2010 coastal carolina fb guide coaches bios

2010 Coastal Carolina Football Media Guide

C O A C H E S / S T A F F

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David Bennett is starting his ninth season as the head football coach at Coastal Carolina University, his eighth as the on-field leader. With the Chanticleers, he has amassed a 50-29 record, in-cluding 19-12 (.613) in the Big South Conference.

Bennett has already had a busy 2010 heading into his ninth sea-son. First, he was voted vice president of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and he will later assume the role of president.

In the spring, two key more honors were bestowed upon Ben-nett. After taking the Catawba football to unprecedented heights during his time as head coach, the school voted Bennett into its Athletics Hall of Fame.

Last, Bennett received the Key to the City of Marion.Those honors came after a 2009 season which saw the Chan-

ticleers produce their 13th and 14th All-Americans in just eight seasons thanks to first team pick Tommy Fraser and third team selection Josh Norman.

In 2007, Bennett recorded his 100th career coaching victory in a 42-35 Big South win over visiting VMI at Coastal Carolina’s Homecoming.

That was not the only highlight for that year as, in the spring of 2008, wide receiver Jerome Simpson became the second league player ever taken in the National Football League draft, as he was a second-round selection of the Cincinnati Bengals. In addition, fullback Mike Tolbert was signed as a free agent by the San Diego Chargers, putting four Coastal Carolina alums in 2008 NFL training camps.

The 2006 season was a historic one for Bennett’s young Coastal Carolina program, as the squad became the third fastest in histo-ry to reach the Division I Football Championships in just its fourth season. After winning their third-straight Big South Conference title with a 4-0 mark, the team finished with a 9-2 regular season record, including non-conference wins over No. 3 Furman and at Wofford. That earned Coastal Carolina a match-up with eventual national champion Appalachian State, where the Chants scored more points on the host Mountaineers than any other team dur-ing the 2006 season in the playoffs. For his efforts, Bennett was named National Football Championship Subdivision Coach of the Year by Sportexe.

Coastal Carolina had numerous conference and national honors among the 2006 players, including the Big South’s first-ever NFL draft pick as All-American quarterback Tyler Thigpen was select-ed in the seventh round by the Minnesota Vikings and eventually spent the season on the Kansas City Chiefs’ active roster. Thigpen was also seventh in the voting for the Walter Payton Award as the nation’s top player, the first player from the league ever to make

the ballot. Also joining Thigpen in earning All-American honors from various organizations were defensive back Quinton Teal, of-fensive lineman Brad Poston and wide receiver Jerome Simpson. Teal also joined Thigpen in the NFL, as he was signed by the Caro-lina Panthers as a free agent and made the team’s roster for the season. Within the Big South, 12 players earned All-Conference accolades, while kicker Josh Hoke earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team honors as presented by CoSIDA for the second consecutive year.

In 2005, the Chanticleers posted a 9-2 mark overall, including a win over defending national champion James Madison, and a 3-1 record in the Big South to earn Big South Co-Champions. Coastal Carolina had 13 players earn All-Conference accolades, as well as having Hoke earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team honors, the first Coastal Carolina football player to achieve that honor.

During a historic 2004 season — when the team went 10-1, Bennett had 14 players earn All-Big South Conference accolades, including Offensive Player of the Year Patrick Hall and Freshman of the Year Jerome Simpson. Bennett also earned the Big South’s Coach of the Year honor and was named American Football Coaches’ Association Region 2 Coach of the Year for the first time at the I-AA level and fourth time in his career. He was also hon-ored for his efforts by the All-American Football Foundation with the Johnny Vaught Outstanding Head Coach Award.

In addition to his role as vice president, Bennett serves on the AFCA All-American Selection Committee and chairs the AFCA Meeting Room Committee. Prior to the 2006 season, he was se-lected for the NCAA’s I-AA Football Head Coaches Steering Com-mittee. He also serves in the local community on the Board of Directors of the United Way and the Jackson Center for Values and Ethics. Additionally, he is the honorary chairman for the local March of Dimes Walk America.

