Leach was quoted in the Valdosta State news release announcing Goffs hiring. Cavan and Lee are two of the most important advisers now to Smart. Pickups. You didnt have planes. There is a long answer, and a short one. 2008 and 2010 were the only years VSU has made it to the NCAA Division II playoffs since the 2007 National Championship season. If Penn State manages to finally break through and topple Ohio State and Michigan, Singleton, who ran for 1,061 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per carry as a freshman, will likely be a focal point. Mumme's record at Valdosta State was 40171. Then there were the coaching connections: Will Muschamp was friends with Hatcher through several personal relationships. Which, again, means football. Kerwin Bell was named head coach of the Blazers on January 22, 2016. They were big, massive people and youd end up going through chairs pretty quickly, Leach said. I beat Kirby more than he beat me, Muschamp said. They were young coaches on the cusp of a revolution, but nobody realized it, including the coaches and players themselves. VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - On Monday, Valdosta State University (VSU) Athletics Department announced a new head coach to lead the Blazers in the upcoming season. (Cavan would later become SMUs coach, too.) Valdosta Daily Times. He amassed a 22-3 record, one national championship appearance, and one conference title. It was the Mavericks first victory over a top 5 opponent since they became an NCAA Division II school in 1994. Reinhard said theres no timeline on the coaching search, but revealed hes already received tons of interest in the position. Its impossible for me to answer that question without talking about football. Bailey Wilson of Glennville, Georgia, finished third in the Best Photo Essay (Group I) category for her coverage of VSU Housing and Residence Lifes annual Hallaballoo event on the Front Lawn. However, former Seabreeze coach Pat Brown, who departed on Feb. 8 to become the wide receivers coach at NCAA Division II powerhouse Valdosta State, righted a once wayward ship. He then served as offensive coordinator, wide . They made the Division II playoffs for the first time in 1994 and would go 40-17-1 during Mummes five seasons. Valdosta had been ranked as high as No. Naturally friendly people, Leach said. Garys offenses have been among the most prolific in the country and he will certainly continue and build on our history and tradition of fast-paced, explosive football. There was the gym without air conditioning, less than ideal in south Georgia. Damn! I had the linemen. Defensive Line Coach / Film Coordinator / Assistant NFL Liaison. The high school, which is home to the Wildcats, has garnered national attention for its football team . 2 Ferris State, Blazer Head Coach Kerwin Bell Accepts Offensive Coordinator Position at South Florida, Former Blazer Gary Goff Named Valdosta State Head Football Coach, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valdosta_State_Blazers_football&oldid=1150310740, American football teams established in 1982, 1982 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state), Articles with dead external links from March 2023, Articles with dead external links from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2018, 2019, 2021, NCAA Division II Team Playoff Participants, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, This page was last edited on 17 April 2023, at 11:56. Oh, and the meeting rooms didnt have enough chairs. He then reunited with his old college football coach and helped Hal Mumme start the Southeastern Louisiana University football program from scratch. Grit. VSU finished third nationally in total offense at 522.1 yards per game, while finishing 20th nationally in scoring offense at 38.9 points per game. I have for years kind of snickered when people talk about Miami of Ohio as the cradle of coaches. The riding on buses. On January 10, 2019, Bell left Valdosta State to accept the offensive coordinator position at South Florida.[15]. His first season got his era off to a great start with them starting off ranked No. Steel's Jewelry Blazer Athletes of the Week. He was kind of a wild guy, blitz all the time, Smart said. Goff had 16 Dragons named to G-MAC All-Conference teams in 2018. I've really appreciated that. This news comes just after the Blazers fell in the Division II national championship game. To recognize the 25th anniversary of the VSU football program, the Blazers wore silver helmets and pants in 2006. So moving up to Division I just isnt feasible. VALDOSTA - Valdosta State football coach Gary Goff announced Sunday that he has taken the head coaching job at Division I and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) member McNeese. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. They have strong ties to Valdosta State. . Bruce has worked for The Spectator since fall 2020 and currently serves as the sports editor. With classes still out for the winter break, Jackson has not been able to meet the team he inherited Thursday outside of Zoom meetings. The two high school powers didnt produce an eye-popping number of household names Jay Ratliff, Randall Godfrey and Kenny Moore are among the recent pros but nearly everyone played football, and did so very, very seriously. Our goal will be to do it as fast as we can but my goal more so is to make sure we do it right. I am very excited to have Tremaine join our Blazer family, Reinhard said. So you had to sit in there and had to run the study hall and make sure they behaved and had their stuff in there.. He also served as co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach at New Mexico State for four seasons as he helped lead the team to second nationally in passing offense and total offense. He is the head football coach at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, a role he assumed in December 2021. Im also excited about the opportunity to bring back to VSU a Blazer alum. Last season, Jackson's Mavericks allowed only 15.6 points per game, good for 13th in the nation. David Dean is only the second head coach to lead his team to a national championship in his first season. Mike Leach came to Valdosta State University Athletics in 1992 to