Byron Douglas Thweatt
Born on March 21, 1977 in Petersburg, VA
High school. Thweatt is a Chesterfield County native and attended Matoaca High School, where he was a high school All-American as a RB and DE. Referencing his close local ties, he said “This is my community; this is my family.”
1997-2000. Thweatt was a four-year letterman and two-time captain at UVA. He started 47 games in 4 years, a then school-record for linebackers. As a senior he recorded 125 tackles (which at one time was tied for 6th in school history) and was a four-time All-ACC selection, an Honorable Mention All-America by Football News, and was a finalist for the Bill Dudley Award. His 387 career tackles (246 solo) was 3rd in school history at one time. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Virginia in 2000.
2001-2005(?). He made appearances in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001) and the Tennessee Titans in 2001 and 2002 and played in NFL Europe.
2006 -- Graduate assistant at UVA.
2007-2014 -- Linebackers Coach at Richmond. Recruiting coordinator for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, before returning to the defensive side to coach the linebackers. In both 2012 and 2013, two UR linebackers were named All-CAA under Thweatt. He was UR's Director of High School Relations in 2014. He also coached the DL, TEs and special teams. In all, Richmond posted a 67-35 record during his stay, which included three 10-plus win seasons, four FCS playoff appearances and the 2008 National Championship. In 2013 he participated in the prestigious NFL Bill Walsh Minority Internship with the Redskins.
2015 -- Head Coach at Virginia State University. VSU Athletic Director Peggy Davis said Thweatt impressed the school’s search committee with more than his football knowledge. “He’s part of VSU,” she said. “We chose Byron because of his character and his leadership skills.” The team went 6-4 (4-3), finishing in third-place in the CIAA's Northern Division.
2016-2017 -- Thweatt spent two years as linebackers coach at JMU where he helped the Dukes advance to two FCS title games, a national championship in 2016, two CAA crowns, and a 28-2 combined record. In his first season with JMU, he played a key role in JMU’s defensive turnaround in 2016 as the Dukes ranked 8th nationally in turnover margin (+1.13), 17th in scoring defense (21.2 ppg) and #30 in total defense (344.3 ypg). In 2017, JMU led all of FCS in four different categories -- scoring defense (11.1 ppg), interceptions (31), takeaways (44) and pass efficiency defense (83.12), while ranked third nationally in total defense (252.0 ypg), turnover margin (+1.47) and defensive TDs (5). In all, coached three All-CAA selections, including All-America Kyre Hawkins at JMU. You can hear him talk in an interview before JMU's 2nd championships game vs North Dakota State: https://soundcloud.com/va-talk-radio-network/s2-jmu-ilb-coach-and-former-uva-lb-byron-thweatt. He mentions hard work, academics, and doing things the right way at JMU. He values physical football -- run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense. References Coach George Welsh and playing mistake-free football.
2018 -- Linebackers Coach at Marshall, helping the Herd to a 9-4 record, including a win over USF in the Bad Boy Gasparilla Bowl. Marshall’s defense was ranking among the Top 20 nationally in seven statistical categories -- sacks (7th at 3.17 per game), rush defense (10th at 105.3 ypg), 3rd down defense (15th at 32.1%), defensive TDs (16th with 3), fumbles recovered (17th with 11), 4th down defense (19th at 40.9%) and turnovers gained (20th with 23).
2019 -- Linebackers Coach at ECU; Assistant Coach (Inside Linebackers). Officially named to the Pirates’ staff as inside linebackers coach on Dec. 21, 2018. ECU HC Mike Houston: “We are all excited to have Byron back with us and complete our staff. He is someone I know well and place great trust in both his football IQ and in the manner he relates to young men. Byron is an exceptional fit for our program at ECU and will impact many people, both on and off the field.”
Thweatt and his wife, Mieya, have three daughters, Brianna, Bryce and Bralyn.
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Sources:
https://twitter.com/Thweattster32
https://twitter.com/Thweattster32/status/1227260023799152640
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/byron-thweatt-1.html
https://247sports.com/Coach/Byron-Thweatt-4235/
https://govsutrojans.com/sports/tfb/roster/coaches/byron-thweatt/231
https://www.richmond.com/sports/college/article_7016e99d-3c19-5efe-a554-d150723fde5b.html
https://ecupirates.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/byron-thweatt/3444
https://eastcarolina.rivals.com/news/byron-threatt-named-as-the-new-linebackers-coach-at-ecu
https://www.witn.com/content/sports/ECU-football-names-Thweatt-as-new-inside-linebackers-coach-503350821.html
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