Post by FUBeAR on Dec 18, 2017 11:25:45 GMT -5
WOFFORD
As mentioned in another thread, Wofford's Head Coach, Mike Ayers, announced his retirement after 30 years of leading the RatDogs.
Though not entirely unexpected, Wofford seems to have been caught a little bit off guard by this announcement. I assumed they would announce whomever Mike Ayers recommended from the current Staff as their new Head Coach at Coach Ayers retirement announcement. They did not. They did announce OC, Wade Lang (also there 30 years and a former Wofford Player), as the Interim Head Coach.
Coach Lang is Coach Ayers' pick for the job, but the AD and President seem to want to take this opportunity to look outside the AnkleBiter Family. Huge mistake, IMO! Do the AD and the President know more about what it takes to be successful as the Head Football Coach at Wofford College than the man who has been doing that job, VERY successfully, for 30 years? Of course they don't! Since they didn't show enough respect to accept Coach Ayers' recommendation without hesitation, I hope Wofford goes out and hires some flash-in-the-pan "hot name," who only has Position Coaching experience in FBS and NFL Intern experience - like Elon did in 2011...when they subsequently sunk like a stone. Stay tuned.
In other Wofford non-Coaching, but very-much-Football-related news, the PorchYappers primary benefactor and owner of the Carolina Panthers & Wofford Alum/Football Player, Jerry Richardson, has recently been caught up in the raft of #MeToo accusations. Apparently, the Panthers have previously settled multiple harassment/discrimination lawsuits against them/Richardson. They launched some type of internal investigation, but have now turned that over to the NFL and Richardson announced that he will be selling the Team after this season. The Panthers have held their Training Camp at Wofford for many years which has been a boon for their program in terms of facilities upgrades, publicity, and financial resources. Where all this will lead and the impact it will have on Wofford College & Wofford Football is unknown. Also...Stay Tuned
UPDATE 1/2/18 - Wofford has hired Pitt's Defensive Coordinator, Josh Conklin, as their new Head Coach. Coach Conklin is a former SDSU Jackrabbit Player and here is his Coaching Bio...
Wofford College - Head Coach (2018- )
University of Pittsburgh - Defensive Coordinator (2015-17)
Florida International University - Defensive Coordinator (2013-14)
University of Tennessee - Safeties (2012)
The Citadel - Defensive Coordinator and Safeties (2010-11)
Wofford College - Defensive Backs (2007-09), Special Teams (2009)
South Dakota State University - Defensive Backs and Special Teams (2005-06)
South Dakota State University - Graduate Assistant (2003-04)
Interesting things to me... Coach Conklin left Woffy after 3 seasons and went to a primary rival, The Citadel. Looks like it was a promotion from DB Coach and Special Teams Coordinator to Special Teams Coordinator, but I would imagine that move did not sit particularly well with Coach Ayers. Interesting to note that Wofford's announcement (unless I missed it) does not include any quotes and/or endorsements from Coach Ayers. They do have quotes of endorsement from the current Head Coach at Pitt and the former Head Coaches at The Citadel and Florida International. That said, Coach Conklin and Wofford's AD cite Coach Ayers legacy in their quotes regarding the hire. On the '3rd hand,' President Samhat's quote does not include any mention of Coach Ayers. Hmmm??? By the way, Coach Conklin's Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law are both former Wofford Players, so I would GUESS that he met his wife during his 1st tenure with the RatDogs and SparkleCity (or surrounds) may be home for her. Looks like her brother was Asst AD for Development at Woffy until 2015, so yeah, I think SparkleCity is home for Mrs. Conklin. So, that's probably a good thing. Most likely, assuming he does well and they want him to hang around, he has more reason to do that, as opposed to aggressively looking for the next rung up the ladder. All-in-all, probably a nice hire for the YardBarkers. If I was a Wofford fan though, I would want to see Coach Ayers publicly support the decision.
UPDATE 1/13/18: Just learned that Al Clark (the elder), Conklin’s Father-in-law, is EVP of Gibbs International. Jimmy Gibbs is Woffy’s 2nd largest donor.. The football stadium carries his name. So, this is an interesting ‘inside’ hire. The lack of endorsement from Coach Ayers and the exodus of Woffy’s Assistants (6 now, I think), along with this new info, would GREATLY, concern me...if I were A RatDog Fan.
UPDATE 1/18/18: Wofford has lost a couple of Assistant Coaches on the Defensive side of the ball. Defensive Coordinator Shiel Wood departed to be a position Coach (Safeties) at Georgia Tech. Greg Gasparato, Inside LB Coach, has left to be a position Coach (TBD) at Appy State. The rumor mill says that DLine Coach, Jerome Riase, is also planning to depart for a role on the staff at GT. They've also, apparently, lost 15 year OLine Coach, Eric Nash. No word on where Nash is headed, but widely reported that he is not returning to SparkleCity. In addition, the rumor mill is saying that WR Coach, Freddie Brown, is also heading out the LittleDoggie Door. Stay tuned...
UPDATE 1/22/18: AJC (and other sources) are confirming that Jerome Riase has departed SparkleCity and will be joining the GT Coaching Staff
UPDATE 1/23/18: See below (VMI) - Allen Smith returns to his Alma Mater and home state of SC from a 1 year stint Coaching DLine at VMI, where, I believe, he got his 1st on-the-field college Coaching gig. So, he's O-fer College Coaching (on the field). Not a great record, but he'll have a (literal) TON of Talent to work with in SparkleCity. I imagine that will change at Woffy and this is probably a good hire for the PorchYappers and a good move for Coach Smith. I believe he will Coach Woffy's DLine.
The AnkleBiters have also hired an OL Coach to replace 15-year veteran Coach and Star Player for the Terriers, Eric Nash, who left or was let go or left or whatever. They have hired a Graduate Assistant TE Coach from Eastern New Mexico (D2), Charles (Trey) Johnson. Johnson is a former Terrier Player, a walk-on who started at Center for 3 years with the RatDogs '08-'10. I'm sure he had some other Coaching gigs between 2011 and 2016 before he found himself in Portales, NM on the Greyhounds' Staff...I just haven't found them yet. Hmmm...not so much, at least before 2014... Coaching Football by Night, Looking for Legal Work by Day at Living the Dream - BIG Dropoff in Coach experience for Woffy's O-Line...but...you never know, he could be GREAT! (See 1/26/18 Update below for more info)
Ratdogs have also added another D2 Coach to their Staff. This one was an ACTUAL D2 Coach though...not a GA. They have hired Sam Siefkes as their Inside LB's Coach. Coach Siefkes will be coming to Sparkle City from Platteville, WI where he was the Defensive Coordinator | Inside Linebackers Coach | Sexual Assault & Alcohol Abuse Awareness Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin - Platteville Pioneers and must've used a 3x5 business card to get all of that on there! He does have some D1 experience though. He was a GA at FBS P5 University of Wisconsin and an Quality Control Intern at FIU for one partial off-season (Jan- May 2014), apparently, when Woffy's new HC was there. Must have made quite an impression during those few off-season months.
BLOCKBUSTER UPDATE - RUMOR, BUT STILL...1/24/18: I just heard a new rumor today. Now, this rumor IS 3rd hand, but I know the originating source of the rumor well and this individual is very well connected in the state of SC. Here goes and it is a BLOCKBUSTER...but ONLY a rumor....Source says that Coach Conklin was told that he would not be retained as the DC at Pittsburgh next year, so he, with the 'endorsement' of his inside family connections at the highest levels of Wofford's benefactors list, proposed to Wofford College's Leadership that he should be brought onto the Staff as the DC and be Officially named Head-Coach-in-Waiting. Wofford's Leadership presented this to Coach Ayers, who was NOT one little bit happy about the 'suggestion' and turned in his notice of retirement the following day. This would help to explain why so many people have felt that Wofford seemed to be caught completely off guard by his resignation. So, I would expect, IF this rumor is true, that the intervening weeks were made up of hurried decision-making, big-time damage-control, preparation of Non-disclosure agreements with compensation, etc....as opposed to conducting a 'national search.' I sure didn't think about this as a possibility, but it does certainly seem plausible and would serve to answer some of the questions around the resignation, subsequent hire, lack of endorsement from Coach Ayers, and subsequent departures of long-term Wofford Assistant Coaches.
To paraphase that great Football Man, Coach Billy Shakespeare...Something seems rotten in the state of SparkleCity.
UPDATE 1/26/18: Trey Johnson's bio is now up on the Woffy website Trey Johnson Offensive Line Coach. Apparently he had 3 seasons (2 OL/1 DL) Coaching at 2 different HS's in NC before shipping out to NM to be a GA TE's Coach. This is his predecessor's bio: 2017 Football Coaching Staff - Eric Nash - Offensive Line Coach
UPDATE 6/4/18: Wofford has now lost their Outside LB Coach & Special Teams Coordinator from 2017. Jon Wheeler took a Head Coaching position at a HS in SC. This means Woffy has lost 2 of 3 Coordinators (also lost their DC) & their entire Defensive Front Coaching Staff (DL & Inside LB Coaches departed shortly after new HC arrived) since last season. Their only returning Defensive Coach was the Cornerback Coach last year, who is now titled as the DB Coach. Well, I guess they do have 1 other Returning Coach - now listed as Safeties Coach, he is NOW being called in his bio as an Asst DB Coach last year, although he is listed in their 2017 roster as the Video Coordinator, as he was in 2016.
