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Football
Head Coach - Daryl C. McNeill
 On
December 20, 2004, Dorothy Cowser Yancy, Ph.D., president, named the
14th head football coach in Golden Bull history. She
called upon Daryl C. McNeill, a familiar face and name in Smith
football as he served in the same capacity in 1995 and 1996. McNeill
isresponsible for renewing the pride that Smith once had. He
also serves as an associate athletics director.
McNeill has over 20 years of coaching experience as an offensive coordinator
and head coach. He brings intensity, energy and a keen understanding
of football from all aspects. He knows what it takes to get players
to perform. As head coach in 1996, McNeill led his team to an
impressive 7-3 record, the first time in 15 years that the program
recorded a winning season. For his accomplishments, McNeill was
honored with the Black College Sports Co-Coach of the Year Award.
Daryl McNeill
rejoins the Johnson C. Smith University family after an eight year
hiatus. He was previously the Associate Head Coach and offensive
coordinator at Division I-AA North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical State University for the past two years. McNeill led a
resurgence of the Aggie offense, as total offense improved by a
50-yard average from the 2002 season. Aggie quarterbacks finished
the season with a 112.70 rating, the best since 2000.
He joined the
N.C. A&T coaching staff after eight seasons (two tenures) as an
assistant at Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rival South Carolina
State University, including the last four as offensive coordinator.
McNeill has
had successful stints as a head coach, having coached at Savannah
State University (1997-1998) and Johnson C. Smith University
(1995-1996). His career record at JCSU is 10-20.
Prior to his
head coaching tenure, McNeill served as an offensive coordinator
while at Tennessee State University (1993-95) and also at Savannah
State (1988-89). McNeill also served as an assistant varsity coach
and junior varsity head coach at Jonesboro High School (1986-87).
McNeil is a
1982 graduate of South Carolina State University, where he lettered
in football for two seasons. He holds a B.S. degree as well as a
Master's of Business education from the University. A native of
Seneca, S.C., McNeill and his wife, Savonne have been married for 8
years. He has two children,
Tiffany (23) and Daryl, Jr. (8).
Asst. Head Coach/Offensive Line - Steven Aycock
 Steven
Aycock enters into his second season as a part of the Johnson C.
Smith University football staff. His primary duty will be to coach
the offensive line and serve as the associate head coach. A native of Atlanta, GA, Aycock and Head Coach
Daryl C. McNeill have a long history of working together. Aycock
played under Coach McNeill at Savannah State University. He then
worked under him from 1993 to 1995 at Tennessee State University as
a student assistant offensive line coach. He then followed McNeill
to Johnson C. Smith in 1995 and Savannah State in 1997 and finally
left the coaching scene in 2000 as the assistant head coach and
offensive line coach at SSU.
Aycock garnered all-conference honors at the lineman position
in both 1991 and 1992. His love for the game brought him back to the
field in 2004 in which he served a volunteer assistant
offensive line coach.
Aycock earned a bachelor’s degree in sports production from
Savannah State University in 1994, and a master’s degree in
communications from Barrington University in 1999. He and his wife
Donyell reside in Huntersville, NC.
Defensive Coordinator/Academic Coord. -
Eric Puryear
 Eric
Puryear joins the Golden Bull football family from Missouri Valley
College in Marshall, Mo, where he was the Defensive Backs Coach and
the Video Coordinator. Due to his stellar coaching ability, Puryear
was promoted to defensive coordinator in March (2006). He will
continue to serve as the Academic Advisor for the team. Last year at
Missouri Valley College, the Vikings had the Number 1 Pass Defense
in the conference only giving up 118.7 yards a contest. Prior to
coaching at Missouri Valley College, Puryear was a Graduate
Assistant/ Cornerback coach at Southwest Baptist University in
Bolivar, MO. Puryear also has coaching experience on the high school
level at North Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem, N.C. from
2001-02. He worked with the special teams, the defensive backs, and
wide receivers. The second
year Golden Bull coach has professional playing experience after
playing the 2001 season with the Johnstown J-Dogs in the NIFL. He
also played one season with the Roanoke Steam in the Arena 2 League
(2002).
Prior to his professional experience, Puryear was a two-year
starter at rival North Carolina Central University. He transferred
to NCCU from Hampton University after playing two seasons for HU. He
played in the National All-Stars Football Game in Cleveland, Ohio in
2001 and recorded eight tackles and two pass breakups.
Puryear is a 2001 graduate of NCCU. He earned bachelor’s
degree in business administration from NCCU in 2001 and his master’s
in business administration from Southwest Baptist University in
2004. Puryear is married to the former Laura Tyson and he has a three-year old son, Eric, Jr.
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