Bennett, born in Greer, S.C., came to Coastal Carolina after serv-ing seven years as the Head Coach at Catawba College in Salis-bury, N.C. In seven years as the head coach at Catawba, Bennett posted an overall record of 63-17, leading the Indians to three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, includ-

Head Coach David Bennett (center) at the signing of his 10-year contract with then Board of Trustees chairman Charles Hodge (left) and Athletics Director Warren Koegel (stand-ing) looking on as then President Ronald Ingle signs for the University.



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Bennett’s CoaChing Year-BY-Year

AssistAnt CoACh 1984 Presbyterian College

1985-86 Clemson (Graduate Assistant)

1987 Goose Creek High School

1988-89 Newberry College

1990-94 Catawba College

Head CoachYear School Record Highlights 1995 Catawba 7-3 SAC & AFCA Coach of the Year

1996 Catawba 9-2 SAC Championship

1997 Catawba 8-3

1998 Catawba 6-4

1999 Catawba 11-2 SAC Championship; NCAA D-II Playoffs, SAC Coach of the Year

2000 Catawba 11-1 SAC Championship; NCAA D-II Playoffs, SAC Coach of the Year, AFCA Region Coach of the Year

2001 Catawba 11-2 SAC Championship; NCAA D-II Playoffs and South Region Championship, advanced to national semifinals, SAC Coach of the Year, AFCA Region Coach of the Year

2002 Coastal Carolina n/a Developed program as first-ever coach

2003 Coastal Carolina 6-5 Winning record in school’s inaugural season

2004 Coastal Carolina 10-1 Big South Championship; Big South Coach of the Year; AFCA Region Coach of the Year

2005 Coastal Carolina 9-2 Big South Co-Championship

2006 Coastal Carolina 9-3 Big South Championships, NCAA I-FCS Playoffs, Sportexe National FCS Coach of the Year

2007 Coastal Carolina 5-6 Picked up 100th career coaching victory with 42-35 win over VMI, Oct. 27, 2007

2008 Coastal Carolina 6-6

2009 Coastal Carolina 5-6 Overall 14 Years 113-46 7 Titles, 5 Coach of the Year Awardsat Coastal Carolina 50-29 3 Titles, 1 Big South Coach of the Year

During his coaching career, Bennett has coached:139 All-Conference honors•

48 NCAA All-Region honors•

25 All-Americans•

Six consecutive conference Defensive Players of the Year•

ing a run into the national semifinal round in 2001.Bennett, 48, joined the Catawba staff in 1990 as an assistant

coach and was promoted to head coach on November 14, 1994. In his first season, he led the Indians to a 7-3 record, earning both South Atlantic Conference and AFCA Coach of the Year honors. The 1996 Indians’ squad posted a 9-2 record and captured the SAC Championship.

The 1997 and 1998 teams posted records of 8-3 and 6-4, re-spectively, before Coach Bennett’s program made its assault on the NCAA Division II national football scene. The 1999 season saw Catawba post an 11-2 record and earn the first of three NCAA Division II playoff berths. An 11-1 record and another SAC Cham-pionship came in 2000, but the best was yet to come. In 2001, Catawba went 11-2 to give Bennett a 33-5 record over the past three seasons. The Indians won the SAC Championship and the South Region Championship before falling to Grand Valley State in the national semifinals. In addition to the incredible seven-year record as a head coach, Bennett earned four SAC Coach of the Year honors and three AFCA South Region Coach of the Year hon-ors during his career with the Indians.

Raised in Cheraw, S.C., Bennett earned 10 varsity letters at Cheraw High School, where he was named All-Conference in foot-ball, basketball, tennis and track. A three-year-starter in football, including the final two at quarterback, he led the Braves to a 20-4 record his final two seasons, including the 1979 AAA State Cham-pionship.

A 1984 graduate of Presbyterian College, Bennett lettered in football and golf while earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in his-tory and social studies with a minor in coaching. He earned the Unsung Hero Award from his teammates for his play during the 1983 season. He also began his coaching career at Presbyterian, working with the wide receivers as a student assistant.

Bennett earned his master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Clemson University in 1986, where he worked with the run-ning backs on the Tigers’ 1986 Atlantic Coast Conference Champi-onship squad. While at Clemson, he coached in the Independence and Gator Bowls.

In 1987, he served as the offensive co-ordinator at Goose Creek High School, a AAAA program in Charleston, S.C.. The Gators boasted the top rushing offense in the state that sea-son. Bennett then coached at Newber-ry College before ac-cepting the position at Catawba.