UPDATE 6/7/2018: Well the hits keep coming out of Sparkle City. Seems rising R-Sr Safety, Malik Rivera, who would have been, most likely, a pre-season All SoCon selection, is pulling a Delaney & following several of Wofford’s Defensive Coaching Staff down to ATL, where he will finish his eligibility as a Grad Transfer for Georgia Tech. He was Wofford’s 3rd Leading tackler last year & 2nd on the Team In Passes Broken Up. When you have the kind of Coaches turnover they have had & the new position Coaches are also highly inexperienced - 1 year as a “real” Coach, Coaching CB’s only, losing a 2 year starter with 28 games of experience under his belt, is HUGE! As the bellhop fans did when Dee Delaney bolted for Miami, the porchyapper faithful is keeping a stiff upper lip about this, but I know they have to be chewing on their own fur over it.
UPDATE 6/12/2018: I wrote a whole ‘thing’ about these 2 updates, but the website ‘ate it,’ so I’m not gonna rewrite it all...Woffy hired a pretty good looking OLB Coach, with a Furman degree & Mercer connections, to replace the one who took the HS job & bolted. I’ll let y’all figger out the rest of that story.
Back on the AWFUL NEWS front for the PorchYappers, their Freshman All SoCon Returning Starter NG, the 6-2/280 Deon Priester, is no longer on their roster. I think that means they have only 2 of their vaunted Front 7 Returning on D & 3 DB’s.
EAST TENNESSEE
Head Coach Carl Torbush, architect of ETSU's restart of their Football Program, also announced his retirement. I think Coach Torbush and his staff have done an excellent job of getting the MountainPirates off the dock. Not quite as well as Mercer's crew, but still pretty darn good.
Yesterday, ETSU announced the hiring of Florida State's OC, Randy Sanders, as their new Head Coach. Although Sanders was not going to be asked to return to FSU next season (this was announced before Jimbo Fisher bolted to TAMU), he has very strong credentials - OC at a top ACC program and in the SEC (UK) plus he spent years on the Staff at UT-Knoxville and played QB there. He is from the area as well. I think this is an excellent hire for ETSU and for the overall perception of Coaching in the SoCon.
UPDATE: Offensive Line Coach, Dewayne Alexander, is leaving and has been named Tennessee Tech's new Head Football Coach.
UPDATE 1/24/18: Coach Sanders has, I think, completed his Staff. Upon further review, I think that's only 8. FCS Teams are allowed 9 Full-Time on-the-field Coaches if I am not mistaken.
Named former ETSU WR, former Tennessee Tech HC, Marcus Satterfield as Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach. Coach Satterfield was fired with a horrible record (1-10 last year) and was investigated for racial discrimination and harassment issues (cleared) while there. He came to TTU off what appeared to be a very successful 3 year run as OC at FBS G5 Temple.
Steve Brown is their DB Coach. Brown played at Oregon ('79-'82) and spent 8 years in the NFL with the Houston Oilers as a DB. He comes to ETSU from being the DB Coach for the Tennessee Titans (the legacy Team of the Oilers). He does have college experience as a DC in the SEC (Kentucky). Looks like a strong 'name' hire. That NFL and SEC experience will turn young DB's heads when he goes 'Cruitin.
Matt McCutchan will oversee the ETSU OL. He is another guy with SEC experience having played and served as a GA at Kentucky. He was most recently Offensive Quality Control Coach for 5 years at FSU. He does have 2 years of experience as an ACTUAL OL Coach though - 1 year at D2 Lincoln U. (MO) and 1 year at Murray State (FCS). Nice 'chops' with the SEC/FSU Playing/Coaching experience, but only 2 years as an OL Coach and never 2 years in a row at the same school in that role. Relating to Players on-the-field in practice and during games is the true key to being an effective OL Coach (see Clemson's Robbie Caldwell). Coach McCutchan may be great, but he's very light on being a REAL OL Coach and unproven in developing OLmen. He will be replacing a very experienced OL Coach, who as pulled out of Johnson City and named Head Coach at Tennessee Tech. Will be very interesting to watch ETSU's OL early in the 2017 season.
Billy Taylor will be ETSU's DC/Inside LB's Coach, Mike Rader will Coach WR's and be Recruiting Coordinator, Gary Downs will Coach RB's, Daryl Daye is their DL Coach and Special Teams Coordinator. Dylan Lewellyn will Coach Outside LB's. These 5 are all carry-overs from Coach Torbush's Staff.
UPDATE 2/24/18: Rumored that Price Partrick is leaving his role as Director of Football Operations (DFO) at Tennessee Tech to become ETSU's TE's Coach. Partrick has been involved in various roles, including 1 season (2015) as a 'real' on-the-field WR Coach, on TTU's Coaching Staff since 2013 when he began as a Student-Assistant. As a Player, he was, apparently, involved with the Football Teams at The Citadel, Chattanooga, and TTU...but (due to injury) never played for the Bellhops or the Mocs. His bio says he played in 3 games for the Golden Eagles in 2013 before suffering another injury and moving into the Student-Assistant role, but the game logs don't show that he participated in those games. Maybe he dressed. Anyway, lots of Coaching experience for a very young guy and exposure to multiple SoCon programs. Could be a good hire for ETSU.
FURMAN
Furman's OC (and former Reinhardt HC and OC), Drew Cronic, left FU and took the Head Coaching job at Lenoir-Rhyne, a D2 school in Hickory, NC...that 'spawned' the current Head Coaches & to some degree, the Coaching Staffs at The Citadel, James Madison, and Jackonville U.
Furman has moved George Quarles, the winningest HS Head Football Coach in all of the USofA from 2007-2016, from Assoc. HC/TE Coach to OC. My guess is that he might assume QB Coaching as well as Coach Cronic had that role for FU in 2017.
While I'm sure FU hated to lose Coach Cronic, replacing him with Coach Quarles should be almost seamless for the Paladins.
UPDATE: Furman hired former South Carolina QB, Connor Shaw, as TE Coach. Shaw was living in Greenville and retired from the NFL (Browns, Bears), so this is his 1st Coaching job. But, his Dad is a LONG-time Coach in Georgia High Schools (Flowery Branch (metro ATL) and now Rabun County (N. Ga)) and his older brother, Jaybo Shaw, who is now OC at Rabun County, played at Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern. Good Coaching DNA and connections in GA High Schools. I think this is a good hire for FU.
UPDATE 2/1/18: Just heard - source said it was "announced," but I'm calling it a "rumor" at this point - that Furman's Leading Defender from 2017, ILB Reynard Ellis, is leaving the program. Ellis, who was named to the All SoCon Freshman Team, stepped into a starting role as a True Freshman due to injuries and played 'lights out' all season. Big loss for the Paladins. Here are Ellis' 2017 Stats...
UPDATE 2/1/18: Looks like Furman's Strength & Conditioning Coach, David Abernathy, is leaving FU after 7 Football seasons in Travelers Rest. Abernathy is leaving to focus his time and energy on his own business - Tsunami Bar, LLC
SAMFORD
Sammy lost their DL Coach, Victor Cabral, to GaSou immediately after the season ended. No replacement has been announced.
Also, one of their prized WR Recruits from their 2016 Recruiting Class, Ta'Darryl (TD) Marshall, who was FR All-SoCon in 2016, and who was their 4th leading Receiver in 2017, has transferred to UAB
2017 Receiving___gp no. yds avg td lg avg/g
T.D. Marshall_____11 28 269 9.6 2 63 24.5
No tears for the Bullpups though as their Top 3 WR's all return and will be a Sr, Sr, and Jr, respectively, in 2018.
UPDATE: 1/23/18: Seems the HomewoodHounds are down 2 Coaches now. Running Backs Coach & Running Game Coordinator, Derrick Foster, has left Samford and joined the Staff at Iowa as an Offensive Coach. He is there newly-allowed-by-the NCAA (FBS-only, I think) 10th Coach. This is the 1st I've heard of an FCS Coach landing one of those "10th Coach" gigs. It seems to me that most FBS Programs promoted one of their Off-Field Staff Members into that 10th slot. Interesting that the Coach of Samford's Running Game over the past 2 years made a move up to a Power5 FBS School. They averaged a 'whopping' 2.8 yards per rush and didn't even score a rushing TD in almost 1/2 of their games during the 2017 season. This 'area of emphasis' for Samford in 2017 suffered a drop-off from averaging 3.6 yards per rush in 2016, still only good enough for last place in the SoCon. That's a 2-year average of 3.2 yards per rush.
