Pearl River’s defense got a bit “nastier" when Pearl River football coach Seth Smith announced the addition of Ty Trahan as the team's defensive coordinators and linebackers coach ahead of the 2020 season.

Trahan most recently coached at Picayune Memorial High School, where he held the same positions as the Maroon Tide marched to the MHSAA Class 5A Championship Game.

“Coach Trahan was a tremendous player in high school and college. He was a member of Southern Miss’ ‘Nasty Bunch’ defense,” Smith said. “He also has experience as a head coach at the high school ranks and has been a defensive coordinator for almost 17 years.”

Trahan brings a diverse football background to the Wildcats, having starred in high school and college and even getting a chance in the NFL before turning into an elite defensive mind on the sidelines.

“The biggest thing with him is he has lived it,” Smith said. “He has played at the highest level and won championships at the highest levels so everything he tells these kids he has lived.”

Trahan is optimistic about the Wildcats’ chances after seeing the staff Smith is assembling.

“I’m super excited. I think it’s a great opportunity,” he said. “Of course we have to get in here and get to work, but we have a lot of good pieces in place. Coach Smith brings a lot of energy and has hired a lot of people who do as well. 

“We’re going to love these kids up and see if we can get them winning football games.”

Trahan has a number of characteristics he uses as a foundation when he builds his defenses.

“We like to play fast and hard with reckless abandon. Hopefully we can get playmakers. We need guys who can are ready to turn it loose and do whatever they need to do during the offseason to get Pearl River back where it used to be,” he said. “We can help (Wildcats) get better and coach them up. Effort covers up a lot.  That will be the No. 1 thing, effort. You can’t take it lightly. It has to be fanatical effort. 

“If we can get that out of them along with putting them in the right spots I think we’ll be OK.”

PLAYING HISTORY
Trahan first emerged on football radars as a standout at nearby Pearl River Central High School as the Blue Devils won the 1993 and ’95 district championships. Trahan was a three-year varsity player for PRC, earning first team all-district honors in 1993, ’94 and ’95. He also landed on the 1995 All-State team and participated in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game in ’95. 

Trahan went on to star at Southern Miss as part of the “Nasty Bunch” defense. His career at USM is littered with accolades. The Golden Eagles amassed a 33-14 record during Trahan’s tenure from 1996-99. Trahan won three Conference USA Championships and was named as a 1^st Team All-Conference USA linebacker in 1998. He made the Second Team All-Conference USA team the next season. Trahan was a two-time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week selection and was also awarded the Special Teams Big Hit Award in 1996 and ’97, Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year in ’99 and the Heart of the Eagle Award in ’99. 

Trahan later signed with the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent in June 2000.

COACHING CAREER
Trahan broke into coaching in August 2000 with Klein Forest High School in Houston Texas. During his four seasons at KFHS (2000-03), the team was 38-11 with three playoff appearances with Trahan’s roles ranging from defensive backs coach in 2000 to defensive ends coach in 2001-03.

Trahan returned to Mississippi as a head coach in 2004 when he took over Southeast Lauderdale High School. In his five years with the Tigers (2004-2008), Trahan was named the 2006 Meridian Star Coach of the Year when he led the team to the district title. His team made the playoffs in three of five years while compiling a 23-28 record.

From July 2009-May 2010, Trahan served as a graduate assistant at Southern Miss, where he worked with special teams and the defensive line.

Trahan got back into high school coaching in 2010 when he joined Amory High School’s staff as the defensive coordinator.

From 2012-14, Trahan served as the defensive coordinator at Madison Central High School. During that span, his defenses averaged 30 or more turnovers annually. Trahan coached safeties at Northwest Rankin in 2015 before returning to Madison Central in 2016 to coach the defensive line.

Trahan returned to South Mississippi in 2018 when he was hired at Picayune as defensive coordinator.

Trahan is married to Jessica Carr has four children, Kortney, Kirkland, Lexi and Seger Rollins.