TOLEDO, Ohio — Larry Knight and Stanton Weber have been hired as assistant football coaches at the University of Toledo, Head Coach Jason Candle announced today. Knight will coach the defensive line, while Weber will serve as the special teams coordinator.
 
Knight coached for the past four seasons at Georgia Tech, where he served as the defensive line coach and defensive recruiting coordinator. In this role with the Yellow Jackets, Knight helped put together three-consecutive highly ranked recruiting classes, including just the second top-25 class in Tech history in 2020 and the class with the second-highest percentage of four-star recruits in school history in 2022.
 
Weber previously served as the special teams analyst at South Carolina for the past two years, where he worked alongside special teams coordinator Pete Lembo and Head Coach Shane Beamer. A former wide receiver at Kansas State, Weber served as a graduate assistant and special teams quality control coach with the Wildcats from 2017-20.
 
"We're certainly excited to add these two guys to our program," said Candle. "Both are young, hungry coaches who bring a lot of energy to the practice field. Both have had a lot of success in their careers so far, and I think they're two guys who can really enhance what we're trying to do here on the football field and away from it as well."
 
Larry Knight

Larry Knight will serve the Rockets as the defensive line coach in 2023. He has 12 years of coaching experience going back to his days as a graduate assistant at Cincinnati to his most recent post as the defensive line coach and defensive recruiting coordinator at Georgia Tech. An All-MAC defensive end at Central Michigan, Knight has also held positions with Tennessee, Georgia State and Temple.
 
"Larry is a high-energy guy who brings a lot of coaching experience to our program," said Candle. "Larry was also a very successful player who understands our league and what it takes to win this conference. He brings recruiting experience with some great ties into the Atlanta area, an area that we would like to recruit a little bit more in. He's a tremendous young man, first and foremost, and a guy who brings a lot of value to us."

"I am very excited to join the Toledo Rocket Football Program," said Knight. "I am looking forward to helping Coach Candle, the coaching staff, the players, and the fans achieve the goals that have been set for this organization. I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to get to work."
 
A native of Augusta, Ga., Knight played at Central Michigan from 2005-09 and was a part of conference championship teams in 2006, 2007 and 2009. He tallied 123 tackles, 25.0 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks in his career, earning All-MAC honors as a senior in 2009. He earned his bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship and marketing from CMU in 2010.
 
Knight began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Cincinnati in 2011 where he assisted with a defensive line that was No. 1 in the country in tackles for loss (8.6/game) and finished the regular season first in sacks (3.5/game) in 2011. The Bearcats won Big East championships and captured a pair of bowl victories during Knight's tenure there in 2011 and 2012.
 
Knight then spent two seasons at Tennessee, serving as a defensive graduate assistant in 2013 and defensive quality control coach in 2014. At Tennessee, he worked directly with the defensive linemen and linebackers, where he helped put together a pair of top-five-ranked recruiting classes and helped recruit and develop Derek Barnett, a first-round draft pick for the Philadelphia Eagles. From there, he moved on to Georgia State where he served as outside linebackers coach from 2015-16. Knight was a part of a GSU team that had the most-improved defense in NCAA Division I FBS in 2015, allowing 15 points fewer per game than the season before, as well as helping the Panthers reach their first-ever bowl appearance in the 2015 Cure Bowl.
 
Knight then joined Temple as a quality-control assistant for defense and recruiting in 2017, and was elevated to director of player personnel in February of 2018 before being promoted again to outside linebackers coach/ defensive recruiting coordinator a month later. In 2018, he was part of a defensive staff that helped Temple rank in the top four nationally in defensive touchdowns scored, and rank among the American Athletic Conference's top three teams in total defense.
 
During his four-year tenure at Georgia Tech as the defensive line coach/defensive recruiting coordinator, Knight oversaw the development of Djimon Brooks, who went from un-recruited walk-on to starter to an All-ACC performer in 2021. He also recruited and developed 2022 All-ACC honoree Keion White, who tied for third in the ACC in sacks and tackles for loss in his senior season and was selected to play in the 2023 Senior Bowl. Knight has also played a big role in Georgia Tech ranking in the top 25 nationally in fumble recoveries in 2021 and 2022.
 
Stanton Weber

Stanton Weber takes over as special teams coordinator for the Rockets in 2023. He began his coaching career at Kansas State, his alma mater, and spent the last two seasons as the special teams analyst at South Carolina.
 
"Stanton has worked for arguably the best special teams coordinator in the country in Pete Lembo at South Carolina," said Candle. "The Beamer family has the notoriety that they have gained over the past few decades for their expertise in the special teams area. He's been able to learn from those guys. He was also a great special teams player at Kansas State. I felt like we needed a shot in the arm in the kicking game, and I'm sure Stanton will do a great job of providing that."
 
"My wife Natalie and I are humbled and excited to be joining Coach Candle's staff," said Weber. "It is a privilege to be a part of Toledo's storied program. I look forward to contributing to the already consistent success of the Toledo football program under Coach Candle's leadership."
 
Weber was a three-time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 player as a wide receiver and special teams standout at Kansas State from 2011-15. A team captain as a senior in 2015, Weber played 46 career games and ended with 19 tackles. He helped the Wildcats accumulate a 34-18 record, earn a Big 12 championship in 2012 and advance to four straight bowl games.
 
After graduation, Weber spent four seasons coaching at his alma mater, two years as an offensive graduate assistant from 2017-18, and two seasons in a full-time role as the special teams' quality control coach from 2019-20.
 
In his first season working with special teams, Weber helped the Wildcats break the single-season record for kickoff-return average, ranking first in the country with a 29.5 average. In 2020, K-State blocked the first punt in each of their first three contests. In the rivalry game against Kansas, the Wildcats returned four punts over 40 yards, including a pair of touchdowns. In that game, they set the school record for highest punt return average and most TDs scored in a game. K-State finished the 2020 season ranked second in the NCAA in punt return average (22.1).
 
Weber then moved on to South Carolina, where he spent two seasons as a special teams' analyst. In 2022, the Gamecocks were ranked No. 1 in the country in special teams efficiency by ESPN, led the SEC in punt return average and had the nation's longest kickoff return of the season (100 yards) against Texas A&M. They were also second in the SEC in yards per punt and were 11-of-11 on field goal attempts.
 
Stanton has two accounting degrees from Kansas State, earning his bachelor's degree in 2015 and master's degree in 2016, along with an MBA in 2019.
 
Weber comes from an athletic family, all of whom played collegiate at Kansas State. His father, Stan Weber, was a quarterback for the Wildcats from 1980-84; his brother Landy was a wide receiver at Kansas State from 2017-21; and his sister McKenzi played volleyball at KSU from 2106-19.
 
Weber and his wife Natalie were married in July of 2022.