THE CITADEL
No known changes at this time
Update 1/15/18: Looks like the Bellhops have lost one of the recruits they were quite excited about in the Class of 2017. Seems 6-1/310 DLman, John Wesley Whiteside II, is not returning to the Bullpups after playing quite a bit as a true FR for them. He played in 8 games and was their 4th leading tackler on the DL. No word, at present, as to Mr. Whiteside's future plans.
VMI
No known Coaching changes at this time.
Their starting QB, Duncan Hodges (younger brother of Devlin Hodges, Samford's All-SoCon QB) is transferring though. He's going to the University of North Alabama, which is moving up from D2 to FCS and will be joining the Big South Conference in a couple of years.
UPDATE 1/15/18: The Keydets have also lost their leading rusher and 2nd leading pass catcher from 2017, Daz Palmer, who is transferring to D2 VaState for family reasons. To compound matters, VMI also has lost a promising young/rangy LB, their starting Long Snapper, a LB who had transferred there from VaTech, and a 6-7 FR OLman. Not a good off-season so far in LexVegas.
UPDATE 1/23/18: It looks like the Keydets have also lost 3 Assistant Coaches. Running Backs Coach and former VMI STAR, Tim Maypray has left LexVegas to be the new RB's Coach at Davidson College. Davidson...really? [SHRUG] Also, Brad Robbins, VMI's WR's & TE's Coach AND Recruiting Coordinator! I believe Robbins was a 'holdover' from the prior Staff. He is headed to ChuckTown to Coach their DB's for ChuckSouth. Makes more sense than Davidson...I guess. Also departing LexVegas is Keydet DL Coach, Allen Smith. Coach Smith is staying in the SoCon though as he will be filling one of the many openings on the Woffy Staff, D-Line. He is a former RatDog Player and a SC Native. He only spent one year at VMI. This seems to make a lot of sense for him and probably a good hire for Woffy...dangit!
UPDATE 1/30/18: The hits keep on comin' for the Keydets. Now they have lost their Inside LB's Coach/Special Teams Coordinator, Justin Hamilton. Hamilton, who had been with VMI for 4 years, is returning to his Alma Mater, VaTech, in an off-the-field role, as the Director of Player Development, Defense. This is more 'fallout' from the new 10th Coach Rule in FBS - they promoted from within and Coach Hamilton is backfilling the resulting opening. So, about 1/2 of the Keydets' Staff of 2017 has pulled the ejection lever and vacated LexVegas - the Front Coaches on D and the Skill position Coaches on O (except QB's, I guess - wrong...spoke too soon...see 2/8/18 Update below)...not a great recipe for success. Maybe their replacements will be natural-born world shakers...it could happen!
UPDATE 1/31/18: Welp, more SS/DD for VMI. Seems their 4th leading tackler and, BY FAR, Sacks & Tackles for Loss Leader (70 TKL - 39 UT, 31 AT; 18.5 TFL, 8.5 SCK, 2 FF), 2nd Team Media All SoCon LB, Brian Lipscomb, will graduate in June and do a "Dee Delaney" - bail out & play his R-SR as a G-TR elsewhere. That means the Keydets are losing all 4 LB's (3 graduating Sr's & would-be R-SR Lipscomb) AND their Top 4 Defenders from 2017 (3 LB's and 1 Safety). Their 5th leading Defensive Player is a rising JR CB, who, apparently, is having some serious lower back injury issues - probably as a result of being a 177 lb CB and having to make 54 tackles in a season
. If that injury renders him unavailable in 2018, then, a 2017 FR DB will be VMI's leading returner on a defense that was last in Scoring Defense, Total Defense, Pass Defense Efficiency, Interceptions, Fumbles Recovered, and in Opponent 3rd & 4th down conversions.
Really wondering if the folks at VMI shouldn't be looking to take the same route as Presbyterian College is and join the PFL. I think with Campbell leaving, that would give the PFL 12 Teams and they could devise some type of regional conference games strategy that would result in them being able to select a Champion without a Playoff, cut down on travel expenses, and allow their Members to play an extra FCS 'money game' or 2 each year. PFL East with Stetson, Jacksonville, PC, VMI, Davidson, and Marist. PFL West with San Diego, Dayton, Drake, Butler, Morehead St., and Valparaiso. Then SoCon COULD add KSU (though I don't like it) with a FIRM-Financially-BINDING commitment to FCS and the SoCon. Big South has UNA and Campbell coming so they will still have Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern, Monmouth (maybe). Guess they would need to find a 6th...Valdosta State? Anyway...feelin' bad for the Keydets. I actually do (and always have) like(d) VMI...way better than those dang Bellhops!!!
UPDATE (Another one...better news, it seems) 1/31/18: Looks like VMI has filled their open DL Coach position with a Grad Asst from Wake Forest, Seth Payne. Coach Payne was at WF in a Grad Asst role for 3 years. Prior to that he spent 1 season at Villanova working with the Wildcats' Defense; I'm assuming in a GA capacity. Prior to that, Coach Payne Coached the DLine at D3, Moravian for 3 seasons (2011-2013) immediately after completing his playing career there in 2010. All-in-all...looks like a good pickup for the Keydets to me. He's been a 'real' Coach, albeit at a D3 school, and he's seen the 'inside' of a very successful FCS Program and a P5 ACC program as a GA. Young enough to relate well to the Players, but brings 7 years of continuous good experience to the table AND he's been recruiting in the PA, NJ area - probably an area that VMI should hit harder...if they can.
UPDATE 2/8/2018: Seems another house is going on the Market in LexVegas, VA. The Keydets have now lost their 5th Assistant Coach since they ended their 0-11 2017 Season. Offensive Coordinator & QB Coach, Dustin Ward is leaving VMI for the same job with D2 Catawba (who beat VMI last year). So, that leaves only their OL Coach returning on that side of the ball and 3 (OC/STC/RecC) of their 4 Coordinators have vacated the premises. Only their DC/Secondary Coach/Asst HC, Safeties Coach, and OLB Coach remain on Defense. I can't imagine how I would feel as a Player if that many Assistant Coaches (5 Total...I think) departed during 1 off-season - all, apparently, by their own choice...with 2 of them moving for lateral positions at lesser (FCS-NonSchollie and D2) programs.
UPDATE 2/26/2018: VMI filling a couple more of their Coaching openings per latest rumors...Looks like they are filling the OC/QB Coaching job, vacated when last year's OC/QB Coach took a job with a D2 school, with former Northern Arizona OC/QB Coach Brian Sheppard. Sheppard was released in December after spending just 1 season with the Lumberjacks (NAU parts ways with offensive coordinator). As the article states, "Northern Arizona ranked No. 11 in the FCS with 301 passing yards per game, finished No. 22 in the FCS with 430.8 yards of total offense and scored 30.3 points per game, sitting No. 29 in the nation. However, Northern Arizona scored 20 points or less in three of its final four games, including just 10 in the first round of the FCS playoffs against San Diego, the lowest total in a home game since 2013." Only putting up 10 at home, in the Playoffs, against a non-scholarship Team is a pretty good way to get shown the Exit Door, I guess. Sheppard does have extensive experience as an OC and QB Coach. Before heading west, he was the OC/QB Coach at Indiana State in the MVFC for 4 seasons. He was hired there in 2013 as the QB Coach and Passing Game Coordinator, but promoted to 'full' OC before the 2013 season began. Prior to ISUb (indicating 'blue' as they say in the MVFC to distinguish it from Illinois State U...ISUr (red))., he was the OC/QB Coach at D3 Willamette U for 1 season. I'll spare all of the details, but it looks like Sheppard played for and Coached under the (in)famous Hal Mumme - one of the Founders of the Air Raid Offense...forerunner of the HatchAttack (for you SoCon only peeps). He's also spent some time with Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow - Coaches noted for slingin' it around. I don't think VMI hired Coach Sheppard to install the Triple Option - look for VMI to throw it 50 times/game next year - come Hades or High Water...wonder if Mr. Hodges (the younger) may consider transferring back to LexVegas now that this (rumored) hire has been made.
Also gotta give some photoshop props to Coach Sheppard...
Also, the Keydets are rumored to have made a hire on the other side of the ball, adding former Howard Bison Coach Jeff SeJour to the staff as OLB Coach, which is interesting, because that's one of the few position Coaches they didn't lose. Mike Saint Germain has been on the VMI staff for 3 years - Coaching the DL for the 1st 2 and OLB's last year. Since they filled their DL job with Coach Seth Payne and now are rumored to be filling an OLB slot, wondering if Saint Germain is moving on or just moving to a different role. Anyway, looks like Coach SeJour was only at Howard for 1 season also - not sure of his role. Prior to that, he Coached Safeties at D3 Bridgewater College for a season and was a HS Coach for about 3 years before that. So, 1 year of FCS experience and 2 years of college experience at 2 different programs. Keydets starting to look a little green on the Defensive side of the ball coaching-wise. Will be interesting how they respond when 'the bullets start flying' in a SoCon game. Oh well, they have an Air Raid OC...so they'll just outscore people...unless they are playing a non-schollie Team...in the playoffs...at home.
