Hampton played in all 14 games last year, with one start, but he had a knack for reaching the quarterback. Bielaniec was hired as the Director of Athletic Performance in 2020 after also serving as an assistant football strength and conditioning coach with the Mountaineers in 2018. Before becoming the head coach at Western Carolina, Mark Spier was an integral part of three FCS national titles and six conference titles on Jerry Moore's staff at Appalachian State. 10 nationally in yards per carry last season. One of the things that intrigued me about him was the success that Appalachian State had running the ball and the unique ways they did so. And for good reason. A specific title has not yet been given to the veteran assistant. Offensive line: Like the rest of the offense, this group is very experienced, with four of last years five starters set to return. 1993 Charlotte Rage. With the players returning and the amount of spring practice covered, theres good reason to think it can happen. We are constantly tweaking our formula so that we can find the sweet spot of when a coach is technically on the hot seat. Under Clark, the new tandem of coordinators Tony Petersen and Dale Jones are working to sharpen skills on each side of the field. 828-262-7914. GABY VELASQUEZ/EL PASO TIMES/USA TODAY NETWORK, taking over as the head coach of Appalachian State football. All varsity teams compete in the Sun Belt Conference, except for field hockey and wrestling. [1][circular reference], Appalachian State had games scheduled against Morgan State, UMass, Wake Forest and Wisconsin, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3][4][5]. I played here. LOS ANGELES Chip Kelly signed a two-year extension with UCLA that keeps him under contract through 2027. Subotsch averaged 42.7 yards per punt with a long of 67. Is Coach Ken Niumatalolo on the Hot Seat? Another notable loss for the Appalachian State staff is the departure of Garret Riley, brother of Oklahoma Head Coach Lincoln Riley, who will be heading to Dallas as the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at SMU. Petersen was named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Mountaineers in January. The one that people dont realize is Marcus Williams Jr. Hes a kid thats been in the shadows behind some really good running backs. At Appalachian State, the football team is expected to win, no matter the circumstances. A tough stretch continues in Week 8 with Arkansas State at home. Mark was a part of our undefeated regular season in 1995 and has had tremendous success as a defensive coach at every stop since. Only DeBastiani has previous App State experience in this group. He took over after Jim Mora Jr. was fired in 2017 and had a roster predominantly filled with underclassmen his first two seasons. While the season is more than a few months away, we have already seen several of last years coordinators from Appalachian make departures from the program. They finished the season ranked 19th in the AP and 18th in the Coaches. NFL-style clock rules could come to college football, but the most extreme proposal will not. The True Hiring Score or THS is compiled by a complex formula bringing together many different factors. The thing about the Wake game is weve got some tradition there against each other, Jones said. Things like this just dont happen for kids from rural northwest Georgia. The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. He averaged 7.7 yards per return on 21 attempts with a long of 25 yards. This time, athletic director Doug Gillin stayed in the family by promoting Clark, the offensive line coach and former App State All-American. Staton made 11 of 16 field goals last season. The 5-9 Jolly grabbed five interceptions in 2019, the only Mountaineer with more than one, and he was named first-team All-Sun Belt. That means seniorDemetrius Taylorreturns as a starting defensive end, while the other spot is open after two-year starter Elijah Diarrassouba medically retired in the spring. Virgil, who is also an All-Sun Belt sprinter on the schools track and field team, specifically stood out to Clark in the spring. Required fields are marked *. As Shawn Clark begins his reign as the new football coach at Appalachian State University, he has started to pick his staff with new additions to the team and filling in positions that are now vacant. The Bruins were 3-9 in Kellys first year in 2018 and 4-8 the following season. Cornerbacks Josh Norman and Fabian Moreau, along with safety DJ Swearinger, each had three forced fumbles and were all tied for the second-most forced fumbles caused by a defensive back that season. The East division title may come down to how App State performs in that three-game stretch after the off week. Appalachian State Football Camps are held on the campus of Appalachian State University and coaches by the Appalachian State Football staff. The outside will have less experience. His completion percentage in 2019 (62.7) and yards per attempt (7.6) were similar to the previous year. The 2020 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Sloan, Army's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach in 2022, is returning to Appalachian State as its defensive coordinator. We need depth, because we play a ton of 11 personnel, but also 12 personnel and even 13 sometimes.. In 2019, Washington cornerback Quinton Dunbar was among the NFLs top interception artists, while in 2018 Rowe helped oversee a defensive backs group that was one of the best in the league in forcing turnovers. Before that, Braswell served as head coach for Ridgeland High School in his hometown of Rossville, Georgia. I think he is the best quarterback in our conference, Clark said. One would have penalties that are accepted at the end of the first and third quarters enforced at the start of the following quarter rather than having an untimed down. We just have to get those guys up and running.. Despite throwing 105 more passes, his interception total didnt increase. The two previous seasons before, Braswell was the head coach at Chattanooga Central High School in 2016 and 2017 and led the Purple