Rafael Horton has been hired to serve as the new Troy University football strength and conditioning coach, Neal Brown announced Monday.

Horton, who joins the Troy staff after two years with the University of Kentucky, is quite familiar with Brown who also previously coached for the Wildcats.

“I had the opportunity to work with Rafael the last two years at Kentucky, and he was on the top of my priority list when I got the job here,” Brown said. “Rafael is exactly who I am looking for to lead our offseason strength and conditioning program. I am a firm believer that the foundation of your program is established in the offseason and in the weight room. He is tough and wants to instill discipline and accountability and at the same time has passion for the student-athletes.”

Before arriving in Kentucky, Horton served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach and linebacker coach for one year before being promoted to the strength and conditioning coordinator at Fort Valley State University, where he would stay for five years.

While at Fort Valley State, he was the head of the strength and conditioning department. There, he supervised the strength and conditioning staff for all 11 varsity sports and cheerleading. He was also worked as a fitness instructor for the university, developing programs to help promote a healthier lifestyle for student-athletes and faculty.

Horton is also an entrepreneur. In 2011, he started Grindtime Fitness and Performance. There, he has trained professional athletes including several NFL players, such as Jason Thompson, Marquette King, Dionte Dinkins, Ricardo Lockette, Narda Williams and Darnell Burks.

“Troy feels like home,” Horton said. “Coach Brown has a great vision about what he wants with this program and he has great confidence in his program. I am looking forward to the process of getting this program back to when people were scared to put Troy on their schedule.”