work with newly hired Blazer Football head coach Hal Mumme; the duo had been at Iowa Wesleyan College where they set numerous offensive records. Jan 10, 2020. Assistant Athletic Trainer (Soccer and Men's Golf) cvbowser@valdosta.edu. He had one of the top offenses in country in 2016 averaging 434.5 yards per game, while his quarterback Antonio Pipkin was a Harlon Hill nominee and was named GLIAC Player of the Year. You dont get ready for that. The event is free and open to the public and features the live performance of a different . Wilson joined The Spectator staff two years ago. The 2005 season saw the first time the Blazers started the season ranked No. Pipkin tallied seven Tiffin career records and four GLIAC records, ranking 13thall-time in career total offense, 19thin total offense per game, 27thin career passing yards, and is only the third quarterback at the Division II level to ever accumulate at least 2,000 rushing yards and throw for 10,000 passing yards in a career. They had more responsibilities. Coaches Wright Bazemore (1941-1942,1946-1971) and Nick Hyder (1974-1995) combined for fifty years of service to our youth and community. Doscher, the strength and conditioning coach, said he knew back then Muschamp and Smart were going to be successful. I am very excited to have Coach Gary Goff join our team and I am confident he is going to be a great addition to Blazer football, the university and our community, Reinhard said at Goffs introctory press conference. They looked good! Bonner said. Smart did very well, and a year later he was on the move himself, taking a graduate assistant job under Bobby Bowden at Florida State, before rejoining Muschamp at LSU in 2004. But I would say its certainly the purest form, because you werent doing it for the money. Leach, who moved to the town in his early 30s, found it to have a lot in common with his native Wyoming. "There's not a lot of people that look like me that get the opportunities like this," Jackson said. The Spectator, the unfiltered, uncensored voice of the students at Valdosta State University, recently earned seven 2023 Georgia College Press Association Better Newspaper Contest awards, including five staff and two individual recognitions. We're going to try to do an excellent job because I'm not the best one. Not just football: What were the people like? And over the next few years at Valdosta State the two brought an offensive revolution to the Division II level, their version of basketball on grass. I was lucky because there are a lot of guys my age who were GAs (graduate assistants) and things, and I had a full-time job. It is 100 percent true. The 2018 season saw the Blazers go the campaign unbeaten at 140, earning the seventh GSC championship in program history and a fourth national championship by defeating Ferris State University 4947 in the national championship game in McKinney, Texas. [8] In 2010, the VSU team tied with Delta State and Henderson State for the Gulf South Conference championship,[9] the only one in Dean's five years as head coach. The schools enrollment has actually dropped from 15,000 to 13,000 in the past few years, which cuts down on student fees to athletics. Assistant Offensive Line Coach / Study Hall / Equipment. They helped lay the groundwork for what was to come at Valdosta State: In 2002, the year after Smart left, the Blazers reached the Division II championship game, where they fell to Grand Valley State, whose head coach was now-Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly. VALDOSTA -- Former Valdosta State football assistant coach Mike Leach was named head coach at Mississippi State, becoming the third former Blazer football staffer to be named a . There's a lot of other guys that haven't gotten this opportunity that deserve it. Valdosta State is the second football program to make a historic coaching hire in the last two months as Jackson joins Valdosta High School head football coach Shelton Felton as the. Following a two-year stint coaching Valwood High School (1998-99) in Valdosta, Georgia, Miller returned to the collegiate ranks at Washington and Lee University, serving as the wide receivers coach. We'll have a special teams unit that will attack in all phases and win the field position battle. Valdosta State is the second football program to make a historic coaching hire in the last two months as Jackson joins Valdosta High School head football coach Shelton Felton as the second man of color to be named head coach of a football powerhouse in Valdosta. Austin Bruce, a mass media major from Quitman, Georgia, finished second in the Best Column (Group II) category. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Gosh, they worked hard, Reinhard said. But at Valdosta State, the coaches themselves were helping with the laundry. Gary Goff is an American football coach. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. [1] [2] Goff served as the head football coach at Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio from 2011 to 2018 and Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia from 2019 to 2021. The football programs he has been associated with have had great success on the field. I guess the fans and all the other coaches thought: Those guys are kind of crazy.. Before the season even starts, everybody knows the Blazers are going to be somewhere in the mix. The previous staff did an excellent job with this team, which is full with talent and potential. Obedience. My hope is that it also proves to VSU that we are here, and we mean business.. Every one of us, we were all in there hammering away with the hammers and nails.. I kid people that it was the most fun Ive ever had coaching, Smart said. Goff coached the nations top receiver, two-time All-America selection Chris Williams, who signed with the Cleveland Browns. But they had also seen how the Air Raid worked at Valdosta State. That season, Goff also had the programs first Academic All-American as 74 players finished the 2016 fall semester with a 3.0 grade point average or higher. Volunteer Football Operations. He also had coaching stints at Woodstock (Ga.) High School and Cherokee (Ga.) High School. VSC had its first winning season in 1986 with a 92 record led by All-American Jessie Tuggle. The Blazers also were