UPDATE 6/6/18: Welp...the poor get poorer. VMI has lost their WR Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Ross Metheny, to a job in bidness in the great state of GA. Are the Keydets going to be able to field a Team in 2018? Wait, I missed that VMI also added a Coach - a TE Coach from a D3 school in VA. Seems like a pretty thin ray of sunshine on a very dark day.
CHATTANOOGA
UPDATE: Lost Defensive Coordinator, Tom Kaufman, and Defensive Line Coach, Brian Cochran, to Kent State
UPDATE 1/4/18: Looks like the Mocs lost another Defensive Coach, “Kent State: Chattanooga (FCS – TN) defensive backs coach Jonathan Cooley is joining the staff to coach the corners”
UPDATE 1/15/18: The Mocs have hired Davern Williams as their new DL Coach. Williams has been at "Last Chance U" (East Mississippi Community College) for the past 4 years and spent time at JaxSt and MurraySt prior. Probably a good hire for UTC. Former NFL Player AND FCS Coach with a possible 'direct access pipeline' to a strong source for JUCO Talent. That said, this hire tells me that UTC has no intention of going away from the mass recruiting of Transfers and JUCO kids we saw last spring. Many have tried that strategy in FCS; most unsuccessfully. We'll see.
UPDATE 1/19/18: See below - WCU's Inside LB Coach, Zac Etheridge, is joining the Mocs to Coach DB's with an emphasis on CB's. Meanwhile, the Mocs have, apparently, promoted last year's LB Coach, Matt Feeney, to fill their open Defensive Coordinator position and have also hired Oscar Rodriguez to Coach their Inside LB's. Rodriguez comes to Chatt from University of La Verne (CA), where he was the Leopards' DC and Asst HC...and he adds even more D3 Coaching experience to the Mocs Staff. This will be his 1st D1 Coaching position. That said, it should be noted that Rodriguez was recently named the D3 Asst Coach of the Year by the AFCA.
UPDATE 1/22/18: Oops - Looks like Zac Etheridge is leaving the Catamounts, but he's not heading to Chattanooga. Seems he's going to join (former FU QB) Billy Napier's Staff to Coach the DB's at Louisiana Lafayette.
UPDATE 2/5/18: The Mocs have hired a replacement for Zac Etheridge. As some other SoCon schools (VMI & Wofford) have done recently, Chatt went the Graduate Assistant ranks to fill their open slot. Jeremiah Wilson will Coach the Mocs DB's and has been a GA for the FSU Seminoles for the past 5 years. Before that he Coached DB's for a year at Godsby HS in FL and was, I think, a GA where he played his College Football - Huntingdon College, a D3 School in Montgomery, AL. Hard to say how much responsibility he had at FSU. Their DC was listed as the Secondary Coach, but 5 years is an AWFUL long time to be a GA. He does have some strong endorsements though - the 1st person to congratulate him (via Twitter) on the Chatt gig was Deion Sanders. Wilson also gained some measure of fame when he subtweeted Jim Harbaugh prior to Michigan's bowl game with FSU in 2016 - something about summer camps/antics/etc. As always, he'll have some outstanding athletes to work with in the Chatt secondary, I'm sure. That said, those athletes (and their predecessors), IMO, haven't had the best habits of highly disciplined/intelligent play on the field. Perhaps Coach Wilson has mad Coaching skills to go with the mad Photoshop skills he displays below!
UPDATE 2/20/18: Not really a Chattanooga Coaching Staff change, but something that, I think, will be of interest to Chatt (and to Mercer) Fans. Seems former Moc QB, Jacob Huesman, is joining the Staff at Georgia State as a GA. Former Mercer QB, John Russ, is also already a GA @ GaSt. That is 2 WAY, WAY GOOD SoCon QB's on that staff and 2 of the toughest QB's that I have ever seen play the game. I would be surprised to see GaSt's QB's have even a little bit of wimpy-ness about themselves with those 2 on the Staff there!
WESTERN CAROLINA
No known changes at this time
UPDATE 1/19/18: Seems that WCU's Outside LB Coach, Zac Etheridge is departing the 'Whee and heading over to 'Nooga to Coach the Mocs DB's, with an emphasis on the CB's. (NOTE: See update above - going to ULL instead of UTC)
UPDATE 2/15/18: Rumor is that WCU's Secondary Coach & Defensive Passing Game Coordinator, Blake Gideon, is departing the 'Whee for the ATL to Coach CB's on GaSt's Staff. I guess going to an FBS program is almost always a step up $-wise, but going from a Semi-Coordinator role to Coaching only 2 guys on the field at the same time for a Sluice Belt Team doesn't seem like a huge attraction. Hope it works out for Coach Gideon. The Catamount peeps seemed to think rather highly of him up in them thar hills.
That's the 2nd departure on that side of the ball for the Catamounts this off-season - Outside LB's & DB's. D was a real area of emphasis for WCU in 2017 after being fairly awful in 2016. They did show improvement, but still seemed a bit soft (to me) up front and in the middle. Those Coaches are returning (as of now). It will be interesting to see if there is continued improvement for them in 2018 with the loss of the Coaches that, IMO, were Coaching the best parts of their D.
UPDATE 2/21/18: Looks like WCU has filled their open position due to the departure of Coach Gideon to GaSt. Tripp Weaver, who spent the last 2 seasons Coaching the CB's and as the Recruiting Coordinator for James Madison, is relocating back to his home region of Western NC and will fill the titles/roles previously held by Gideon. Prior to JMU, Weaver Coached OLB's at El Cid for 2 (SoCon Championship) years. Prior to his move to Chucktown, he was at ECU, where he worked with the Catamounts' current DC. Young, experienced (including FBS AND SoCon), from Championship Programs, knows Recruiting, and is a local product - Great 'GET' for WCU, IMO....Hate it!
MERCER
No known changes at this time
UPDATE: The RUMOR WIRE now is saying that Mercer QB's Coach, Tre Lamb, will be named Offensive Coordinator at Tennessee Tech...stay tuned.
UPDATE 1/4/18:...looks like the Rumor Wire was accurate.
Best of luck to Coach T. Lamb on his new journey to a familiar place. Great opportunity to return to his Alma Mater in a Coordinator role.
UPDATE 1/18/18: From his Twitter account ( Dominique Davenport @coach_Davenport ) and TTU's website ( Dominique Davenport Title: Assistant Coach / Running Backs ), it looks like Mercer's CB Coach, Dominique Davenport has, along with Coach Tre Lamb, also flown the Maconga coop and is now the Golden Eagles' Running Backs Coach. Don't like to see a Position Coach, particularly a hometown one (played his HS Football @ Warner Robins HS) leave for another Position Coach role in a less successful FCS program, but it does give Coach Davenport an opportunity for experience on the other side of the ball, which he doesn't (apparently) have to date. Best of luck to him and Coach Lamb as GoldenEagleBears in Cookeville!
SMALL UPDATE (Just a TTU article) 1/31/17: Davenport leaves Mercer to follow Lamb to Tech's offensive staff
UPDATE 2/20/18: RUMOR being reported by Football Scoop that, if true, indicates Mercer may be making a change to their Offensive Coaching Staff - "Mercer (FCS – GA): Per source, North Greenville (D-II – SC) offensive coordinator Joe Pizzo has accepted the offensive coordinator job at Mercer." Coach Pizzo appears to have a long association with Furman Alum (who was a GA there my FR year - good (and funny) dude), Steve Patton. Played QB his Sr. Year for Coach Patton at Mars Hill College after transferring there from Nevada-Reno, on the advice of LA Rams legend, Roman Gabriel, his HS Coach in CA. Then, he appears to have Coached with Coach Patton at Mars Hill (after a stint in the NFL - Steelers, Browns, Colts, Lions - not sure if he ever made a roster or was a long-term "Camp Arm") and Coached with him on an Arena Team, the Charlotte Rage, and then joined him for his long 14-year tenure at Gardner-Webb (10 as OC) before moving to NC A&T and NGU. 17 years of experience as an OC and 20+ seasons as QB Coach + College (FBS (Nevada-Reno) NFL (and other leagues) experience playing QB.
Interesting development...stay tuned.
UPDATE 2/26/18: Noticed that last year's Safeties Coach, Josh Reardon, is no longer listed on the Mercer Football website as being on the Coaching Staff. Not sure where Coach Reardon is heading, but, assuming there is no error, this means Mercer's Secondary will have all new Coach(es) for 2018 as last year's CB's Coach earlier departed for TTU (see above).
So...3 Coaches have departed (apparently) and no confirmed hires yet. Perhaps an enterprising Recruiter/Search Firm should contact Mercer about provision of his/their services to facilitate the hiring process.
SMALL UPDATE 3/1/18: Still no confirmation of Mercer hiring Coach Pizzo (in any capacity), but he does seems to have taken a sudden interest in Mercer's/Bobby Lamb's Football Camp...
Stay tuned...
UPDATE 3/10/18: Mercer Adds Three Coaches, Announces Staff Changes - New OC confirmed. 1 Returnee & 1 young Leopard. I like it.
As mentioned in another thread, Wofford's Head Coach, Mike Ayers, announced his retirement after 30 years of leading the RatDogs.
