2024 AGS Countdown - 100 DAYS!

[bonarae]

Here we are again, folks... the 27th (2024) edition of the AGS FCS Countdown has begun today.

For today, members here will post about the coaches of the FCS school(s) that they support. xnodx

Three of the four schools that I will post here are new coaches at their schools, compared to last season.

And here we go (clickable links go directly to the bios in their school's athletics website):

UC Davis:

Tim Plough (https://ucdavisaggies.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/tim-plough/8512)
First ever season as head coach
Previously at UC Berkeley (Cal) as TE coach and before that, Boise State as OC/QB coach
Alma mater: UC Davis, 2008 (played QB)

ETSU:

Tre Lamb (https://etsubucs.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/tre-lamb/963)
First season at ETSU but 5th season overall as HC (Gardner-Webb, spring 2021-2023)
Alma mater: Tennessee Tech, 2013 (played QB, led Golden Eagles to OVC title in 2011)
Nephew of former Furman/Mercer coach Bobby Lamb

St. Thomas:

Glenn Caruso (https://tommiesports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/glenn-caruso/818)
Sixteenth season at St. Thomas
Alma mater: Ithaca College (D-III Liberty League), 1996 (played OL)

Harvard:

Andrew Aurich (https://gocrimson.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/andrew-aurich/2444)
First ever season as head coach
Previously at Rutgers as TE coach and before that, Princeton as TE/ST coach
Alma mater: Princeton, 2006 (played OL)

[Tribe4SF]

W&M

Head Coach Mike London
6th Season

"Faith, Family, Football!"

https://i.imgur.com/XN8UneJ.jpg

[The Cats]

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a7t7TEmeDaE/YC6u5Fsw9ZI/AAAAAAAAGno/XgAXx2u5FWsm8CgG976dXiYdXarm2WEnQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h152/CF6.png

As is our custom, we'll kick off day #100 with the Catamount Head Football Coach Kerwin Bell.

Kerwin Bell
https://catamountsports.com/images/2021/4/27/20210427_Coach_Kerwin_Bell19.jpg?width=300 (https://catamountsports.com/images/2021/4/27/20210427_Coach_Kerwin_Bell19.jpg?width=300)


Title: Head Football Coach
Hometown: Mayo, Fla
Alma Mater: University of Florida
Graduated: 1987

An accomplished player who worked his way from walk-on to All-American to the National Football League, and a 12-year veteran head coach who won a combined four conference championships and the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship, Kerwin Bell was named the 14th head football coach at Western Carolina University by Director of Athletics Alex Gary on April 27, 2021.

“We talk every day about Catamount Athletics having a winning mentality and the confidence to believe we can bring championships to our university,” said Gary. “Kerwin is a proven winner and has shown the ability to build successful programs. We are thrilled to welcome him and his family to Cullowhee.”

Bell comes to Cullowhee having served as the offensive coordinator at the University of South Florida under head coach Charlie Strong in 2019. He most recently walked off the field as a head coach following the 2018 NCAA Division II national championship, leading the Valdosta State Blazers where he coached for three seasons, twice making playoff appearances.

“I am excited and honored to be named the new head football coach at Western Carolina University,” said Bell. “We are coming here to win championships on the field and help mentor the young men who are in our program. I am ready to get started building this into a championship program that the Catamount Nation can be proud of.”

Over a 12-year head coaching career, Bell led the football programs at Valdosta State (2016-18) and Jacksonville University (2007-15). He did this coming on the heels of a 13-year playing career in professional football that included several stops in the NFL and the Canadian Football League.

Bell served three seasons as the head coach at Valdosta State where he also guided the offense. He led the Blazers to a 27-7 record during his tenure including a school-record 15 straight victories, two Division II playoff appearances, and won both a conference and a national championship in 2018. He was named the 2018 Don Hansen NCAA Division II Co-Coach of the Year and the Gulf South Conference Co-Coach of the Year after leading VSU to a 14-0 record – the first unbeaten season in program history that included a thrilling 49-47 victory over Ferris State in the D-II National Championship game. Picked fifth in their conference in the preseason and the No. 3 seed entering the playoffs, the Blazers finished No. 1 nationally in the final AFCA Division II poll.

Bell’s 2018 offense led the nation in scoring (52.0 ppg), ranked second in first downs (341), and was fourth in total offense (523.9 ypg), red-zone offense (.901), and pass efficiency (167.37). The Blazers scored 728 points on the year, the most in NCAA Division II history, as they posted 7,334 yards (3,676 rushing/3,658 passing) and 7.9 yards per play on the year.

Within Bell’s system, VSU sophomore quarterback Rogan Wells finished as the runner-up for the Harlon Hill Trophy, presented to the Division II Player of the Year, and was named both the Region Two and Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Wells accounted for 50 touchdowns on the year (including one receiving), led the nation in points responsible for (300), was second in passing touchdowns (38) and points responsible for per game (21.4 ppg), 10th in passing yards (3,075), 12th in passing efficiency (160.6) and 25th in total offense (271.9 ypg). He finished second on the team with 732 yards rushing and led the team with 11 rushing touchdowns.

