Football Coaches: Robby Discher Selected to AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute

Discher selected for the prestigious program from a pool of over 150 coaches

LAFAYETTE – Special Team’s Coordinator Robby Discher has been selected to attend the American Football Coaches Association’s 2021 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, the AFCA announced on Monday morning.
 
Discher was selected to attend the prestigious program, which is aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession, from a field of more than 150 highly-qualified coaches.
 
At the helm of Louisiana’s special team’s efforts, Discher has seen the emergence of two of the nation’s top return men in Chris Smith and Eric Garror. Smith has two kick return touchdowns this year, tied for the most in the nation, while ranking second with 572 total kick return yards, while Garror is one of 18 players with a punt return touchdown and ranks 12^th nationally with 156 punt-return yards.
 
Junior Rhys Byrns has also been stellar as a punter for Louisiana, averaging 43.9 yards per boot. On the year, Byrns has pinned 13 balls inside the 20 and sent four over 50 yards, including a career-high 74-yard punt at UAB on Oct. 23.
 
Placekicker Kenneth Almendares has hit all four of his field goal attempts this year, while Nate Snyder made a name for himself after hitting a 53-yard game-winning field goal against Georgia Southern on Sept. 26.
 
Selected participants are invited to attend the one-day institute that features a curriculum of interactive lectures focused on topics specifically tailored to emphasize leadership in the coaching profession, ethics, influential responsibilities, career progression, and family balance.
 
No. 17 Louisiana now shifts its focus to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 19, against No. 11 Coastal Carolina. The title game is slated to kickoff at 11 a.m. CST and will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2.
 
For more information on the league’s title game, visit the Sun Belt’s Championship Game home page here.