WILLIAMSBURG, Va.— After leading one of the nation's most productive offensive units at the University of San Diego the past two seasons, former William & Mary quarterback and assistant coach Christian Taylor returns to his alma mater as the Tribe's offensive coordinator and running backs coach, W&M Head Football Coach Mike London announced Friday.
 
Taylor, who played quarterback at W&M from 2002-06 and was an assistant coach on the Tribe's staff for two seasons (2008-09), returns to Williamsburg with impressive credentials that includes being selected as a finalist as the 2018 FCS Coordinator of the Year.
 
"We are excited to bring Christian back home," London said. "He comes in having been a major part of a very successful FCS program. His offenses have been prolific, and he has demonstrated the ability to develop players.  Most importantly, Christian understands our mission of producing champions with high character."
 
Taylor rejoins the Tribe staff after serving as the offensive coordinator at USD during the past two seasons where he led the Toreros into one of the nation's most productive offenses and helped the squad earn a pair of conference championships and FCS Playoff berths.
 
Under his direction, USD ranked among the nation's top 10 in scoring offense both years (10th in 2018; 5th in 2019) and was sixth in total offense in 2019. Additionally, the Toreors ranked second nationally in passing offense in 2018 and 11th in 2019.
 
That success led to numerous individual accolades for his players, as he produced a pair of Walter Payton Award finalists at quarterback – Anthony Lawrence and Reid Sinnett – and another at wide receiver, Michael Bandy. In his six years as an offensive assistant at USD, Taylor mentored four All-Americans, one Pioneer Football League (PFL) Offensive Player of the Year and 17 All-PFL performers. Additionally, a pair of his standouts played professionally in the NFL – Brian Riley and Ross Dwelley.
 
"I love my alma mater, the people, and community here," Taylor said. "I 100% believe in what William & Mary stands for and the one-of-a-kind experience it provides for elite student-athletes. I came back to help coach London, the staff, and the players get back to winning the CAA title annually and make history by winning a national title. This is home for me, and I'm excited to help make our university, community, and alumni proud of our program." 
 
Prior to serving as USD's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Taylor also coached the Toreors wide receivers (2016-17) and running backs (2012-13).  
 
Taylor began his coaching career as W&M's tight ends coach in 2008 before leading the Tribe's quarterbacks in 2009, helping lead the squad earn a FCS Playoff semifinal appearance. He also served as an assistant at San Diego State (offensive assistant, 2010), Michigan (offensive analyst, 2011) and Illinois Wesleyan (offensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator, 2014-15).
 
Originally from Yorktown, Va., Taylor attended Grafton High School before joining the Tribe as a quarterback, earning a pair of varsity letters and helping the squad advance to the FCS Playoff semifinals in 2004.
 
In addition to Taylor's hiring, London also announced the promotion of two volunteer assistants to full-time roles – Darryl Blackstock (OLB) and Jack Armstrong (TE) – and multiple new coaching assignments: Gordon Sammis (Run Game Coordinator/OL); Bo Revell (Recruiting Coordinator/ILB); Matt Johns (QB); Ras-I Dowling (DB).
 
Blackstock's promotion to his full-time role as W&M's outside linebackers coach comes after a successful 2018 campaign in which he served as a defensive assistant who worked with the defensive line.
 
His position group was instrumental in W&M's success defensively in 2019, as the Tribe posted 30 sacks and limited opposing rushing attacks to just 152.9 yards per game on the ground. Both figures ranked just outside the program's all-time top-10 lists.
 
Bill Murray highlighted the individual Tribe standouts who benefited from Blackstock's tutelage, as the standout defensive tackle earned first-team All-America honors from Hero Sports and was an all-conference selection
 
Armstrong, a former team captain and wide receiver at W&M (2014-18), served as an offensive analyst for the Tribe last season.
 
Although W&M relied heavily on a talented true freshman class that included the Tribe's starting quarterback, leading receiver and three of its top four rushers, the offense nearly doubled its scoring output from the prior season – improving from 13.6 points/game in 2018 to 25.2 points/game in 2019. Additionally, W&M's total yardage per game catapulted by nearly 100 yards per contest.
 
Nowhere was the dramatic progress more evident than in W&M's rushing attack where it increased its production on the ground by more than 130 yards per game and scored 21 more rushing touchdowns than the squad's 2018 figures. Additionally, the Tribe's 26 rushing touchdowns was just one shy of breaking into the program's single-season top-10 list, while its 462 rushing yards in the win against Rhode Island set a single-game school record.