6/14/2003 - Football
Grantham And Culton Added To Football Coaching Staff
ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Navy head football coach Paul Johnson announced Saturday that Tony Grantham and Chris Culton have joined his coaching staff. Grantham will assist Dale Pehrson with the defensive line, while Culton will work with Ivin Jasper coaching the quarterbacks and fullbacks.
"I am pleased to have Tony and Chris join our staff," said Johnson. "Chris has coached with me before at Georgia Southern, while Tony was highly recommended by Nick Saban at LSU."
Grantham was a graduate assistant at LSU for the past two years. While in Baton Rouge, Grantham spent one year working with the offensive side of the ball and one year with the defense.
Grantham worked with the offense in 2001 and the Tigers went 10-3 and won the SEC Championship. LSU blew out Illinois in the Sugar Bowl and ended up ranked seventh in the nation.
Last year, when Grantham worked on the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers were Co-SEC Western Division Champions and participated in the Cotton Bowl. LSU, which finished 8-5, was ranked fifth nationally in total defense.
Before going to LSU, Grantham was a part-time coach at Eastern Illinois, where he was part of a staff that led the Panthers to an 8-4 record and an appearance in the I-AA playoffs. Grantham coached outside linebackers and assisted with the special teams.
Grantham has also coached at the prep level, serving as an assistant coach at Christianburg High School in Virginia (1995-96 and 1998-99). He is a 2000 graduate of Radford where he received his degree in physical education.
Culton comes to the Naval Academy from Rhode Island where he coached the offensive line for one year.
He is a 2001 graduate of Georgia Southern where he was a student-assistant coach for four years after suffering a severe neck injury during spring practice of his freshman year that ended his playing career.
Culton worked with the defensive line in 1997, helped with the offensive line in 1998 and 1999, and assisted with the fullbacks in 2000. His efforts helped the Eagles to national championships in 1999 and 2000.
Culton was a first-team all-state defensive tackle at Tallahassee's North Florida Christian High School where he led NFC in his senior year ('95) with 131 tackles and 33 tackles for a loss as his team made it to the AA State title game.
Navy will open the 2003 season on Aug. 30 when the Mids play host to VMI at 1:30 p.m. Season tickets are currently on sale at the Naval Academy box office in Ricketts Hall or by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY.
