John Beckley joined the coaching staff in the summer of 2024. Beckley, a 2022 Wofford graduate, will work with the safeties.
In 2024, the Terriers were 5-7 overall and the total defense was ranked third in the Southern Conference. The passing defense was first in the league at 197.9 yards per game. C.J. Coombes was second on the team in tackles with 88. He was named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team and was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, presented to the top FCS freshman. Maximus Pulley was fourth on the team with 53 tackles.
During the 2023 season at Troy, Beckley assisted with the defense under the leadership of former Terrier Greg Gasparato. The team was 11-3 overall and won the Sun Belt Championship game before ending the season in the Birmingham Bowl. The defense allowed just 17.14 points per game which ranked tenth in the nation and the total defense of 308.1 yards per game was ranked 14th in the nation.
As a graduate assistant in 2022 at Gardner-Webb, he worked with former Terrier Jireh Wilson. The team was 7-6 overall and won the Big South title. In the NCAA FCS Playoffs, they earned a win over Eastern Kentucky before falling to fifth-ranked William & Mary. The Runnin’ Bulldog defense ranked fourth in passes intercepted (16) and sixth in turnover gained (25).
While a student-athlete for the Terriers, he played in 49 career games with 36 starts at linebacker. He recorded 157 total tackles with 12 tackles for loss and four sacks. Beckley was on three teams that won Southern Conference Championships and made three NCAA FCS Playoff appearances.
As a senior in 2021, he started ten of eleven games played and finished second on the team with 48 tackles. During the COVID spring season, he started all five games and led the team with 4.5 tackles for loss. In 2019, he started all twelve games and was fourth in the team with 46 tackles. He played in eight games as a true freshman in 2017 and then in 2018 he played in all 13 games with nine starts.
A native of Atlanta, he graduated from Wofford in 2022 with a degree in business economics. He was named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll all five seasons and was on the SoCon Fall All-Academic team four times.