Though not entirely unexpected, Wofford seems to have been caught a little bit off guard by this announcement. I assumed they would announce whomever Mike Ayers recommended from the current Staff as their new Head Coach at Coach Ayers retirement announcement. They did not. They did announce OC, Wade Lang (also there 30 years and a former Wofford Player), as the Interim Head Coach.
Coach Lang is Coach Ayers' pick for the job, but the AD and President seem to want to take this opportunity to look outside the AnkleBiter Family. Huge mistake, IMO! Do the AD and the President know more about what it takes to be successful as the Head Football Coach at Wofford College than the man who has been doing that job, VERY successfully, for 30 years? Of course they don't! Since they didn't show enough respect to accept Coach Ayers' recommendation without hesitation, I hope Wofford goes out and hires some flash-in-the-pan "hot name," who only has Position Coaching experience in FBS and NFL Intern experience - like Elon did in 2011...when they subsequently sunk like a stone. Stay tuned.
In other Wofford non-Coaching, but very-much-Football-related news, the PorchYappers primary benefactor and owner of the Carolina Panthers & Wofford Alum/Football Player, Jerry Richardson, has recently been caught up in the raft of #MeToo accusations. Apparently, the Panthers have previously settled multiple harassment/discrimination lawsuits against them/Richardson. They launched some type of internal investigation, but have now turned that over to the NFL and Richardson announced that he will be selling the Team after this season. The Panthers have held their Training Camp at Wofford for many years which has been a boon for their program in terms of facilities upgrades, publicity, and financial resources. Where all this will lead and the impact it will have on Wofford College & Wofford Football is unknown. Also...Stay Tuned
UPDATE 1/2/18 - Wofford has hired Pitt's Defensive Coordinator, Josh Conklin, as their new Head Coach. Coach Conklin is a former SDSU Jackrabbit Player and here is his Coaching Bio...
Wofford College - Head Coach (2018- )
University of Pittsburgh - Defensive Coordinator (2015-17)
Florida International University - Defensive Coordinator (2013-14)
University of Tennessee - Safeties (2012)
The Citadel - Defensive Coordinator and Safeties (2010-11)
Wofford College - Defensive Backs (2007-09), Special Teams (2009)
South Dakota State University - Defensive Backs and Special Teams (2005-06)
South Dakota State University - Graduate Assistant (2003-04)
Interesting things to me... Coach Conklin left Woffy after 3 seasons and went to a primary rival, The Citadel. Looks like it was a promotion from DB Coach and Special Teams Coordinator to Special Teams Coordinator, but I would imagine that move did not sit particularly well with Coach Ayers. Interesting to note that Wofford's announcement (unless I missed it) does not include any quotes and/or endorsements from Coach Ayers. They do have quotes of endorsement from the current Head Coach at Pitt and the former Head Coaches at The Citadel and Florida International. That said, Coach Conklin and Wofford's AD cite Coach Ayers legacy in their quotes regarding the hire. On the '3rd hand,' President Samhat's quote does not include any mention of Coach Ayers. Hmmm??? By the way, Coach Conklin's Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law are both former Wofford Players, so I would GUESS that he met his wife during his 1st tenure with the RatDogs and SparkleCity (or surrounds) may be home for her. Looks like her brother was Asst AD for Development at Woffy until 2015, so yeah, I think SparkleCity is home for Mrs. Conklin. So, that's probably a good thing. Most likely, assuming he does well and they want him to hang around, he has more reason to do that, as opposed to aggressively looking for the next rung up the ladder. All-in-all, probably a nice hire for the YardBarkers. If I was a Wofford fan though, I would want to see Coach Ayers publicly support the decision.
UPDATE 1/13/18: Just learned that Al Clark (the elder), Conklin’s Father-in-law, is EVP of Gibbs International. Jimmy Gibbs is Woffy’s 2nd largest donor.. The football stadium carries his name. So, this is an interesting ‘inside’ hire. The lack of endorsement from Coach Ayers and the exodus of Woffy’s Assistants (6 now, I think), along with this new info, would GREATLY, concern me...if I were A RatDog Fan.
UPDATE 1/18/18: Wofford has lost a couple of Assistant Coaches on the Defensive side of the ball. Defensive Coordinator Shiel Wood departed to be a position Coach (Safeties) at Georgia Tech. Greg Gasparato, Inside LB Coach, has left to be a position Coach (TBD) at Appy State. The rumor mill says that DLine Coach, Jerome Riase, is also planning to depart for a role on the staff at GT. They've also, apparently, lost 15 year OLine Coach, Eric Nash. No word on where Nash is headed, but widely reported that he is not returning to SparkleCity. In addition, the rumor mill is saying that WR Coach, Freddie Brown, is also heading out the LittleDoggie Door. Stay tuned...
UPDATE 1/22/18: AJC (and other sources) are confirming that Jerome Riase has departed SparkleCity and will be joining the GT Coaching Staff
UPDATE 1/23/18: See below (VMI) - Allen Smith returns to his Alma Mater and home state of SC from a 1 year stint Coaching DLine at VMI, where, I believe, he got his 1st on-the-field college Coaching gig. So, he's O-fer College Coaching (on the field). Not a great record, but he'll have a (literal) TON of Talent to work with in SparkleCity. I imagine that will change at Woffy and this is probably a good hire for the PorchYappers and a good move for Coach Smith. I believe he will Coach Woffy's DLine.
The AnkleBiters have also hired an OL Coach to replace 15-year veteran Coach and Star Player for the Terriers, Eric Nash, who left or was let go or left or whatever. They have hired a Graduate Assistant TE Coach from Eastern New Mexico (D2), Charles (Trey) Johnson. Johnson is a former Terrier Player, a walk-on who started at Center for 3 years with the RatDogs '08-'10. I'm sure he had some other Coaching gigs between 2011 and 2016 before he found himself in Portales, NM on the Greyhounds' Staff...I just haven't found them yet. Hmmm...not so much, at least before 2014... Coaching Football by Night, Looking for Legal Work by Day at Living the Dream - BIG Dropoff in Coach experience for Woffy's O-Line...but...you never know, he could be GREAT! (See 1/26/18 Update below for more info)
Ratdogs have also added another D2 Coach to their Staff. This one was an ACTUAL D2 Coach though...not a GA. They have hired Sam Siefkes as their Inside LB's Coach. Coach Siefkes will be coming to Sparkle City from Platteville, WI where he was the Defensive Coordinator | Inside Linebackers Coach | Sexual Assault & Alcohol Abuse Awareness Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin - Platteville Pioneers and must've used a 3x5 business card to get all of that on there! He does have some D1 experience though. He was a GA at FBS P5 University of Wisconsin and an Quality Control Intern at FIU for one partial off-season (Jan- May 2014), apparently, when Woffy's new HC was there. Must have made quite an impression during those few off-season months.
BLOCKBUSTER UPDATE - RUMOR, BUT STILL...1/24/18: I just heard a new rumor today. Now, this rumor IS 3rd hand, but I know the originating source of the rumor well and this individual is very well connected in the state of SC. Here goes and it is a BLOCKBUSTER...but ONLY a rumor....Source says that Coach Conklin was told that he would not be retained as the DC at Pittsburgh next year, so he, with the 'endorsement' of his inside family connections at the highest levels of Wofford's benefactors list, proposed to Wofford College's Leadership that he should be brought onto the Staff as the DC and be Officially named Head-Coach-in-Waiting. Wofford's Leadership presented this to Coach Ayers, who was NOT one little bit happy about the 'suggestion' and turned in his notice of retirement the following day. This would help to explain why so many people have felt that Wofford seemed to be caught completely off guard by his resignation. So, I would expect, IF this rumor is true, that the intervening weeks were made up of hurried decision-making, big-time damage-control, preparation of Non-disclosure agreements with compensation, etc....as opposed to conducting a 'national search.' I sure didn't think about this as a possibility, but it does certainly seem plausible and would serve to answer some of the questions around the resignation, subsequent hire, lack of endorsement from Coach Ayers, and subsequent departures of long-term Wofford Assistant Coaches.
To paraphase that great Football Man, Coach Billy Shakespeare...Something seems rotten in the state of SparkleCity.
UPDATE 1/26/18: Trey Johnson's bio is now up on the Woffy website Trey Johnson Offensive Line Coach. Apparently he had 3 seasons (2 OL/1 DL) Coaching at 2 different HS's in NC before shipping out to NM to be a GA TE's Coach. This is his predecessor's bio: 2017 Football Coaching Staff - Eric Nash - Offensive Line Coach
UPDATE 6/4/18: Wofford has now lost their Outside LB Coach & Special Teams Coordinator from 2017. Jon Wheeler took a Head Coaching position at a HS in SC. This means Woffy has lost 2 of 3 Coordinators (also lost their DC) & their entire Defensive Front Coaching Staff (DL & Inside LB Coaches departed shortly after new HC arrived) since last season. Their only returning Defensive Coach was the Cornerback Coach last year, who is now titled as the DB Coach. Well, I guess they do have 1 other Returning Coach - now listed as Safeties Coach, he is NOW being called in his bio as an Asst DB Coach last year, although he is listed in their 2017 roster as the Video Coordinator, as he was in 2016.
