March 29, 2007

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette head football coach Frank Tavani has announced two staff changes as he puts together his coaching staff for the 2007 season.

Linebackers coach Matt Hachmann has been promoted to Recruiting Coordinator, replacing his previous position as Special Teams Coordinator. The Leopards will handle special teams responsibilities by assignment this year, with Hachmann handling the punt coverage team, Al Holcomb overseeing the kickoff and punt return teams, and Joe Dougherty coordinating the kick return team.

"Coach Hachmann has been a great asset for our program, and is one of the coaches who has been with me the entire time since we took over the program seven years ago," Tavani said. "He has demonstrated an outstanding ability to recruit and has taken control of our CyberSports initiative as we move our recruiting process to the next level.

Additionally, Jonathan Carvin will replace J.P. McFeeley as the Defensive Assistant. McFeeley recently accepted a position to coach defensive backs at Thiel College after spending two years on the coaching staff at Lafayette.

Carvin comes to Lafayette from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. where he was a defensive intern for the past two seasons, coaching outside linebackers in 2005 and defensive ends in 2006. He also assisted with special teams game planning and coordination and served as the strength and conditioning coach. Carvin was also a volunteer assistant coach at Lauren's First and Goal Camp last June.

A 2004 graduate of the University at Albany, Carvin was a two-year starter at outside linebacker on Northeast Conference championship teams in 2002 and 2003. He was a student assistant at Albany during the fall 2004 semester as he finished his degree in Geography with a minor in Business.

"We had a pool of several strong candidates to fill this very demanding position and Jonathan distinguished himself from the rest of the field with his impressive playing and coaching experience," Tavani said. "He'll assist defensive coordinator John Loose with coaching the defensive backs and will join us on Monday."

Lafayette will continue spring practice on Thursday night from 8-10 p.m. and again on Saturday morning from 6-8 a.m. to work around academic commitments. The practice originally scheduled for Friday afternoon was moved to allow the Leopards to attend a presentation by Erik Weihenmayer at 4 p.m. at Colton Chapel.