Troy Football Adds Manning, Page to Defensive Staff

TROY, Ala. – Troy Football head coach is closing in on the finishing touches of his coaching staff, announcing the additions of Justin Manning and Trey Page on the defensive side of the ball. Manning takes over coaching Troy's defensive line, while Page has been promoted to defensive analyst.
 
Justin Manning – Defensive Line

Justin Manning begins his first season as Troy's defensive line coach following two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Tufts College and a four-year stint at Duke.
 
Manning's defense ranked 14^th nationally in 2023, allowing just 250.8 yards per game, 13^th yielding just 145.2 yards per game through the air and fifth in first down defense (137). The Jumbos allowed 19 or fewer points in 8-of-9 games during regulation; one game went into five overtimes.
 
Tufts' 2022 season allowed 13 or fewer points in 40 percent of its games and Manning led a defense that feature five all-conference selections. During the summer of 2023, Manning was selected for the NFL Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship and worked with the Atlanta Falcons' linebacker position group. 
 
It was Manning's second run at Tufts as he spent the 2016 season as a cornerbacks coach, helping the Jumbos to a 7-1 record, the program's best record since 1998. 
 
Tufts' defensive unit held foes to 18.9 points per game and just seven rushing touchdowns during the campaign. Sophomore cornerback Tim Preston was selected to the New England Small College Athletic Conference First Team after leading the league with five interceptions.
 
Manning had two different tenures at Duke, serving as the special assistant to the head coach and defensive quality control in 2021 and the 2017-19 seasons on the Blue Devil coaching staff, as well as serving as a football operations assistant working primarily with the defense.
 
Manning helped the Blue Devils to two winning seasons and two bowl game appearances at the 2017 Quick Lane Bowl and the 2018 Walk-On's Independence Bowl. While with the Blue Devils, he worked closely with All-America linebacker Joe Giles-Harris and All-ACC tackle Mike Ramsay.
 
Between his two stints at Duke, Manning served as defensive line coach at Eastern Illinois during the 2020 season.
 
Manning spent the summer of 2015 as a coaching intern with the NFL's San Diego Chargers, where he assisted with the daily preparation of the tight end unit, served as quality control of the two-minute offense and handled statistical analysis and film breakdown of opponents' two-minute offenses.
 
Before his summer stint in the NFL, Manning served the 2014-15 seasons in various roles at Boston College. He was an assistant recruiting specialist, special teams assistant and assistant running backs coach during his time with the Eagles. While at Boston College, Manning worked with All-ACC running back Jon Hilliman.
 
Manning graduated from North Carolina Central in 2011 with a degree in business administration and was a four-year letterwinner as a fullback with the Eagles. He earned a master's degree in criminal justice from Fayetteville State. 
 
Trey Page – Defensive Analyst 
 
Trey Page begins his first season as Troy's defensive analyst following two seasons as a graduate assistant on the Troy staff.
 
Page worked with Troy's offensive staff in 2023, primarily working with the passing game and spent the 2022 season as a graduate assistant in the weight room.
 
In his lone season working with the Troy offense, the Trojans increased their offensive production across the board, including scoring (3.3), total offense (59.5), passing yards (23.1) and passing efficiency (5.24). Individually, Chris Lewis finished 16^th nationally with 10 touchdown receptions, while Jabre Barber ranked 32^ndnationally with 999 receiving yards.
 
Quarterback Gunnar Watson turned in the best season of his career in 2023, ranking 12^th nationally with 27 touchdown passes and 3,569 passing yards, while Kimani Vidal finished the season ranked second nationally rushing for 1,661 yards.
 
Troy won back-to-back Sun Belt Championships during Page's tenure as a graduate assistant. The Trojans won a combined 23 games during the 2022 and 2023 seasons and finished the 2022 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press Top 25, Troy's first-ever final season ranking. Additionally, Troy appeared in the Coaches Poll and the College Football Playoff Top 25 for the first time in program history in 2022.
 
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Page was the offensive coordinator at Centennial (Fla.) High School for five seasons, where the Eagles made the Florida 8A playoffs during his final four seasons. He began his coaching career as the defensive coordinator at Evangel Christian (Ala.) Academy.
 
Page was a four-year letterwinner for the Trojans, playing under head coaches Larry Blakeney and Neal Brown from 2012-15. He earned his bachelor's degree in sport and fitness management in 2015 from Troy in addition to two master's degrees in athletics administration (2021) and adult education (2022) from Troy.