UPDATE 6/7/2018: Well the hits keep coming out of Sparkle City. Seems rising R-Sr Safety, Malik Rivera, who would have been, most likely, a pre-season All SoCon selection, is pulling a Delaney & following several of Wofford’s Defensive Coaching Staff down to ATL, where he will finish his eligibility as a Grad Transfer for Georgia Tech. He was Wofford’s 3rd Leading tackler last year & 2nd on the Team In Passes Broken Up. When you have the kind of Coaches turnover they have had & the new position Coaches are also highly inexperienced - 1 year as a “real” Coach, Coaching CB’s only, losing a 2 year starter with 28 games of experience under his belt, is HUGE! As the bellhop fans did when Dee Delaney bolted for Miami, the porchyapper faithful is keeping a stiff upper lip about this, but I know they have to be chewing on their own fur over it.
UPDATE 6/12/2018: I wrote a whole ‘thing’ about these 2 updates, but the website ‘ate it,’ so I’m not gonna rewrite it all...Woffy hired a pretty good looking OLB Coach, with a Furman degree & Mercer connections, to replace the one who took the HS job & bolted. I’ll let y’all figger out the rest of that story.
Back on the AWFUL NEWS front for the PorchYappers, their Freshman All SoCon Returning Starter NG, the 6-2/280 Deon Priester, is no longer on their roster. I think that means they have only 2 of their vaunted Front 7 Returning on D & 3 DB’s.
EAST TENNESSEE
Head Coach Carl Torbush, architect of ETSU's restart of their Football Program, also announced his retirement. I think Coach Torbush and his staff have done an excellent job of getting the MountainPirates off the dock. Not quite as well as Mercer's crew, but still pretty darn good.
Yesterday, ETSU announced the hiring of Florida State's OC, Randy Sanders, as their new Head Coach. Although Sanders was not going to be asked to return to FSU next season (this was announced before Jimbo Fisher bolted to TAMU), he has very strong credentials - OC at a top ACC program and in the SEC (UK) plus he spent years on the Staff at UT-Knoxville and played QB there. He is from the area as well. I think this is an excellent hire for ETSU and for the overall perception of Coaching in the SoCon.
UPDATE: Offensive Line Coach, Dewayne Alexander, is leaving and has been named Tennessee Tech's new Head Football Coach.
UPDATE 1/24/18: Coach Sanders has, I think, completed his Staff. Upon further review, I think that's only 8. FCS Teams are allowed 9 Full-Time on-the-field Coaches if I am not mistaken.
Named former ETSU WR, former Tennessee Tech HC, Marcus Satterfield as Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach. Coach Satterfield was fired with a horrible record (1-10 last year) and was investigated for racial discrimination and harassment issues (cleared) while there. He came to TTU off what appeared to be a very successful 3 year run as OC at FBS G5 Temple.
Steve Brown is their DB Coach. Brown played at Oregon ('79-'82) and spent 8 years in the NFL with the Houston Oilers as a DB. He comes to ETSU from being the DB Coach for the Tennessee Titans (the legacy Team of the Oilers). He does have college experience as a DC in the SEC (Kentucky). Looks like a strong 'name' hire. That NFL and SEC experience will turn young DB's heads when he goes 'Cruitin.
Matt McCutchan will oversee the ETSU OL. He is another guy with SEC experience having played and served as a GA at Kentucky. He was most recently Offensive Quality Control Coach for 5 years at FSU. He does have 2 years of experience as an ACTUAL OL Coach though - 1 year at D2 Lincoln U. (MO) and 1 year at Murray State (FCS). Nice 'chops' with the SEC/FSU Playing/Coaching experience, but only 2 years as an OL Coach and never 2 years in a row at the same school in that role. Relating to Players on-the-field in practice and during games is the true key to being an effective OL Coach (see Clemson's Robbie Caldwell). Coach McCutchan may be great, but he's very light on being a REAL OL Coach and unproven in developing OLmen. He will be replacing a very experienced OL Coach, who as pulled out of Johnson City and named Head Coach at Tennessee Tech. Will be very interesting to watch ETSU's OL early in the 2017 season.
Billy Taylor will be ETSU's DC/Inside LB's Coach, Mike Rader will Coach WR's and be Recruiting Coordinator, Gary Downs will Coach RB's, Daryl Daye is their DL Coach and Special Teams Coordinator. Dylan Lewellyn will Coach Outside LB's. These 5 are all carry-overs from Coach Torbush's Staff.
UPDATE 2/24/18: Rumored that Price Partrick is leaving his role as Director of Football Operations (DFO) at Tennessee Tech to become ETSU's TE's Coach. Partrick has been involved in various roles, including 1 season (2015) as a 'real' on-the-field WR Coach, on TTU's Coaching Staff since 2013 when he began as a Student-Assistant. As a Player, he was, apparently, involved with the Football Teams at The Citadel, Chattanooga, and TTU...but (due to injury) never played for the Bellhops or the Mocs. His bio says he played in 3 games for the Golden Eagles in 2013 before suffering another injury and moving into the Student-Assistant role, but the game logs don't show that he participated in those games. Maybe he dressed. Anyway, lots of Coaching experience for a very young guy and exposure to multiple SoCon programs. Could be a good hire for ETSU.
FURMAN
Furman's OC (and former Reinhardt HC and OC), Drew Cronic, left FU and took the Head Coaching job at Lenoir-Rhyne, a D2 school in Hickory, NC...that 'spawned' the current Head Coaches & to some degree, the Coaching Staffs at The Citadel, James Madison, and Jackonville U.
Furman has moved George Quarles, the winningest HS Head Football Coach in all of the USofA from 2007-2016, from Assoc. HC/TE Coach to OC. My guess is that he might assume QB Coaching as well as Coach Cronic had that role for FU in 2017.
While I'm sure FU hated to lose Coach Cronic, replacing him with Coach Quarles should be almost seamless for the Paladins.
UPDATE: Furman hired former South Carolina QB, Connor Shaw, as TE Coach. Shaw was living in Greenville and retired from the NFL (Browns, Bears), so this is his 1st Coaching job. But, his Dad is a LONG-time Coach in Georgia High Schools (Flowery Branch (metro ATL) and now Rabun County (N. Ga)) and his older brother, Jaybo Shaw, who is now OC at Rabun County, played at Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern. Good Coaching DNA and connections in GA High Schools. I think this is a good hire for FU.
UPDATE 2/1/18: Just heard - source said it was "announced," but I'm calling it a "rumor" at this point - that Furman's Leading Defender from 2017, ILB Reynard Ellis, is leaving the program. Ellis, who was named to the All SoCon Freshman Team, stepped into a starting role as a True Freshman due to injuries and played 'lights out' all season. Big loss for the Paladins. Here are Ellis' 2017 Stats...
| DEFENSIVE LEADERS | GP | Tackles | Sacks | Pass Defense | ||||||||||||
| Solo | Ast | Total | TFL | Yds | No | Yds | Int | Yds | BU | PD | Qbh | |||||
| Reynard Ellis | 12 | 46 | 46 | 92 | 5.0 | 16 | 2.0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
UPDATE 2/1/18: Looks like Furman's Strength & Conditioning Coach, David Abernathy, is leaving FU after 7 Football seasons in Travelers Rest. Abernathy is leaving to focus his time and energy on his own business - Tsunami Bar, LLC
SAMFORD
Sammy lost their DL Coach, Victor Cabral, to GaSou immediately after the season ended. No replacement has been announced.
Also, one of their prized WR Recruits from their 2016 Recruiting Class, Ta'Darryl (TD) Marshall, who was FR All-SoCon in 2016, and who was their 4th leading Receiver in 2017, has transferred to UAB
2017 Receiving___gp no. yds avg td lg avg/g
T.D. Marshall_____11 28 269 9.6 2 63 24.5
No tears for the Bullpups though as their Top 3 WR's all return and will be a Sr, Sr, and Jr, respectively, in 2018.
UPDATE: 1/23/18: Seems the HomewoodHounds are down 2 Coaches now. Running Backs Coach & Running Game Coordinator, Derrick Foster, has left Samford and joined the Staff at Iowa as an Offensive Coach. He is there newly-allowed-by-the NCAA (FBS-only, I think) 10th Coach. This is the 1st I've heard of an FCS Coach landing one of those "10th Coach" gigs. It seems to me that most FBS Programs promoted one of their Off-Field Staff Members into that 10th slot. Interesting that the Coach of Samford's Running Game over the past 2 years made a move up to a Power5 FBS School. They averaged a 'whopping' 2.8 yards per rush and didn't even score a rushing TD in almost 1/2 of their games during the 2017 season. This 'area of emphasis' for Samford in 2017 suffered a drop-off from averaging 3.6 yards per rush in 2016, still only good enough for last place in the SoCon. That's a 2-year average of 3.2 yards per rush.
