Skylor Magee - Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach - Football Coaches

Skylor Magee

Title:
Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach
Email:
lufootball@liberty.edu
Start Date:
01/01/2023

Skylor Magee helped Liberty to unprecedented heights during his first season on the Mountain at Co-Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach in 2023.

Liberty entered bowl season with a perfect 13-0 record and was one of four undefeated teams in the country, joining Florida State, Washington and eventual national champion Michigan.

Magee helped the Flames to an unblemished 8-0 regular season record in Conference USA and a 49-35 win over New Mexico State in the CUSA Football Championship game.

The team’s success positioned the Flames to receive their first-ever invitation to play in a New Year’s Six bowl game. Liberty squared off against No. 8 Oregon in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on January 1 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Liberty’s defense proved to be very opportunistic during the 2023 season as the Flames led the nation with 21 total interceptions and ranked No. 9 in the country in turnovers gained (25).

Each turnover resulted in a viral celebration with the player who recorded the turnover wearing the famed Liberty Flames’ Joker mask while celebrating with his teammates and coaches on the sidelines.

The Flames returned two of their national-leading 21 interceptions for a touchdown in 2023, allowing Liberty to rank No. 29 nationally in defensive touchdowns scored (2).

While Liberty’s offense led the country in rushing offense (293.3 yards per game), the Flames’ defensive counterparts were just as tough against the run. Liberty finished the 2023 season ranked No. 24 in the country in rushing defense (116.7 yards allowed per game).

Liberty had multiple individual defensive standouts under Magee’s leadership in 2023. Safety Brylan Green ranked No. 6 in the country in total interceptions (5) and was named to the Football Writers Association (FWAA) All-America second team.

The FWAA also recognized one of Liberty’s up and coming stars as defensive end TJ Bush was named to the 2023 FWAA Freshman All-America team.

Linebacker Tyren Dupree capped his career at Liberty with a standout senior season. He led the Flames with 124 total tackles (67 solo, 57 assisted) and was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year.

Magee came to Liberty Mountain in 2023 having already worked under head coach Jamey Chadwell at four previous schools.

Magee spent the last four seasons with Chadwell at Coastal Carolina (2019-22), serving in the same capacity as he will with the Flames. He also worked under Chadwell at Charleston Southern (2013-16), Delta State (2012) and North Greenville (2009).

During his time at Coastal Carolina, Magee mentored three All-Americans in Tarron Jackson (2020), C.J. Brewer (2020 and 2021) and Josaiah Stewart (2021) and saw both Jackson and Brewer continue their careers in the NFL.

With a veteran-led defense in 2021, the Chanticleers outscored all their opponents 532-281 on the season.

Coastal Carolina was one of only four teams nationally to rank in the top 25 in both total offense (5th) and total defense (25th), one of only seven teams in the country to rank in the top 30 in both most first downs on offense (25th) and fewest first downs allowed on defense (27th), and one of only eight teams to rank in the top-25 in both scoring offense (5th) and scoring defense (25th).

The defense ranked in the top 35 nationally in several categories, placing 16th in passing defense (190.3 ypg), 25th in scoring defense (21.6 ppg), 25th in total defense (339.5 ypg), and 32nd in red zone defense (77.5 percent).

True freshman defensive end Josaiah Stewart was named to the 2021 FWAA Freshman All-American team, The Athletic’s 2021 College Football Freshman All-American team, ESPN 2021 College Football True Freshman All-American team, 2021 247Sports True Freshman All-American team, and the 2021 Pro Football Network (PFN) All-American third team.

Stewart, who was joined on the All-Sun Belt first-team for defense by D’Jordan Strong, C.J. Brewer, and Silas Kelly, set all new Coastal Carolina single-season records.

Stewart shattered the Coastal Carolina single-season sacks record with 12.5 sacks in his first collegiate season in 2021, which also led the Sun Belt, ranked fifth nationally, and was the most by a true freshman in all of FBS.

