Brown recently hired Vic Koenning as his defensive coordinator — the position Brown said would be his most important hire. Koenning has previous experience at Troy, but the biggest factor was Koenning track record of quick turnarounds. The Trojans were No. 113 in scoring defense last year.

“Vic was here in 2003-04 and the last year he was here, he had a top-five defense,” Brown said. “He went to Clemson, had a top-25 defense five years in a row. He goes to K-State and has one of the biggest turnarounds on defense that year. He had a similar turnaround at Illinois. He’s got a lot of experience. He was a head coach at a young age. That was another factor. I’m excited about it. He’s excited about it.”