-year letterwinner. He graduated from Florida State University with a double major in business management and marketing. He most recently completed his master's degree at Troy University in sport and fitness management.

Critchlow has made an impact since returning to the Lions football program prior to the start of spring practice. He will begin his first season as the offensive coordinator when the Lions start practice on Tuesday. Prior to returning to A&M-Commerce, he spent the last two seasons as the head coach at Tyler Junior College.

Fall practice for the Lions will get underway on Thursday at 2:30 pm at Memorial Stadium. A complete list of practice times are available on the official website for Lion athletics - www.lionathletics.com and are subject to change.