Willy Korn - Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach - Football Coaches

Willy Korn

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

Willy Korn helped Liberty to unprecedented heights during his first season on the Mountain at Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks 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.

Korn 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.

The Flames’ spread option offense allowed Liberty to finish the 2023 season ranked No. 1 in the country in rushing, averaging 293.3 yards per game. Liberty finished the year rushing for a program-record 4,106 yards and 39 touchdowns.

Additionally, Liberty ranked No. 1 in tackles for a loss allowed (2.64 per game), No. 2 in sacks allowed (0.64 per game), No. 2 in passing yards per completion (16.19), No. 3 in winning percentage (92.9), No. 4 in total offense (499.1 yards per game), No. 4 in first down offense (348), No. 8 in time of possession (33:04) and No. 9 scoring offense (38.3 points per game).

Starting quarterback Kaidon Salter was the 2023 HERO Sports Group of Five National Player of the Year after throwing for 2,876 yards and 32 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,089 yards and 12 additional scores.

Salter received numerous honors from Conference USA during the Flames’ inaugural season in the league. He was named the CUSA Most Valuable Player and was selected to the CUSA first-team all-conference listing. He was also a four-time CUSA Offensive Player of the Week.

Salter received several other national honors during his redshirt sophomore season. He was named to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2023, was a finalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award.

Statistically, Salter was one of the top quarterbacks in the country. He ranked No. 3 in the country in passing efficiency (176.6) and passing yards per completion (16.25), No. 5 in passing touchdowns (32), No. 5 in points responsible for per game (18.9), No. 8 in rushing yards per carry (6.68) and No. 22 in total offense (283.2 yards per game).

Korn helped bring Coastal Carolina’s high-powered offense to Liberty after serving on staff for six seasons with the Chanticleers before coming to the Mountain.

Korn was promoted to Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach in 2019. He assisted the Chanticleers’ move from 5-7 in 2019 to posting a 31-7 record the last three seasons (11-1 in 2020; 11-2 in 2021; 9-4 in 2022).

In 2021, the Chanticleers outscored all their opponents 532-281 on the season, including totaling 100-plus points in each quarter on the year.

Coastal Carolina was one of only two teams in the country to rank in the top 10 in both third-down conversion (1st) and fourth-down conversion percentage (4th) on the season and one of only two teams ranked in the top 30 in both rushing offense (6th) and passing offense (28th).

The Coastal Carolina offense finished the 2021 season ranked No. 1 nationally in team passing efficiency (192.01), as quarterback Grayson McCall led the nation and set a new NCAA FBS single-season record with a passing efficiency rating of 207.6 on the year.

Coastal Carolina also ranked fourth in all of FBS in completion percentage (70.5 percent), as McCall ranked No. 2 nationally in all of FBS in completion percentage (73.0 percent), and was fifth nationally in both passing yards per completion (15.23 ypc) and total offense (494.7 ypg). McCall ranked No. 1 nationally in yards per pass attempt (11.92 ypa) and No. 2 in passing yards per completion (16.32 ypc).

The offense also finished the season ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring offense (40.9 ppg) and was one of only five FBS schools to average over 40 points per game on the season.

Korn coached McCall to perhaps the best season ever by a Coastal quarterback, as McCall was named the 2021 Blanchard-Rogers Trophy (S.C. Heisman) award winner and was a repeat as the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, as a total of 16 Chanticleers picked up All-Sun Belt honors.

In 2020, his second season as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, 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.

The Chanticleers posted two wins over FBS top 25 nationally-ranked opponents, the first two such victories in program history, four wins over top 50 opponents, and was ranked as high as No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 11 in the Amway Coaches Poll, both Sun Belt Conference records. The Chanticleers were also ranked as high as No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings, also a Sun Belt record.

McCall picked up individual national honors, as the redshirt freshman was named the 2020 Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Most Inspirational Freshman. He was also a Manning Award Finalist, a Maxwell Award semifinalist, a Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award semifinalist, and a Shaun Alexander-FWAA Freshman of the Year Award semifinalist.

In his first year as the co-offensive coordinator in 2019, the Coastal Carolina offense recorded over 400 yards of total offense five times, including a season-high 636 yards in the road win at UMass. The Chants were 23-for-29 (79.3 percent) on fourth-down attempts which was the second-best percentage both nationally and in the Sun Belt, while the 23 fourth-down conversions were tied for the third-most nationally behind only Army and Navy with 26.

While coaching the wide receivers in 2018, the Chants’ offense led the Sun Belt and ranked in the top 25 nationally in red-zone offense, time of possession, first downs, and both third- and fourth-down conversion percentage for much of the season. CCU finished the year ranked in the top 10 nationally in fourth-down conversion percentage (68.8), fewest penalties (52), fewest penalties per game (4.33), and fewest penalty yards (493).

During his first year with the Chanticleers in 2017, Korn helped Malcolm Williams earn third-team All-Sun Belt honors while Chris Jones was selected honorable mention. After just two receptions for 17 yards in 2016, Williams broke through in 2017 to lead the Chanticleers in receptions (43), receiving yards (793), and receiving touchdowns (seven).

Korn came to Coastal Carolina after serving in a similar position for Head Coach Jamey Chadwell at Charleston Southern for four seasons (2013-16). In addition to his role as wide receivers coach at Charleston Southern, Korn spent the last three seasons at CSU as the Buccaneers’ recruiting coordinator.

Korn’s recruiting classes at Charleston Southern helped the Bucs win a pair of Big South championships while reaching the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs in 2015 and 2016. Specifically, his wide receivers helped anchor one of the more explosive offenses in the Big South.

Prior to entering the coaching ranks at Charleston Southern, Korn played for Chadwell while at North Greenville. Korn began his collegiate playing career at Clemson before transferring to North Greenville.

Korn, who started at quarterback in Dabo Sweeney’s first year as Clemson’s head coach, graduated from Clemson in three-and-a-half years (2010) with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies.

Upon graduating and following an injury-plagued career with the Tigers, Korn transferred to North Greenville University. He started at quarterback in his junior and senior seasons at North Greenville, earning All-American honors after leading NGU to an 11-3 season and the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in 2011. Korn finished his career at NGU with an 18-4 record and threw for 4,058 yards and 45 touchdowns in two seasons. He also ran 212 times for 944 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Korn led national-power Byrnes High School to two 4A state championships and set numerous state records along the way over his high school career. He finished his high school career with 10,125 passing yards and 125 touchdowns which earned him such accolades as Parade All-American, U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant, Elite 11 QB Camp invitee, and South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year twice (2005 and 2006). In 2013, he was named among the top 150 all-time South Carolina high school football players by The State newspaper.

Korn is married to the former Charlotte Swain. The couple has a daughter named Maggie and a son named Luke.

Korn at a Glance
Coaching Experience: