Coach Marcello Royal enters his first season on the NCCU staff as an assistant coach with the defensive backs.

Royal comes to Durham, N.C. after spending most of his career on the west coast, in particular the state of California.

His most recent coaching stint was at Vista (Calif.) High School, where he served as an assistant coach for both the freshmen and varsity teams in 2007. Royal also coached at the University of California-Berkeley summer camps in 2006 and 2007.

He spent three seasons (1998-2000) as an assistant coach at Chabot Community College in Hayward, Calif., winning the Merced Elks Bowl in 1998 and the Hawaiian Punch Bowl in 1999.

Royal earned a bachelor's degree in management communications from Cal State University-Hayward in 2001. He also boasts master's degrees from the University of Arizona (2003) and Azusa Pacific University (2007).