FRANKLIN – Franklin College head football coach Alan Hensell has announced the addition of three new members to the football coaching staff as the program gets set to enter the 2023 season in the coming months.
 
Daniel Hill takes over as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach while Mike Neale joins the Griz as the new special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach. Additionally, former Griz standout and 2023 graduate Kody Wilkerson is joining the staff as the team's tight end coach. Dante Darden will move from his spot as defensive backs coach to defensive line coach.
 
Hill comes to Franklin after spending the last two seasons on staff at Monmouth College where he coached the quarterbacks and running backs while also working with the special teams. During his time with the program, the Fighting Scots went 17-4 overall with a 16-2 mark in Midwest Conference play and a victory in the 2022 Cousins Subs Victory Lane Bowl over Concordia Wisconsin.
 
He was responsible for the coordination of the team's passing game and helped guide one of the league's top passing attacks. Along with his work as special team's coach in 2022, the Scots finished 13^th in the nation in scoring offense at 42.3 points per game. Monmouth also ranked in the top-15 nationally in blocked kicks (eighth) and punt returns (11^th). Under his guidance, he led Carter Boyer to First Team All-Conference honors at quarterback for the Scots.
 
Before heading to Monmouth, his stops included Berry College (2019-21) where he was special teams coordinator and tight ends coach while helping Berry to a 2019 playoff berth. He has also coached the wide receivers and at Illinois Wesleyan during his time as a graduate assistant from 2017-19 and was part of the Titans 2017 CCIW regular season championship and playoff appearance.
 
Hill broke into the coaching ranks while pursuing his degree at Ball State University, where he worked with special teams and as an offensive quality control coach as a student from 2013-17 and was part of the staff that appeared in the 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl. He completed his undergraduate in 2017 in history and social studies education before obtaining his master's degree in sport management from Illinois Wesleyan in 2019.
 
Neale joins the Grizzlies with 15 years of coaching experience at the Division III level, the most recent coming at Whittier College, where he served as the program's head coach from 2016 until the discontinuation of the football program after the 2022 season. He handled all facets of program development, recruiting and coaching for the Poets with his team recording a program-best collective GPA at 3.18.
 
Before heading out west, Neale spent eight seasons on the staff at Albright College from 2007-15 where he helped guide the Lions to three NCAA Division III playoff victories and three Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) bowl game appearances. He was elevated to defensive coordinator in 2012 while also handling recruiting coordinator duties along with serving as the head strength and conditioning coach.
 
Neale holds a bachelor of arts degree in history from Cal State San Marcos.
 
Wilkerson is coming off a four-year playing career with the Grizzlies that saw him amass 194 tackles and earn two all-conference honors while appearing in 36 games at middle linebacker. The Chesterton, Ind.-native ended his career with 12.5 tackles for loss, four fumbles caused and three interceptions with the final one of his career going 60 yards the other way for his only career touchdown.
 
Wilkerson holds a degree in elementary education after graduating from Franklin this past spring.
 
"I am very excited about the additions we're making to our football staff," Hensell added. "They will be great additions to the athletic department, the football program and the college as a whole. Not only are they tremendous football coaches, but they will be great mentors for our players off the field."