LEXINGTON, Va. – Two days after announcing his defensive staff, VMI Head Football Coach Ashley Ingram continued to fill out his staff, announcing five new offensive coaches on Friday.

Brent Thompson – Offensive Coordinator
Thompson is a familiar name to the Southern Conference, as he served as the head coach of The Citadel Bulldogs for seven seasons, serving as the offensive coordinator for two seasons prior to being promoted. In his debut season of 2016, Thompson led the Bulldogs to a 10-2 record and perfect 8-0 mark in SoCon play, marking the just the seventh time in league history that a team has gone undefeated, earning him Coach of the Year honors. The 2016 title was just the second in program history, as The Citadel ranked in the top 10 in rushing offense four times during his tenure in Charleston.

One of Thompson's biggest wins came in 2019, when the Bulldogs defeated Georgia Tech 27-24 in overtime. Thompson would coach The Citadel through 2022, serving as the Director of Recruiting Operations for East Carolina beginning in 2023. Prior to The Citadel, Thompson mastered his offense at Lenoir-Rhyne (L-R), running the triple option from 2010-13 and taking L-R to the Division II Championship in 2013. Before L-R, Thompson was an assistant coach at Bucknell after starting on staff in 2003. A 1998 graduate of Norwich, Thompson holds a degree in peace, war and diplomacy, beginning his coaching career at Dickinson in 1998 before working at Stony Brook in 2000. A native of Poughkeepsie, New York, Thompson and his wife Tiffany have twin daughters, Harper and Emma.

Joe Ray – Offensive Line / Recruiting Coordinator
Ray brings a strong pedigree to VMI, as he was a three-time All-American, three-time winner of the South Atlantic Conference's (SAC) Jacobs Blocking Trophy – a feat only Ray has accomplished - and a two-time finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award for the best lineman in Division II football during his playing career at Lenoir-Rhyne (L-R). With Ray in the lineup, L-R averaged 386 rushing yards per game and in 2013, L-R broke the all-time rushing record for yards in a season (5,563) which would be held until it was broken in 2023. In 2014, Ray's junior season, the team's average of 416.2 rushing yards per game set a new NCAA Division II record.  

After his playing career, in which L-R named a blocking award after him, Ray started his coaching career at Carson-Newman (C-N), where he would spend a total of six seasons, including the 2024 and 2025 seasons under Ingram. Beginning as a graduate assistant, Ray earned promotions of offensive quality control, offensive line and ultimately recruiting coordinator. At C-N, Ray coached All-SAC linemen Christian Jones and Mike Peppin in 2022, as the duo helped the Eagles finish in the top 25 nationally in rushing yards per game (203.6). During Ingram's first year (2024), Ray coached Turk Daniels to All-SAC honors, with Daniels becoming the first offensive lineman in SAC history to win the league's Offensive Freshman of the Year award. After helping Jones to three All-SAC selections, this season (2025) Ray also coached Jay'Den Williams to Second Team All-Region honors. A 2016 graduate of L-R, Ray is married to the former Katie Gash.

Edgar Weiser – Special Teams Coordinator / Tight Ends
Boasting experience across multiple collegiate levels and high school, Weiser follows Ingram to VMI from Carson-Newman where he served as the associate head coach in his two years in Jefferson City, adding the special teams coordinator title in 2025. In 2024, Weiser oversaw a wide receivers unit that helped all Eagles receivers, tight ends and running backs combine to rank first in the South Atlantic Conference play and fourth nationally with an average of 17.49 yards per catch. Before C-N, Weiser was the special teams coordinator and running backs coach for his alma mater, Eastern New Mexico University, guiding the team to an average of 284 yards per game on the ground, which ranked fourth in the country.

Weiser spent time at Idaho State (FBS), Mississippi College (DII), University of the Cumberlands (NAIA), multiple high schools, Southeast Missouri State, Nebraska-Omaha and Southern Arkansas. While at University of the Cumberlands, Weiser helped the Patriots to a national championship appearance in 2013. The year prior, Weiser helped the Patriots pace the country in total offense (4,023), rank second in rushing offense per game (335.30) and both third in scoring offense (540) and scoring offense per game (45.0). A class of 2000 graduate (physical education) of Eastern New Mexico, Weiser added a master's degree in education in 2003.

Mike Patrick – Running Backs
Patrick is one of three coaches that joined Ingram from Carson-Newman, helping C-N to an NCAA bid and 16-6 record in two seasons as the running backs coach and special teams assistant. Patrick started his playing career at the Naval Academy, transferring to Division II power Lenoir-Rhyne where he earned All-American honors from Don Hansen's Football Gazette, rushing for 788 yards and nine touchdowns in his senior season.

Patrick started his coaching career at Harding (Arkansas) in 2016 where he worked with the quarterbacks and B-backs, helping the Bisons to a 13-1 record and an NCAA Division II Quarterfinal appearance. After Harding, Patrick would coach at the US Naval Academy Preparatory School for three years and The Westminster School (HS) in Atlanta for a season before joining Ingram in Jefferson City. Holding a bachelor's degree in mathematics and MBA in Administration, Patrick also coached basketball and baseball at Westminster, serving as a mentor to all student-athletes at the school.

Marcus Thomas – Wide Receivers
Most recently coaching the running backs for UCLA, Thomas is a Naval Academy graduate where he was a slot back and return specialist from 2010-14. As a player, Thomas earned 2011 Second Team All-Independent, 2012 Honorable Mention All-Independent, 2013 Honorable Mention All-Independent and 2013 ECAC All-Star recognition. Upon finishing his career, Thomas was the recipient of the Napoleon McCallum Award, presented to the Navy varsity football player of the graduating class who gained the most all-purpose yards (2,338). Thomas proudly served as an Aviation Supply Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps until 2019 when he then kick started his coaching career at UCLA (offensive analyst).

Thomas quickly found his way back to Annapolis, serving as the director of player personnel in 2022, elevating to slot backs coach in 2023 before reuniting with Ken Niumatalolo at San Jose State (running backs) and then finding his way back to UCLA. While Thomas' impact can be felt on the field – among his contributions are helping guide a UCLA rushing attack that finished 17^th nationally in rushing yards per game – is his impact off the field, as he's overseen recruitment, academic progress, video breakdown, organization of positional meetings and more. Thomas holds a bachelor's in political science and completed both leadership and character development (The Basic School) and Aviation Supply Officer Course.

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