title image via Tuskegee Football
Courtesy of Tuskegee Sports
TUSKEGEE, Ala. __ On Tuesday, Tuskegee head football coach, Aaron James, announced the addition of three new assistant coaches to his staff for the upcoming 2024 season.
James had added another familiar face to Golden Tiger fans to the mold in former football star Harry Williams, to serve as offensive coordinator after serving in the same role at Alabama State for the last two seasons.
Additionally, James announced the hire of Roman Buchanan as linebackers coach, and Chris Patterson as the offensive line coach.
“We are excited to announce the hires of these three great coaches,” James said. “We aimed to fill our staff with the best possible candidates to build up our student-athletes on and off the field, and we feel we have done that. We are thrilled to have these three on our staff here as we continue to elevate our program and build a championship culture.”
Williams joins the Golden Tiger staff after one of the most successful careers in program history. A native of Birmingham, Ala., Williams was a standout wide receiver at Tuskegee and had a successful playing career as he finished with 83 receptions for 1,584 yards (19.1 avg.) and eight touchdowns. An accomplished kick returner, he averaged 23.8 yards per kick return on 19 returns for a total of 453 yards.
After a successful collegiate career, Williams was drafted in the seventh round by the New York Jets in 2005. He has also spent time with the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Houston Texans and the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europa before jumping into the coaching ranks in 2009.
Buchanan, a native of Daleville, Ala. Buchanan was a four-year starter at safety and linebacker for the University of South Alabama (USA) from 2013-16. During his time at USA, Buchanan earned All-Conference honors at two different positions and ended his career at USA as the school’s fourth all-time leading tackler. He was also signed for a short stint as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons in 2016.
On the coaching front, Buchanan got his start in coaching at SIAC member school Clark Atlanta with linebackers from 2020-21, before a year at New Mexico Highlands (2022), and last year at Mercer serving as a quality control and nickel back coach in 2023.
In his last stop at Lane, Patterson mentored an offensive line that produced all conference linemen and a portal transfer that found his way to Colorado State’s starting lineup. Some of the success from the offensive line led to an upset victory over Division 1 Tennessee State in the 2022 season and Lane having the 2023 SIAC leading rusher in the backfield.
A graduate from Norfolk State and Liberty University, Patterson brings along experience from many levels of collegiate football. He got his start as a graduate assistant for Syracuse University and developed into a premier mind on both sides of the line of scrimmage, last leading Lane as its offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for the last few seasons.
