Grambling’s football program has reached back into its most successful season under coach Broderick Fobbs by naming Erich Rhodes as the new cornerbacks coach.
According to a GSUTIgers.com announcement late Tuesday night, Rhodes returns to Grambling after five years away. He was on staff at Chowan University where he coached defensive backs.
He was a part of the GSU football program in 2016 where he served as a graduate assistant coach for defensive backs. Rhodes helped the Tigers to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship as the G-Men ranked in the NCAA FCS top 10 in scoring defense and total defense.
That team captured the 2016 Air Force Reserves Celebration Bowl Championship, giving Fobbs’ program the HBCU national championship. Rhodes also prepared and organized the team’s defensive playbook, assisted in breaking down weekly film, and assisted strength coach with speed and weight training among other duties.
Prior to returning to GSU, Rhodes spent his last four years at Chowan University where he led the defensive backs to the third-best interception mark in the NAIA Division II Central Independent Athletic Association in 2018. He helped develop the program’s first ever all-conference first team selection George Parker as a defensive back along with Connor O’Brien and Jamal Hampton who both earned All-CIAA freshman honors.
Rhodes spent two seasons at Louisville (Ky.) Butler Traditional High School as an assistant coach mentoring the secondary, running backs, and special teams.
Rhodes was a defensive back at Kentucky Wesleyan and was named All-Great Lakes Football Conference honorable mention during his junior and senior seasons (2010, 2011). He was on the Football Leadership Council for the Panthers.
The Louisville native graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in sports and fitness management and a minor in business administration. Rhodes received his master’s degree from Grambling in 2016 in sports administration.