THE CITADEL
No known changes at this time
Update 1/15/18: Looks like the Bellhops have lost one of the recruits they were quite excited about in the Class of 2017. Seems 6-1/310 DLman, John Wesley Whiteside II, is not returning to the Bullpups after playing quite a bit as a true FR for them. He played in 8 games and was their 4th leading tackler on the DL. No word, at present, as to Mr. Whiteside's future plans.
VMI
No known Coaching changes at this time.
Their starting QB, Duncan Hodges (younger brother of Devlin Hodges, Samford's All-SoCon QB) is transferring though. He's going to the University of North Alabama, which is moving up from D2 to FCS and will be joining the Big South Conference in a couple of years.
UPDATE 1/15/18: The Keydets have also lost their leading rusher and 2nd leading pass catcher from 2017, Daz Palmer, who is transferring to D2 VaState for family reasons. To compound matters, VMI also has lost a promising young/rangy LB, their starting Long Snapper, a LB who had transferred there from VaTech, and a 6-7 FR OLman. Not a good off-season so far in LexVegas.
UPDATE 1/23/18: It looks like the Keydets have also lost 3 Assistant Coaches. Running Backs Coach and former VMI STAR, Tim Maypray has left LexVegas to be the new RB's Coach at Davidson College. Davidson...really? [SHRUG] Also, Brad Robbins, VMI's WR's & TE's Coach AND Recruiting Coordinator! I believe Robbins was a 'holdover' from the prior Staff. He is headed to ChuckTown to Coach their DB's for ChuckSouth. Makes more sense than Davidson...I guess. Also departing LexVegas is Keydet DL Coach, Allen Smith. Coach Smith is staying in the SoCon though as he will be filling one of the many openings on the Woffy Staff, D-Line. He is a former RatDog Player and a SC Native. He only spent one year at VMI. This seems to make a lot of sense for him and probably a good hire for Woffy...dangit!
UPDATE 1/30/18: The hits keep on comin' for the Keydets. Now they have lost their Inside LB's Coach/Special Teams Coordinator, Justin Hamilton. Hamilton, who had been with VMI for 4 years, is returning to his Alma Mater, VaTech, in an off-the-field role, as the Director of Player Development, Defense. This is more 'fallout' from the new 10th Coach Rule in FBS - they promoted from within and Coach Hamilton is backfilling the resulting opening. So, about 1/2 of the Keydets' Staff of 2017 has pulled the ejection lever and vacated LexVegas - the Front Coaches on D and the Skill position Coaches on O (except QB's, I guess - wrong...spoke too soon...see 2/8/18 Update below)...not a great recipe for success. Maybe their replacements will be natural-born world shakers...it could happen!
UPDATE 1/31/18: Welp, more SS/DD for VMI. Seems their 4th leading tackler and, BY FAR, Sacks & Tackles for Loss Leader (70 TKL - 39 UT, 31 AT; 18.5 TFL, 8.5 SCK, 2 FF), 2nd Team Media All SoCon LB, Brian Lipscomb, will graduate in June and do a "Dee Delaney" - bail out & play his R-SR as a G-TR elsewhere. That means the Keydets are losing all 4 LB's (3 graduating Sr's & would-be R-SR Lipscomb) AND their Top 4 Defenders from 2017 (3 LB's and 1 Safety). Their 5th leading Defensive Player is a rising JR CB, who, apparently, is having some serious lower back injury issues - probably as a result of being a 177 lb CB and having to make 54 tackles in a season
. If that injury renders him unavailable in 2018, then, a 2017 FR DB will be VMI's leading returner on a defense that was last in Scoring Defense, Total Defense, Pass Defense Efficiency, Interceptions, Fumbles Recovered, and in Opponent 3rd & 4th down conversions. Really wondering if the folks at VMI shouldn't be looking to take the same route as Presbyterian College is and join the PFL. I think with Campbell leaving, that would give the PFL 12 Teams and they could devise some type of regional conference games strategy that would result in them being able to select a Champion without a Playoff, cut down on travel expenses, and allow their Members to play an extra FCS 'money game' or 2 each year. PFL East with Stetson, Jacksonville, PC, VMI, Davidson, and Marist. PFL West with San Diego, Dayton, Drake, Butler, Morehead St., and Valparaiso. Then SoCon COULD add KSU (though I don't like it) with a FIRM-Financially-BINDING commitment to FCS and the SoCon. Big South has UNA and Campbell coming so they will still have Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern, Monmouth (maybe). Guess they would need to find a 6th...Valdosta State? Anyway...feelin' bad for the Keydets. I actually do (and always have) like(d) VMI...way better than those dang Bellhops!!!
UPDATE (Another one...better news, it seems) 1/31/18: Looks like VMI has filled their open DL Coach position with a Grad Asst from Wake Forest, Seth Payne. Coach Payne was at WF in a Grad Asst role for 3 years. Prior to that he spent 1 season at Villanova working with the Wildcats' Defense; I'm assuming in a GA capacity. Prior to that, Coach Payne Coached the DLine at D3, Moravian for 3 seasons (2011-2013) immediately after completing his playing career there in 2010. All-in-all...looks like a good pickup for the Keydets to me. He's been a 'real' Coach, albeit at a D3 school, and he's seen the 'inside' of a very successful FCS Program and a P5 ACC program as a GA. Young enough to relate well to the Players, but brings 7 years of continuous good experience to the table AND he's been recruiting in the PA, NJ area - probably an area that VMI should hit harder...if they can.
UPDATE 2/8/2018: Seems another house is going on the Market in LexVegas, VA. The Keydets have now lost their 5th Assistant Coach since they ended their 0-11 2017 Season. Offensive Coordinator & QB Coach, Dustin Ward is leaving VMI for the same job with D2 Catawba (who beat VMI last year). So, that leaves only their OL Coach returning on that side of the ball and 3 (OC/STC/RecC) of their 4 Coordinators have vacated the premises. Only their DC/Secondary Coach/Asst HC, Safeties Coach, and OLB Coach remain on Defense. I can't imagine how I would feel as a Player if that many Assistant Coaches (5 Total...I think) departed during 1 off-season - all, apparently, by their own choice...with 2 of them moving for lateral positions at lesser (FCS-NonSchollie and D2) programs.
UPDATE 2/26/2018: VMI filling a couple more of their Coaching openings per latest rumors...Looks like they are filling the OC/QB Coaching job, vacated when last year's OC/QB Coach took a job with a D2 school, with former Northern Arizona OC/QB Coach Brian Sheppard. Sheppard was released in December after spending just 1 season with the Lumberjacks (NAU parts ways with offensive coordinator). As the article states, "Northern Arizona ranked No. 11 in the FCS with 301 passing yards per game, finished No. 22 in the FCS with 430.8 yards of total offense and scored 30.3 points per game, sitting No. 29 in the nation. However, Northern Arizona scored 20 points or less in three of its final four games, including just 10 in the first round of the FCS playoffs against San Diego, the lowest total in a home game since 2013." Only putting up 10 at home, in the Playoffs, against a non-scholarship Team is a pretty good way to get shown the Exit Door, I guess. Sheppard does have extensive experience as an OC and QB Coach. Before heading west, he was the OC/QB Coach at Indiana State in the MVFC for 4 seasons. He was hired there in 2013 as the QB Coach and Passing Game Coordinator, but promoted to 'full' OC before the 2013 season began. Prior to ISUb (indicating 'blue' as they say in the MVFC to distinguish it from Illinois State U...ISUr (red))., he was the OC/QB Coach at D3 Willamette U for 1 season. I'll spare all of the details, but it looks like Sheppard played for and Coached under the (in)famous Hal Mumme - one of the Founders of the Air Raid Offense...forerunner of the HatchAttack (for you SoCon only peeps). He's also spent some time with Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow - Coaches noted for slingin' it around. I don't think VMI hired Coach Sheppard to install the Triple Option - look for VMI to throw it 50 times/game next year - come Hades or High Water...wonder if Mr. Hodges (the younger) may consider transferring back to LexVegas now that this (rumored) hire has been made.
Also gotta give some photoshop props to Coach Sheppard...
Also, the Keydets are rumored to have made a hire on the other side of the ball, adding former Howard Bison Coach Jeff SeJour to the staff as OLB Coach, which is interesting, because that's one of the few position Coaches they didn't lose. Mike Saint Germain has been on the VMI staff for 3 years - Coaching the DL for the 1st 2 and OLB's last year. Since they filled their DL job with Coach Seth Payne and now are rumored to be filling an OLB slot, wondering if Saint Germain is moving on or just moving to a different role. Anyway, looks like Coach SeJour was only at Howard for 1 season also - not sure of his role. Prior to that, he Coached Safeties at D3 Bridgewater College for a season and was a HS Coach for about 3 years before that. So, 1 year of FCS experience and 2 years of college experience at 2 different programs. Keydets starting to look a little green on the Defensive side of the ball coaching-wise. Will be interesting how they respond when 'the bullets start flying' in a SoCon game. Oh well, they have an Air Raid OC...so they'll just outscore people...unless they are playing a non-schollie Team...in the playoffs...at home.
