Neal Brown is continuing to surround himself with familiar company.

Friday, the Trojan head football coach announced the hiring of former Troy wide receiver Cornelius Williams as an offensive assistant coach.

“Cornelius is a winner and we are excited and proud to welcome him back home to Troy,” Brown said. “He won multiple state championships at Hoover High School and Sun Belt championships every year he played for Troy.”

Williams, who played for Troy from 2006-2009 when Brown served as the offensive coordinator, is looking forward to getting reacquainted with a coach he has looked up to as a player and now as a coach.

“He (Brown) coaches with very good energy, he’s detail oriented and he is going to get the most out of you,” Williams said.

Williams, who was most recently a wide receivers coach at UAB until the football team disbanded this offseason, is the most recent of a slew of hires made by Brown this week.

Wednesday, the Trojans hired assistant head coach Jon Sumrall and Thursday they announced the hiring of co-offensive coordinator Matt Moore.

One thing all three coaches have in common: they either have previous ties to Troy or to Brown himself.

Williams said the familiarity to Brown and the program will be huge going into the staff’s first offseason.

“You come in with guys who you know know the same offense and you know have been a part of winning programs,” Williams said. “Guys that coach with great energy and they can bring life into a program.”

Williams, 27, will join a very young coaching staff, led by Brown who himself is just 34-years-old.

But despite the youth in the program, Williams believes the Trojans have quality and experienced coaches who know how to build a winning culture at Troy.

“There’s an energy,” Williams said. “These are coaches who have been around winning programs and they understand how to win.”