He and his wife Melanie have a daughter, Hayes (17) and a son, Jeb (14).



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Maurice Drayton is in his first year with Coastal Carolina

University’s football program, serving as the assistant head

coach, special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach.

Drayton comes to Conway from South Carolina State,

where he helped the Bulldogs to two straight NCAA Division

I Football Championship Subdivision appearances and Mid-

Eastern Athletic Conference titles as the defensive backs

and special teams coach.

Last season (2009), South Carolina State ranked seventh

nationally in pass defense, improving from 21st the previ-

ous year, while ranking fifth in overall defense. In the spe-

cial team, the Bulldogs ranked 17th in both punt and kickoff

returns, while Oliver Brown was 12th individually in kick re-

turns. In his first season at South Carolina State, Aaron Haire

ranked 14th in punting and two of his player ranked among

the top 10 in the league in interceptions.

In 2007, he was the assistant principal and defensive co-

ordinator at Goose Creek High School after spending the

2006 season as the defensive coordinator for the Seinajoki

Crocodiles of the European Football League in Seinajoki,

Finland. He also served a stint with the Charleston Swamp

Foxes of the Arena 2 Football League in 2000-02 and has

done internships with the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay

Packers of the National Football League. He also had a brief

stint as a player in the National Football League with two

different teams.

A native of Moncks Corner, Drayton spent a total of 12

seasons at The Citadel as a player, assistant coach and re-

cruiting coordinator. He earned both a Bachelor of Science

in Physical Education (1998) and Master of Education (2007)

at The Citadel.

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Kevin Brown is in his ninth season on the coaching staff at Coastal Carolina University, taking over in 2009 as the of-fensive coordinator as well as continuing to work with the quarterbacks.

Brown served his first seven years as the passing game coordinator in addition to working with the quarterbacks.

The 2009 season saw Coastal Carolina rank 37th in the nation as first team All-American Tommy Fraser and Eric O’Neal combined to rush for over 1,000 yards.

In 2008, quarterback Zack MacDowall threw for more than 2,000 yards in just nine games, setting a single-game school record with 382 yards against Liberty.

From 2003-06, Brown worked with quarterback Tyler Thigpen, who made history for the program. Under his tutelage, Thigpen ranked second in the nation in total of-fense and fourth in passing yards in 2006, while also setting a Big South record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Also in 2006, Coastal ranked fourth nationally in passing (285.75 ypg.). Thigpen ended his career as Coastal Carolina’s first-ever National Football League draft choice, taken by the Minnesota Vikings and is now with the Miami Dolphins. Thigpen started 11 of 14 games he played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008, throwing for more than 2,600 yards and 18 touchdowns while also leading the NFL quarterbacks in rushing.

The 35-year-old Brown is well known to current Coastal Carolina Head Coach David Bennett, as he was both a player and a coach for Bennett at Catawba from 1993-2001. As an assistant coach at Catawba for four seasons, he helped lead the program from a 6-4 record his first season to three NCAA Division II Playoff appearances, including a 12-2 re-cord in 2001 and a berth in the NCAA semifinals.

As a player, Brown was the 1996 South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year after leading Catawba to a 9-2 record and the No. 4 ranking in NCAA Division II. A four-year starter at quarterback, Brown is the program’s leader in touchdown passes for a single season with 18 and a career with 53. He also ranks second all-time with 4,807 passing yards and earned his bachelor’s in physical education in 1998.

As a three-sport letterwinner at Berkeley High School, Brown was named All-Conference and the team’s Most Valuable Player in football. He also earned All-Conference honors in baseball and lettered in basketball.

Born in Charleston, S.C., Brown lives in Conway.



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Curtis Walker is in his ninth year as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for Coastal Carolina University’s football program.

Under Walker’s tutelage, the Coastal Carolina defense helped the Chanticleers capture three consecutive Big South Con-ference titles in just the program’s second, third and fourth seasons of play, with a combined record of 28-6 in that period, a berth in the 2006 NCAA Division I Football Championships and final top-25 rankings in three national polls all three years. He has also oversaw the development of both safety Quinton Teal, who made the NFL’s Carolina Panthers active roster as a free agent, and All-American cornerback Josh Norman.