Additionally, senior offensive linemen Jeremy King was the runner-up for the Gene Upshaw Award presented to the most outstanding Division II lineman.

Bell led VSU to runner-up conference finishes in his first two years guiding the program and went 8-3 with a playoff appearance in his first season at the helm in 2016 as the Blazers led the nation with 27 interceptions on defense.

Prior to Valdosta, Bell led Jacksonville University for nine seasons, guiding the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program to a 66-35 record and three Pioneer Football League (PFL) championships. Serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach as well as head coach, Bell was named the 2008 PFL Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award after leading the Dolphins to a 9-4 seasonal record and conference title.

He also led Jacksonville to a school-best 10-1 record and conference championship in 2010 as the Dolphins led the nation in total (486 ypg) and scoring (42.2 ppg) offense. JU also posted a 9-2 overall mark and won a conference title in 2014.

Before taking over the Jacksonville program, Bell led Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Fla., for six seasons (2001-06), earning a Florida 2B state title in 2005 and runner-up finish in 2006. His coaching career began in earnest at the end of his professional playing career as he served as the offensive coordinator for two seasons while still a player for the Toronto Argonauts (2000-01).

Originally from Mayo, Fla., Bell was a quarterback at the University of Florida from 1983-87 where he completed over 57 percent of his 953 pass attempts for 7,585 yards and 56 touchdowns. A former walk-on, Bell concluded his collegiate career as the SEC Player of the Year in 1984 after leading Florida to a 9-1-1 record and a conference championship, and both a first-team All-SEC selection and All-America honorable mention in 1985, a season that saw the Gators earn the programs first-ever No. 1 national ranking in the Associated Press poll. Garnering a second honorable mention All-America honor in 1986, Bell was a 1987 team captain and earned the program’s Fergie Ferguson Award.

Bell was ranked the No. 26 Greatest Gator of all-time from the first 100 years of football at Florida in 2006 by The Gainesville Sun. Bell later served as a graduate assistant for the 1990 season under Steve Spurrier at Florida after earning a degree in psychology in 1987.

He was selected in the seventh round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, beginning his 13-year professional career that saw stops with the NFL teams in Miami, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Indianapolis as well as stops in the Canadian Football League, where he passed for 19,538 yards and 101 touchdowns in nine seasons, and the World League of American Football (WLAF).

Married in 1986 while both students at UF, Bell and his wife, Cosette, have three children: Kade, Kolton, and Kenzley.






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[McCowboys]

https://mcneesesports.com/sports/football/roster#sidearm-roster-coaches

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https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuf8UJlXe7TuqRcQauCe-Lc792WYMiT_v1ldBgzC6o9L0kcv7_yF-P61ymrEo1KHPofLjUTx_rgdM0mMJVBkpD0jFhK_rP0GuwloDgp GOP-_6BFADd1SjRmqOZ1Es_xibXLVFoAN39s0O6uf7fC7af1pdfVJS T9QX6VZNcv9Lj1_5BOB6aOlsu8J3fViN/w396-h255/!%20footballScreenshot%202024-05-19%20073958.jpg (https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6383734359116918752/568993391499455855#)

[dewey]

There is no #100 for the 17 time National Champions the North Dakota State University Bison so I will highlight the head coach.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240525/5f353efe412d2f74164e704950173d65.jpg

TIM
POLASEK
TITLE Head Coach
Tim Polasek was named head football coach at North Dakota State University on Dec. 17, 2023. He is the 32nd head coach in program history.

Polasek was part of the NDSU staff under head coach Craig Bohl from 2006 to 2012 coaching the running backs, tight ends and fullbacks in addition to his duties with special teams and recruiting. He returned to North Dakota State in 2014 and spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach under Chris Klieman.

In between his two stops at North Dakota State, Polasek was the tight ends and fullbacks coach for a 12-2 Northern Illinois team that advanced to the 2013 Mid-American Conference championship game and Poinsettia Bowl.

Polasek has eight years coaching experience at the FBS level. He spent four seasons in the Big Ten Conference as offensive line coach at Iowa from 2017 to 2020, and was in the Mountain West Conference as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Bohl at Wyoming from 2021 to 2023.

He was an assistant coach at Wisconsin-Stevens Point for three seasons before coming to North Dakota State. Polasek coached the defensive backs (2005), wide receivers/tight ends (2003-04) and quarterbacks (spring 2003), and was the special teams coordinator in 2004-05 and passing game coordinator in 2003-04.

The all-time leading passer at Concordia University in Wisconsin, he set single-game, single-season and career records in TD passes, passing yards, completions and completion percentage. Polasek was the 2000 Badger-Illini Conference Player of the Year. He was a two-time first team all-conference selection in 2000-01 and second team in 1999.

Polasek graduated from Concordia in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He earned his master’s degree from Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2005.

He and his wife, Jill, were married in May 2014.

Go Bison!

Dewey