Pounders to the TSSAA state playoffs twice. The teams only major offensive personnel loss is the early departure of Darrynton Evans, the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year who rushed for 1,480 yards as a junior. App State is still the favorite in the Sun Belt, and for good reason. But there is a stable of talented backs who will increase their role. Now theyll both likely start together inside. Brown played in all 14 games as a true freshman, finishing with 12 tackles. Ben Brady (he/him) is a senior journalism major, history minor, from Raleigh, NC. 4, 15.5 points) and total defense (No. In a press release from the school earlier this month, Coach Clark added a vote of confidence for DeBastiani, saying Were thrilled to welcome Mark and his family to the App Family. With the College Football Playoff expanding from four to 12 teams in 2024-25, and possibly more in the future, conference commissioners had asked the committee to look for ways to cut down on the number of plays in games in an attempt to mitigate potential injury exposures. I talked to the athletic director and chancellor and told them, listen, this is a dream job for me, Clark said of his interview. West led Richmond's pass defense to the highest-rating in the CAA in 2020. 2013 Carolina Panthers (DB Coach) 12-4 Lost in Div. Jones is part of the third new coaching staff the football program has seen in the last three years. Mike Norvell officially completed his on-field coaching staff at Florida State this weekend. Hes familiar with the terrain. Coach Kelly and his staff have done a tremendous job developing young men as demonstrated by their academic excellence.. Were looking for a quicker, maybe not as big guy than what they played in there last year, Jones said. The Mountaineers were led by first-year head coach Shawn Clark. Defensive backs: After replacing both cornerbacks a year ago, both starters return now. Three starters are gone, including Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Akeem Davis-Gaither, and they were the teams three leading tacklers. The roster is set up for big success. Being an odd front, you dont get a lot of double-teams, which helps us. For our fans, thats probably a bigger game than North Carolina or South Carolina. Not only is my starter a senior, but so is my backup, and Jacob does a great job, new offensive coordinator Tony Petersen said. Thats yet to be determined. After that 2014 campaign, he signed a four-year extension and went on to go 7-4 in 2015, just missing the cut for the FCS playoffs. Like at wide receiver, with so many seniors starting, App State needs to find its future group. The Mountaineers again are scheduled to travel to two P5 teams this season, Wake Forest and Wisconsin. Washington and Watts were retained by Clark, and Cardwell is also a former App State player and assistant. Another App State returnee comes from Mark DeBastiani, who coached defensive tackles for Appalachian in 1995 and 1996, the same time as when now-head coach Shawn Clark was an All-American offensive lineman. Theres not many people in our conference that can go made the man-to-man with him on a consistent basis. The Oklahoma native has served as a line coach at that level with the New York Jets (2017-18), Cleveland Browns (2016), New York Giants (2010-16), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009) and Washington Redskins (2003). 1996 Johnson C Smith. Appalachian State announced the hiring Friday. The addition of Tennessee running backs coach David Johnson put the finishing touches on. App State men's basketball fell in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Jon Jon Millner of regular season champion App State has repeated as SoCon Wrestler of, Catawba Valley Community College softball pitcher Mayson Lail has been named the National Junior College, Copyright 2023 Long Communications LLC | Design by, Two More Staff Changes for Appalachian State Football, Appalachian State Mens Basketball Season Comes to a Close, Appalachian State Wrestling Earns Seven All-Conference Honors, Millner Repeats as Wrestler of the Year, CVCC Softballs Lail Named NJCAA Division 2 Pitcher of the Week. Though having four senior receivers bodes well for 2020, it leaves a hole for 2021. Our biggest concern looking at it is the lack of experience at outside. | Shawn Clarks Record with Appalachian State. Is Coach Philip Montgomery on the Hot Seat? [3] Shawn Clark serves as the 22nd and current head coach. Two of his linebackers, sophomore Troy Brown and senior Michael Oliver, earned all-Mid-American Conference honors in 2019. It was their first winning season since 2014 and they finished runner-up in the conference as things were looking up for the program. This is a complete list of Appalachian State Mountaineers head football coaches. He was a position coach in the NFL for 19 years before returning to the college ranks in 2020. Petersen plans to continue most of what App State has done a downhill run game out of the Pistol and other formations. Hes been in three or four systems, but its very similar in a lot of ways and we will tailor our offense around him to make sure that whatever he can do best is what were going to do.. Senior Kaiden Smith has played in 33 games and made 15 tackles in 2019, but most of his work was on special teams. View history Shawn Clark (born August 16, 1975) is an American football coach who is the head football coach at Appalachian State University. At tight end, junior Henry Pearson moves into the full-time starting role after starting eight games last year. Mike Krysl played for Willie Fritz at Central Missouri, coordinated special teams for him at Georgia Southern, and will now coach special teams again at Tulane. Now, after being let go back in April after nine seasons leading the Western Carolina program (FCS) he's returning to App State. Jones has been a mainstay at App since the mid '90s, coaching on or coordinating the defense for the better part of 30 years. Jones left for one season to go with Scott Satterfield to Louisville; but returned for the 2020 season and has served as defensive coordinator since.