Coach Mike Norvell announced a pair of promotions to his staff today.

Tony Tokarz has been promoted to tight ends coach. Tokarz coached the Tight Ends in the Birmingham Bowl. He fill the position that was left behind when Will Hall left for Tulane to be the offensive coordinator. Tokarz has spent the last 2 seasons as a graduate assistant on the offensive side of the ball.

"I believe Tony is one of the nation's rising stars in the coaching profession. It has been a joy to watch his development and see the growth and the impact he has made within our offense during his time with the program. He has tremendous experience in developing players and will continue to allow us to keep the tight end position as an integral part of our offense," Norvell said in a statement.

Offensive line coach Ryan Silverfield has been elevated to Deputy Head Coach.

"Ryan Silverfield's leadership has been instrumental in the success we've had as a program not only with our o-line, but also with assistance of implementing our values throughout our team. Coach Silverfield has done a great job developing one of the nation's best offensive lines and we are excited about him continuing to set a high standard within our offensive attack," Norvell said in a statement.

Silverfield is a rising star in the college ranks. He's been one of the best and most dependable recruiters in the Norvell era and will no doubt be a head coach sooner rather than later.