NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware football coaching staff underwent more changes Monday as head coach K.C. Keeler announced the return of former long-time UD assistant Gregg Perry (at right) and the addition of former Penn State player Aaron Harris (below center) to the staff.

Perry, who served as the Blue Hens’ offensive line coach from 1981 until 2001 and was an assistant at Princeton the last two seasons, will become tight ends and offensive tackles coach while Harris, who previously coached at West Chester and Tennessee-Chattanooga, will serve as running backs coach.

In addition, Keeler announced that T.J. DiMuzio (below left) will move from running backs coach to wide receivers coach and that cornerbacks coach Dyran Peake (below right) will gain extra responsibilities as special teams coordinator.

The moves come about after former offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca accepted the job as wide receivers coach at Rutgers last week. Blue Hen assistant Brian Ginn was promoted from wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski was promoted to assistant head coach and run game coordinator.

Perry replaces tight ends coach Bobby Acosta, who served one year at Delaware in 2007 before taking an athletics administration positions at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ earlier this winter.

“We are very happy to have Gregg back as a Blue Hen,” said Keeler, who was a player at UD in 1977-79 when Perry was a graduate assistant under head coach Tubby Raymond at Delaware. “We were looking to fill a position and we were looking for a great coach, a great person, and a great recruiter. Already having known Gregg, he was the perfect fit. He will be a great resource to Brian Ginn and Wrobo (Wroblewski) in working with our offense.”

Perry, 54, was a three-year letterwinner as running back and tight end at Delaware in 1974-76 and earned his degree in 1977. He led Delaware teams that won 28 games over three seasons, captured the Lambert Cup Trophy twice, and reached the NCAA Division II playoffs twice.

He served as a graduate assistant coach for the Blue Hens in 1977-79, helping the 1979 squad capture the NCAA Division II national title, and was head freshman coach in 1979-80. He took over full-time duties as offensive line coach in 1981 and served for 20 years under Raymond, helping the Blue Hens win six conference titles, five Lambert Cup trophies, and make 11 NCAA tournament appearances. Delaware advanced to the national semifinals in 1992, 1997, and 2000.

Known as one of the nation’s top offensive line coaches during his tenure at Delaware, he helped the Blue Hens rank among the nation’s top offensive units. The Hens led the conference in rushing four straight years in 1991-94 and annually ranked among the national leaders in that category.

In addition, he coached nine All-American offensive linemen. He left the coaching ranks following the 2001 to enter private business but returned to college athletics in 2006 and coached the offensive line at Princeton University the last two seasons under head coach Roger Hughes. The Tigers went 9-1 and captured the Ivy League title in 2006 and posted a 4-6 mark this past season.

Perry’s wife, Joyce, was a three-sport athlete at Delaware and served as UD’s women’s basketball head coach for 18 seasons, winning 266 games between 1978-96. She was inducted into the UD Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.

Harris, 31, a native of nearby Exton, PA and a star player at Downingtown High School, joins the UD staff after serving as an assistant coach at Division II West Chester University in 2005-2006 and at NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision Tennessee-Chattanooga in 2007.

A 1999 graduate of Penn State, he was a three-year starter at running back and a three-year team captain under legendary coach Joe Paterno. He led the team to four bowl game appearances and a No. 1 national ranking in 1999 and rushed for 587 yards and nine touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 1996. He played in the Hula Bowl as a senior and was drafted by the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe in 2003.

While at West Chester, he worked under head coach and former UD quarterback Bill Zwaan for two seasons as running backs coach and helped lead the Rams to a two-year record of 17-8 and NCAA Tournament appearances each season. The 2006 squad went 9-4 and advanced to the second round. Both teams ranked among the top 10 in the nation in scoring and he was instrumental in the development of 1,000-yard rusher Osagie Osunde.

Harris worked as running backs coach at UT-Chattanooga under head coach Rodney Allison in 2007 as the team went 2-9 but ranked sixth in the Southern Conference in rushing with 153.0 yards per game.

“I have been very impressed with what I’ve seen from Aaron,” said Keeler. “He was a very good college player and received great recommendations from Bill Zwaan as a coach. We are very excited to have him join our staff and work with our running backs.”

DiMuzio, 25, played two years at Delaware as a backup quarterback and earned his degree in 2006. He served as a UD student assistant in 2005, served one year as tight ends coach at Hofstra in 2006, and returned to Delaware to coach running backs last season. He was instrumental in the development of consensus first team All-American Omar Cuff, who rushed for 1,945 yards and set an NCAA record with 39 touchdowns this past fall.

“With T.J’s experience as a quarterback, he will certainly add a lot to our passing game,” said Keeler. “He had the opportunity to work under Kirk Ciarrocca for a year and learned a great deal. We feel good about him and his new responsibilities.”

Peake, 29, a 2001 graduate of Catawba College, will begin his fourth season with the UD staff and will take over the special teams duties handled primarily by Ginn. After coaching stints at Duke and Cornell, Peake arrived at Delaware in 2005 and has worked as an assistant in the defensive secondary and took over responsibilities as cornerbacks coach prior to the 2007 campaign.

“Dyran has worked in a variety of roles with our specials teams since joining our staff,” said Keeler. “He has done an outstanding job and is certainly ready for this new responsibility.”

Delaware will open pre-season practice March 15 with the annual Blue-White Spring scrimmage set for April 19. The Blue Hens will return 13 players with starting experience on offense and 12 on defense from last year’s team that went 11-4, advanced to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision title game, and earned the Lambert Cup Trophy and ECAC Team of the Year Award as the top team in the East.

- DDD -