outstanding on defense as the team was 32nd nationally in total defense, allowing 311.5 yards per game and held teams to a 111.71 passing efficiency for 33rd nationally out of 166 NCAA Division II programs. Bailey Wilson of Glennville, Georgia, finished third in the Best Photo Essay (Group I) category for her coverage of VSU Housing and Residence Lifes annual Hallaballoo event on the Front Lawn. If they really wanted to do it, they would have to do it themselves. I was sitting in my office, talking on the phone, going through countless e-mails, looking at countless resumes, going through who in the world are we going to bring here to keep this thing going.". We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. Reinhard said he did not know prior to Saturday that Goff was leaving. Rounding out the top three were The Red & Black at University of Georgia in first place and Technique at Georgia institute of Technology in third place. Copyright 2022 WALB. The Valdosta State football team will turn to Ivory Durham to lead the Blazers at quarterback this fall, as longtime quarterback Rogan Wells has transferred. It just wasnt the right fit. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. I am truly honored and blessed to return to VSU and carry on the rich tradition of success that has been established within this football program, Goff said. Three words that Valdosta State University Head Football Coach Tremaine Jackson lives by that have become fundamentals in his coaching philosophy. Herb Reinhard, Valdosta State athletic director, 1992-present. I wanted to experience that. In 2004, Hatcher led the Blazers to their second national championship appearance with and a 3631 win over Pittsburg State University for the National title. I was single, young, I was probably three years difference from the players. Goff, who has served as offensive coordinator for three teams, also was offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan University (2002-03) and coached at Southeastern Louisiana, helping it to lead the nation in total offense. In both 1994 and 1996 he led the team to the NCAA Division II playoff quarterfinals; Valdosta State had never made the playoffs previously. Wells earned American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America honors, was a finalist for the prestigious Harlon Hill Trophy and recently named the GSC Offensive Player of the Decade. Steel's Jewelry Blazer Athletes of the Week, Assistant Head Coach / Linebackers / Special Teams / Strength & Conditioning Liaison, Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks / Academics, Wide Receivers Coach / Community Service / Financial Aid Liaison, Graduate Assistant Tight Ends / Recruiting Coordinator, Graduate Assistant Quarterback's Coach / Equipment, Assistant Offensive Line Coach / Study Hall / Equipment, Defensive Line Coach / Film Coordinator / Assistant NFL Liaison, Running Backs / Athletic Training Liaison / Travel Coordinator, Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer (Football, Men's and Women's Tennis). The Blazer defense held teams to 124.4 yards per game on the ground for 44th nationally. I was lucky to have that job. I am so glad that the staff was able to make Spectator history and rightfully earn the General Excellence award. Fourteen practices . Then, out of nowhere, Reinhard received some intel on Jackson from former VSU assistant coaches Dana Holgorsen and Doug Belk. . 1 for four weeks but finished with a 93 record and their fifth straight playoff berth. And so they did: Someone drove a truck out to get a massive amount of wood and hauled it back, where the new football staff at Valdosta State formed an assembly line and proceeded to build new lockers. The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. They care about Valdosta State and they took the time during bowl preparation to reach out because they had a message that they wanted us to hear.". None of us saw this coming. following his conversation with now-former head football coach Gary Goff when he told him he was leaving for McNeese State. Grit. VSU was 11th nationally in rushing offense at 260.2 yards on the ground per game, while it was 12th nationally in passing efficiency at 162.12. Start fast, finish faster than that!! The stadium is also the home of the historical Valdosta High School Wildcats. Goff coached a league-best 13 All-GSC selections in 2019 and GSC Offensive Player of the Year Rogan Wells. 1 in the nation in Division II for part of the 1996 season when they won their first Gulf South Conference championship. It was really pure. [13] Bell was formerly the head coach for the Jacksonville Dolphins, prior to joining Valdosta State. I knew it was a learning experience for me. Getting an opportunity at a place like this with the tradition we have here, it's just not normal. Madison Gruber, editor-in-chief of The Spectator, said this was the first time VSUs college newspaper earned General Excellence recognition. The Spectator finished third in the Best Editorial or Editorial Series (Group II) category and second in the Best Campus Community Service: Editorial (Division A) and Best Campus Community Service: News (Division A) categories. He rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns during the 2012 season for the four-time NCAA Division II national . I hate comparing it to that but it was more of what I was raised in, because my Dad was a high school coach, and its closer to the form of high school coaching, at least it was then. He wanted Valdosta State football to build its own identity. But Reinhard wanted something different. The Blazers have won a total of four Division II National Championship titles (2004, 2007, 2012 and 2018).[2]. I came here because of Mr. Reinhard. The Spectator finished second in the Layout and Design Excellence (Division A) category. Fresh off a Division II national championship appearance, Valdosta State's Gary Goff is the 18th head coach in McNeese State football history. Because it was such a big step up, Mumme was able to lure most of his top assistants north, including Leach. And as he filled out his defensive staff, Muschamp brought down one of his former Georgia teammates, Kirby Smart. Its good people.
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