UPDATE 6/6/18: Welp...the poor get poorer. VMI has lost their WR Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Ross Metheny, to a job in bidness in the great state of GA. Are the Keydets going to be able to field a Team in 2018? Wait, I missed that VMI also added a Coach - a TE Coach from a D3 school in VA. Seems like a pretty thin ray of sunshine on a very dark day.
CHATTANOOGA
UPDATE: Lost Defensive Coordinator, Tom Kaufman, and Defensive Line Coach, Brian Cochran, to Kent State
UPDATE 1/4/18: Looks like the Mocs lost another Defensive Coach, “Kent State: Chattanooga (FCS – TN) defensive backs coach Jonathan Cooley is joining the staff to coach the corners”
UPDATE 1/15/18: The Mocs have hired Davern Williams as their new DL Coach. Williams has been at "Last Chance U" (East Mississippi Community College) for the past 4 years and spent time at JaxSt and MurraySt prior. Probably a good hire for UTC. Former NFL Player AND FCS Coach with a possible 'direct access pipeline' to a strong source for JUCO Talent. That said, this hire tells me that UTC has no intention of going away from the mass recruiting of Transfers and JUCO kids we saw last spring. Many have tried that strategy in FCS; most unsuccessfully. We'll see.
UPDATE 1/19/18: See below - WCU's Inside LB Coach, Zac Etheridge, is joining the Mocs to Coach DB's with an emphasis on CB's. Meanwhile, the Mocs have, apparently, promoted last year's LB Coach, Matt Feeney, to fill their open Defensive Coordinator position and have also hired Oscar Rodriguez to Coach their Inside LB's. Rodriguez comes to Chatt from University of La Verne (CA), where he was the Leopards' DC and Asst HC...and he adds even more D3 Coaching experience to the Mocs Staff. This will be his 1st D1 Coaching position. That said, it should be noted that Rodriguez was recently named the D3 Asst Coach of the Year by the AFCA.
UPDATE 1/22/18: Oops - Looks like Zac Etheridge is leaving the Catamounts, but he's not heading to Chattanooga. Seems he's going to join (former FU QB) Billy Napier's Staff to Coach the DB's at Louisiana Lafayette.
UPDATE 2/5/18: The Mocs have hired a replacement for Zac Etheridge. As some other SoCon schools (VMI & Wofford) have done recently, Chatt went the Graduate Assistant ranks to fill their open slot. Jeremiah Wilson will Coach the Mocs DB's and has been a GA for the FSU Seminoles for the past 5 years. Before that he Coached DB's for a year at Godsby HS in FL and was, I think, a GA where he played his College Football - Huntingdon College, a D3 School in Montgomery, AL. Hard to say how much responsibility he had at FSU. Their DC was listed as the Secondary Coach, but 5 years is an AWFUL long time to be a GA. He does have some strong endorsements though - the 1st person to congratulate him (via Twitter) on the Chatt gig was Deion Sanders. Wilson also gained some measure of fame when he subtweeted Jim Harbaugh prior to Michigan's bowl game with FSU in 2016 - something about summer camps/antics/etc. As always, he'll have some outstanding athletes to work with in the Chatt secondary, I'm sure. That said, those athletes (and their predecessors), IMO, haven't had the best habits of highly disciplined/intelligent play on the field. Perhaps Coach Wilson has mad Coaching skills to go with the mad Photoshop skills he displays below!
UPDATE 2/20/18: Not really a Chattanooga Coaching Staff change, but something that, I think, will be of interest to Chatt (and to Mercer) Fans. Seems former Moc QB, Jacob Huesman, is joining the Staff at Georgia State as a GA. Former Mercer QB, John Russ, is also already a GA @ GaSt. That is 2 WAY, WAY GOOD SoCon QB's on that staff and 2 of the toughest QB's that I have ever seen play the game. I would be surprised to see GaSt's QB's have even a little bit of wimpy-ness about themselves with those 2 on the Staff there!
WESTERN CAROLINA
No known changes at this time
UPDATE 1/19/18: Seems that WCU's Outside LB Coach, Zac Etheridge is departing the 'Whee and heading over to 'Nooga to Coach the Mocs DB's, with an emphasis on the CB's. (NOTE: See update above - going to ULL instead of UTC)
UPDATE 2/15/18: Rumor is that WCU's Secondary Coach & Defensive Passing Game Coordinator, Blake Gideon, is departing the 'Whee for the ATL to Coach CB's on GaSt's Staff. I guess going to an FBS program is almost always a step up $-wise, but going from a Semi-Coordinator role to Coaching only 2 guys on the field at the same time for a Sluice Belt Team doesn't seem like a huge attraction. Hope it works out for Coach Gideon. The Catamount peeps seemed to think rather highly of him up in them thar hills.
That's the 2nd departure on that side of the ball for the Catamounts this off-season - Outside LB's & DB's. D was a real area of emphasis for WCU in 2017 after being fairly awful in 2016. They did show improvement, but still seemed a bit soft (to me) up front and in the middle. Those Coaches are returning (as of now). It will be interesting to see if there is continued improvement for them in 2018 with the loss of the Coaches that, IMO, were Coaching the best parts of their D.
UPDATE 2/21/18: Looks like WCU has filled their open position due to the departure of Coach Gideon to GaSt. Tripp Weaver, who spent the last 2 seasons Coaching the CB's and as the Recruiting Coordinator for James Madison, is relocating back to his home region of Western NC and will fill the titles/roles previously held by Gideon. Prior to JMU, Weaver Coached OLB's at El Cid for 2 (SoCon Championship) years. Prior to his move to Chucktown, he was at ECU, where he worked with the Catamounts' current DC. Young, experienced (including FBS AND SoCon), from Championship Programs, knows Recruiting, and is a local product - Great 'GET' for WCU, IMO....Hate it!
MERCER
No known changes at this time
UPDATE: The RUMOR WIRE now is saying that Mercer QB's Coach, Tre Lamb, will be named Offensive Coordinator at Tennessee Tech...stay tuned.
UPDATE 1/4/18:...looks like the Rumor Wire was accurate.
Best of luck to Coach T. Lamb on his new journey to a familiar place. Great opportunity to return to his Alma Mater in a Coordinator role.
UPDATE 1/18/18: From his Twitter account ( Dominique Davenport @coach_Davenport ) and TTU's website ( Dominique Davenport Title: Assistant Coach / Running Backs ), it looks like Mercer's CB Coach, Dominique Davenport has, along with Coach Tre Lamb, also flown the Maconga coop and is now the Golden Eagles' Running Backs Coach. Don't like to see a Position Coach, particularly a hometown one (played his HS Football @ Warner Robins HS) leave for another Position Coach role in a less successful FCS program, but it does give Coach Davenport an opportunity for experience on the other side of the ball, which he doesn't (apparently) have to date. Best of luck to him and Coach Lamb as GoldenEagleBears in Cookeville!
SMALL UPDATE (Just a TTU article) 1/31/17: Davenport leaves Mercer to follow Lamb to Tech's offensive staff
UPDATE 2/20/18: RUMOR being reported by Football Scoop that, if true, indicates Mercer may be making a change to their Offensive Coaching Staff - "Mercer (FCS – GA): Per source, North Greenville (D-II – SC) offensive coordinator Joe Pizzo has accepted the offensive coordinator job at Mercer." Coach Pizzo appears to have a long association with Furman Alum (who was a GA there my FR year - good (and funny) dude), Steve Patton. Played QB his Sr. Year for Coach Patton at Mars Hill College after transferring there from Nevada-Reno, on the advice of LA Rams legend, Roman Gabriel, his HS Coach in CA. Then, he appears to have Coached with Coach Patton at Mars Hill (after a stint in the NFL - Steelers, Browns, Colts, Lions - not sure if he ever made a roster or was a long-term "Camp Arm") and Coached with him on an Arena Team, the Charlotte Rage, and then joined him for his long 14-year tenure at Gardner-Webb (10 as OC) before moving to NC A&T and NGU. 17 years of experience as an OC and 20+ seasons as QB Coach + College (FBS (Nevada-Reno) NFL (and other leagues) experience playing QB.
Interesting development...stay tuned.
UPDATE 2/26/18: Noticed that last year's Safeties Coach, Josh Reardon, is no longer listed on the Mercer Football website as being on the Coaching Staff. Not sure where Coach Reardon is heading, but, assuming there is no error, this means Mercer's Secondary will have all new Coach(es) for 2018 as last year's CB's Coach earlier departed for TTU (see above).
So...3 Coaches have departed (apparently) and no confirmed hires yet. Perhaps an enterprising Recruiter/Search Firm should contact Mercer about provision of his/their services to facilitate the hiring process.
SMALL UPDATE 3/1/18: Still no confirmation of Mercer hiring Coach Pizzo (in any capacity), but he does seems to have taken a sudden interest in Mercer's/Bobby Lamb's Football Camp...
Stay tuned...UPDATE 3/10/18: Mercer Adds Three Coaches, Announces Staff Changes - New OC confirmed. 1 Returnee & 1 young Leopard. I like it.
