Darrell Perkins was named defensive backs coach, coming to Storrs from Louisiana-Monroe. Jon Wholley, a former UConn player and graduate assistant, is the new tight ends coach. He was at UConn as a coach from 2006-08, and spent last fall at Fordham. Here are the press releases:

Darrell Perkins, who served as the defensive backs coach at Louisiana-Monroe for the past two seasons, has been named to the same position on the University of Connecticut football staff.

Perkins helped lead the Louisiana-Monroe defense to the top ranking in the Sun Belt Conference in 2009. Prior to his stint at Monroe, he was the defensive coordinator at Charleston Southern in 2007.

“We are very pleased to welcome Darrell to the Connecticut football program,” says UConn head coach Randy Edsall. “He brings a wide variety of coaching experience to our team – and all of it has been successful. Darrell has worked in nearly every region of the country and brings a strong reputation with him to UConn.”

He was the linebackers and special teams coach at Northern Colorado in 2006 and was the defensive backs/special teams coordinator at Charleston Southern from 2004-05. In 2004, Charleston Southern was ranked second in the Football Championship Subdivision in pass defense at 131 yards per game.

Perkins was the defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator at Ferris State from 2002-03 as the Bulldogs finished first in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in pass defense at 161 yards per game.

He was a defensive graduate assistant at Purdue in 2000 and ’01.

Perkins began his football coaching career at Gateway High School in Aurora, Colo., where he was an assistant coach from 1997-99 at his alma mater. He was the head basketball coach at Legacy High School in Fort Collins, Colo., from 1993-96 and led the team to two state playoff appearances.

Perkins is a 1990 graduate of Wyoming and earned his degree in business marketing. He was a two-year starter at running back for the Cowboys and a three-year letter winner from 1985-89.

At Wyoming, Perkins played in the 1987 and ’88 Holiday Bowls and with Purdue coached in the 2001 Rose Bowl, following the Boilermakers’ 2000 Big Ten championship, and the 2001 Sun Bowl.

He is married the former Elena Zbitskaya and his 19-year-old son Jordan is a member of the men’s soccer team at Iona.

Jonathan Wholley, a 2004 graduate of the University of Connecticut who earned a master’s degree from UConn in 2008, has been named an assistant football coach for the Huskies. Wholley will have position responsibility with the tight ends.

“We are very happy to welcome Jon back to the UConn football program,” says head coach Randy Edsall. “He was a tremendously hard worker for us as a student-athlete and graduate assistant coach. Jon is a Connecticut native who knows the state through-and-through and he is a great addition to our staff.”

Most recently, Wholley was an assistant football coach at Fordham for the 2009 season where he worked with the running backs and had recently added recruiting coordinator duties. The Rams led the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense at 488.82 yards per game.

A Southington, Conn., native, Wholley was a member of the UConn football team from 2001-04 as a running back and joined the team as a walk-on. He later earned a scholarship and was a member of the 2004 Motor City Bowl championship team.

He earned his undergraduate degree in political science from UConn in December of 2004.

Following graduation, he was an assistant coach at Central Connecticut for the 2005 season and worked with the tight ends. The Blue Devils had a 7-4 record and were Northeast Conference co-champions.

Wholley then returned to UConn as a graduate assistant coach for the 2006-08 seasons working on the offensive side of the bowl. He was part of the coaching staff that led the Huskies to a share of the 2007 BIG EAST Championship and an appearance in the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl.

He earned his master’s of education in kinesiology from UConn in December of 2008.