Former Alabama star receiver Tyrone Prothro has always wanted to coach football.

Now he has his first chance on the Gulf Coast.

Prothro, whose electric college career was famously ended on a gruesome injury against Florida in 2005, has joined the staff at perennial Class 6A power Spanish Fort.

He will handle inside receivers for coach Ben Blackmon and also help with the junior varsity basketball program.

“Even before the injury, I wanted to coach whenever my playing days were over,” he said. “That’s been a long-term goal for me. I’m excited to have that chance at Spanish Fort.”

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Prothro caught 58 passes for 863 yards and five touchdowns in 26 games at Alabama. He also averaged 26.7 yards on 29 kickoff returns and 10.5 yards on 17 punt returns. He won the 2006 ESPY Award for Best Play after snagging a touchdown pass behind the back of a Southern Miss defender in a come-from-behind Alabama win.

His career was derailed a few weeks later, however, when he suffered a compound fracture in his lower left leg on Oct. 1, 2005 in a rout of the Gators. He has had 12 surgeries on his leg in as many years.

“My leg is fine now,” he said Wednesday. “I can run. I can be active. I can cut on it. I just can’t cut real hard on it. Other than that, it’s fine. I can do what I need to do and be active.”

Prothro has been living in Tuscaloosa and has held jobs with Coca-Cola, Knox Pest Control, Regions Bank, DriveTime Car Sales in Pelham and, most recently, Wagner’s Team Sports. He has been hoping to return to coaching at his alma mater, but that hasn’t worked out yet.

“I’ve had some coaching opportunities I passed up along the way,” he said. “I always wanted to go back to my alma mater, but I understand there is a long list of guys who want to work under coach (Nick) Saban and get that knowledge from all the experience he has. A position just never worked out there, and I didn’t want to keep passing up other opportunities.”

Prothro first became acquainted with Spanish Fort in the fall when defensive coordinator Tony Stonicher – through a mutual friend – asked if Prothro would talk to injured Toro running back Holdan Wilson. Prothro did, and a relationship was built.

“We got to talking, and he told me he wanted to get into coaching,” Spanish Fort head coach and athletic director Ben Blackmon said. “He had been trying to get into coaching, but he didn’t have his teaching certification. I told him that we could help him in terms of coaching, and he could work on his certification.”

Prothro, who does have a college degree, said he would begin taking courses online from West Alabama to earn his needed certification. Blackmon said Prothro, who started earlier this month, is a welcome addition to the staff.

“The kids can identify with Tyrone and who he is,” Blackmon said. “They’ve grown up watching ESPN. They’ve seen that catch against Southern Miss. They know who Tyrone Prothro is so he brings instant credibility. They’ll listen to him because they know where he’s been.”

Prothro played two years at Alabama with fellow Spanish Fort assistant Atlas Herrion. His career didn’t quite overlap with Daphne head coach Kenny King.

"Throughout the process, Atlas just was around if I had any questions or anything," Prothro said. "He kind of guided me through it all. He went through the online certification as well so he's had some insight on that."

Prothro said his first two weeks with the Toros have been good so far.

“I love it,” he said. “I just love being around the kids and learning the system and getting to coach the guys on things, on the ways I would do it. Being back on the field is just nice. It’s what I’ve always loved doing.”

Is his goal still eventually to return to Tuscaloosa as a coach?

“Right now I’m thankful for the opportunity I have and just getting into the profession period,” he said. “This is really my first opportunity and it comes at a place with a lot of tradition and talent. I’m just going to do the best I can for Spanish Fort, to try to be the best coach I can and I’ll see where it takes me.”