Levern Belin - Assistant Coach - Defensive Line - Football Coaches

Levern Belin

Title:
Assistant Coach - Defensive Line
Email:
rlbelin@liberty.edu

Levern Belin is currently in his fourth coaching stint with Flames head coach Danny Rocco after joining Liberty staff as defensive line coach for the 2009 season. Belin has also coached alongside Rocco at Boston College, Maryland and most recently Virginia.

Belin has helped make an immediate impact at Liberty, one that has resulted in Liberty ranking among the best defensive programs in the country.

In 2009, the Flames finished the season ranked No. 24 in scoring defense (19.09 points allowed per game) and No. 1 in turnover margin (1.91).

Last year, Liberty once again finished No. 24 nationally in scoring defense (20.18), while ranking No. 17 in total defense (309.18 yards allowed per game).

Individually, Belin has instructed some of the brightest talent Liberty has seen on the defensive line in the program’s recent history. 2009 graduate Trey Jacobs signed a free agent contract out of college with the Washington Redskins, while rising senior nose guard Asa Chapman earned All-America honors in 2010.

Prior to his days on Liberty Mountain, Belin spent the previous four years at Virginia. Belin joined the Cavaliers’ coaching in 2005 as a defensive line coach.

After his first year with the Cavaliers, Belin was promoted to defensive assistant/defensive line coach, spotlighted by his coaching of consensus All-America honoree Chris Long. Long was the 2007 Ted Hendricks Award winner as the nation’s top defensive end and was the second overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

In 2007, Virginia ranked No. 23 in the nation in total defense (332.46 yards allowed per game) and No. 16 in scoring defense (19.69 points allowed per game).

During the 2006 campaign, the Cavaliers held their opponents to 289.5 yards per contest, the best figure for Virginia in 27 years. He also coached freshman All-American Jeffrey Fitzgerald.

Prior to his days in Charlottesville, Va., Belin served on the Northern Illinois coaching staff in 2004, as a defensive interior line coach. During his one year with the Huskies, he helped Northern Illinois to a share of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) title and a victory in the Silicon Valley Classic over Troy.

Belin brings both NCAA FBS and FCS coaching experience to the Flames’ coaching staff, as he coached for a year at East Tennessee State (1993) and three years at William & Mary (2001-03).

During his year at East Tennessee State, he served as a linebackers coach for the Buccaneers, while Belin was a linebackers and defensive line coach with the Tribe, helping guide William & Mary to the FCS Playoffs in 2001.

Belin began his college coaching experience as a 1991 graduate assistant at Boston College where he first met Rocco, before moving across town for his first full-time job at Boston University as a defensive line coach in 1992.

During five seasons at Ball State (1994-98), Belin helped instruct one of the top rushing defenses in the Mid-American Conference.

He began his tenure with the Cardinals as an outside linebacker coach, before closing out his stay as a four-year defensive end coach. During the 1997 season, Ball State led the league and ranked No. 34 nationally in fewest yards allowed. While at Ball State, Belin coached Keith McKenzie, an eight-year NFL defensive end.

Following his five-year stay at Ball State, Belin moved to College Park, Md., for a two-year stint at Maryland (1999-2000), where he coached the Terrapins’ defensive ends.

During his days in College Park, Belin helped shape the NFL careers of Kris Jenkins and Delbert Cowette. Jenkins was a four-time Pro Bowl nose tackle, who has played most of his career with the Carolina Panthers, while Cowette was a defensive tackle with the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears.

The native of Marshville, N.C., was a three-year starter at Wake Forest as an inside linebacker. He graduated from the program in 1991 with a bachelor of science degree in speech communications.

Belin and his wife, DeVida, have a four-year old son, Chase.

The Belin File

Year at Liberty: Third

Coaching Experience:

2009-Present (2 years) – Liberty (DL)

2005-08 (4 years) – Virginia (DA, DL)

2004 (1 year) – Northern Illinois (DL)

2001-03 (3 years) – William & Mary (LB, DL)

1999-00 (2 years) – Maryland (DL)

1994-98 (5 years) – Ball State (OLB, DE)

1993 (1 year) – East Tennessee State (LB)

1992 (1 year) – Boston University (DL)