In his second season with the Chanticleers in 2020, Magee helped mentor not one, but two All-Americans in redshirt seniors Tarron Jackson and C.J. Brewer.

Jackson picked up 2020 Consensus All-American accolades as he was named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation (first team), Associated Press (first team), FWAA (first team), American Football Coaches Association (first team), ESPN (first team), Reese’s Senior Bowl (first team), Phil Steele Publication (first team), Sporting News’ (second team), CBS Sports/247Sports (second team), and Senior CLASS (second-team) All-America teams, while Brewer earned Associated Press (third team) and Phil Steele Publication (honorable mention) All-America honors.

Jackson, who was also named the 2020 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, was named a finalist for the Lombardi Award, the Lott IMPACT Trophy, and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. He was also a Bednarik Award semifinalist, a William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist, and earned a spot on the Ted Hendricks Award watch list before being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round (191st overall pick) of the 2021 NFL Draft.

In 2020, the Chanticleers won the program’s first-ever Sun Belt Conference title, posted an 11-1 overall mark, including an 8-0 Sun Belt Conference record, and played in the program’s first-ever FBS postseason bowl game.

The 2020 season marked Coastal Carolina’s first-ever undefeated regular season and the first time that the Chanticleers were ranked in either the Associated Press Top 25 Poll or the Amway Coaches Poll presented by USA Today Sports.

In just his first season at CCU in 2019, the defense improved in every area from 2018 to 2019, as the “Black Swarm” defense led the Sun Belt in fewest first downs allowed (241), was third in interceptions (11), fourth in scoring defense (30.5 points allowed per game), fourth in total defense (383.6 yards per game), fourth in rushing defense (160.1 yards per game), fifth in fewest passing yards allowed (223.5 yards per game), and sixth in red-zone defense (85.7 percent).

At Georgia State, Magee helped coach a defensive unit that set GSU season records for fewest points per game (24.75 ppg), fewest rushing yards per game (136.4 ypg), fewest yards per rushing attempt (4.13 ypa), and most sacks (24). Senior nose guard Julien Laurent and junior defensive end Marterious Allen earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors under Magee in 2017.

Laurent was a first-round selection in the 2018 CFL Draft, while defensive end Mackendy Cheridor signed an NFL free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons.

In his four seasons at Charleston Southern from 2013-16, Magee helped the Buccaneers to back-to-back Big South Conference championships and FCS playoff berths while featuring one of the nation’s top defenses. CSU averaged nine wins per season in his four years there.

Magee’s defensive line was the foundation of a Charleston Southern defense that led the Big South and ranked among the FCS leaders in total defense his last three years on the staff.

In 2016, Magee’s line helped CSU rank seventh nationally in all of FCS in total defense, allowing just 294.1 yards per game. The unit was particularly strong in the playoffs, allowing just 185 total yards and 2.9 yards per rush to Wofford, the nation’s third-best rushing team. CSU defensive end Anthony Ellis earned All-America honors and was named the Big South Player of the Year.

In 2015, the Charleston Southern defense finished No. 10 in the nation in all of FCS, helping the Bucs to their first outright Big South title and FCS playoff berth. In 2013’s 10-3 campaign, CSU led the Big South with 27 sacks.

He also worked as the defensive line coach at Delta State in 2012 and was the co-defensive coordinator at North Greenville in 2009. In between, Magee spent two years as the defensive line coach at Petal (Miss.) High School, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the MHSAA state playoffs.

Magee began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Steve Spurrier at South Carolina in 2005 and then spent two years as the defensive line coach at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La.

He was a standout defensive lineman at Southern Miss, where he was a Freshman All-American (2001), a three-time All-Conference USA Academic selection, and a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree.

Magee earned his bachelor’s degree in human performance and physiology from Southern Miss in 2005.

He and his wife, Leslie, have two daughters, Kayla and Gabby, and one son, Dax.

Magee at a Glance
Coaching Experience: