Campbell rounded out its football staff with the addition of a pair of assistant coaches, Larry Dace III and Koy McFarland. Both assistant coaches joined head coach Braxton Harris’ staff this spring.
A native of Nacogdoches, Texas, McFarland joined the Camels from Tulsa as linebackers coach after nearly a decade of experience coaching at the FBS level, including six bowl games.
Dace, meanwhile, will coach the CU running backs after working as assistant special teams coordinator, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Bluffton, as well as stops at Cincinnati and Louisville.
McFarland comes to Campbell from Tulsa, were he also coached linebackers for the Golden Hurricane for two seasons under head coach Kevin Wilson.
Under McFarland, two Tulsa linebackers ranked in the top-10 of the American Athletic Conference in tackles for loss in 2024, while also assisting in all four special teams units. McFarland also helped bring in the AAC’s second-ranked recruiting class in 2024, including the top linebacker commit in school history.
Earning 247Sports 30 Under 30 for college football’s rising coaching stars in 2023, Tulsa’s linebacker corps saw four players rank among the team’s top eight in tackles, combining for 181 stops, to go along with 16 TFL on the season.
Prior to joining the Golden Hurricane, McFarland spent one season on the defensive coaching staff at Ohio State. He was named to the Buckeyes staff in January of 2022 as a graduate assistant coach, working with the linebackers and helping the Buckeyes reach the CFP semifinals.
Before Ohio State, McFarland spent three seasons (2019-21) as an assistant linebackers coach at Oklahoma State. When Cowboys’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jim Knowles left to join Ohio State’s staff prior to OSU’s Fiesta Bowl game against Notre Dame in January 2022, McFarland took over full-time linebacker position coaching duties.
McFarland was also a defensive graduate assistant at Louisiana Tech for two seasons (2017-18), where he assisted with coaching the defensive secondary.
Beginning his coaching career in the spring season of 2017 as an offensive graduate assistant at his alma mater, the University of Arkansas at Monticello, McFarland coached the running back position for the Boll Weevils.
McFarland began his playing career at Copiah Lincoln Community College before finishing at Arkansas-Monticello. He played wide receiver and was a team captain at both schools.
McFarland graduated from Arkansas-Monticello in 2016 with a degree in business administration, later completing a masters in healthcare administration at Oklahoma State in 2021.
He is the son of former Stephen F. Austin head coach Robert McFarland. McFarland married his wife, Macy, a Stillwater, Okla. native, in 2024.
Dace made his way to Buies Creek from Bluffton University, where he was the Beavers’ assistant special teams coordinator, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator in 2024. He also served as the Beavers’ junior varsity offensive coordinator, helping the Bluffton JV to a perfect 5-0 record.
Prior to Bluffton, Dace was an offensive graduate assistant at Cincinnati in 2023, primarily working with the running backs.
Dace III served in a similar role under head coach Scott Satterfield at Louisville in 2022. He helped propel a rushing attack that ranked second in the ACC and 23rd nationally with 200.6 yards per game.
Before Louisville, Dace III spent one season at Tulane as an offensive graduate assistant working with the wide receivers and on the recruiting staff.
Prior to that, Dace III worked as a wide receivers and special teams coach, and also served as the director of football operations at Louisiana College, organizing the day-to-day football logistics and coordinating all travel. In ...