From the out-set, Coastal Carolina’s defense has set the tone. In the program’s first year, it ranked first in the league and eighth nationally in turnover margin, while ranking second in the Big South in total defense. From 2004-07, the Chants’ defense has ranked first in the league in pass efficiency defense, while ranking first or second in sacks and tackles for loss from 2005-09, except for 2008 when Coastal ranked third in the Big South in sacks. Also, Coastal has twice led the nation in interceptions, getting 19 in 2006 and 27 in 2004.

For the 2009 season, behind the leadership of second team All-Big South pick Desmond Steward and Norman, Coach Walker’s unit ranked 15th in pass defense, allowing just 160.55 ypg., while six players ranked among the Big South top 20 in interceptions — getting 21 picks as a unit. Norman led the way in aerial thefts, setting a Big South Record and ranking third nationally with eight interceptions.

Coastal also led the Big South in pass defense in 2008, ‘07 and ‘06. Also, on the strength on 18 picks in 2007, the Chants ranked sixth nationally in turnover margin (1.36).

In 2006, the Coastal Carolina defense tied for the national lead with 19 interceptions. Walker’s defense led the nation in pass efficiency defense and contributed to the top turnover margin in the country, setting a Big South record at plus 22.

Individually, defensive back Quinton Teal led the Big South and ranked among the top 15 nationally in interceptions per game (2004-06), earning second team All-American honors from the Associated Press.

In 2004, the defense ranked in the top 30 in the country in scoring defense (5th), total defense (21st) and pass defense (22nd). In recognition of the outstanding season, Walker was honored by the All-America Football Foundation with the 2004 Mike Campbell Top Assistant Coaches Award, along with then offensive coordinator Jamie Snider.

Also in the 2004 season, the Chanticleers’ defense set Big South records in 14 categories and tied the record in another. Among the more significant records set were scoring defense (176), scoring defense average (16.0), total defense per game (313.6 ypg), rushing defense (1,541 yards), fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (9), lowest completion percentage allowed (44.3 percent) and pass efficiency defense (86.8).

Walker has served on David Bennett’s coaching staff for the past 12 years, spending seven years on the staff at Catawba College.

He was the linebackers coach from 1995-2000 and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2001, where he served for his final season. As defensive coordinator, the Indians ranked first in the nation in scoring defense, 11th in rushing defense and 22nd in total defense. During his tenure at Catawba, the program made the NCAA Division II playoffs three straight seasons, including a 2001 semifinal berth. Prior to his time at Catawba, Walker got his coaching start at Salisbury High School as the linebackers coach.

The 39-year-old native of Burlington, N.C., was a four-year starter and letterwinner at Catawba College. A 2004 inductee into Catawba’s Sports Hall of Fame and 2008 inductee into the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame, Walker earned All-American honors his final three seasons, including first-team accolades as a senior in 1992 and three-times on the All-South Atlantic Conference First Team. He was named the team’s Most Valuable Player in 1991 and served as team captain his senior season. He earned a bachelor’s degree in December 1992, majoring in sociology.

Walker was a two-time All-Conference selection at Graham High School, earning Mid-State Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1987. A 1988 graduate of the school, he held the school’s record for career tackles for 14 years.

Walker, his wife, Sheka and sons Jalon (5) and Curtis Jr. (2) live in Conway.



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Gary Smallen is in his fifth year as tight ends coach and second as recruiting coordinator for Coastal Carolina University’s football program.

In 2009, Smallen coached tight end David Duran to first team All-Big South honors. Duran led all conference tight ends in recep-tions (19) and receiving yards (273), while ranking second on the team in both categories.

Smallen came in as co-offensive coordinator and helped imme-diately with the Coastal Carolina offense in 2006. The Chanticleer offense broke Big South records in 11 different categories, includ-ing total offense, offensive touchdowns, passing yards and passing yards per completion, while helping the program to its first-ever berth in the NCAA Division I Football Championships.

Also in 2006, Smallen produced first team All-Big South pick Rodney Burgess, who caught 18 passes for 300 yards with two touchdowns.

Smallen comes from a distinguished high school coaching ca-reer in South Carolina. He was a coach there for more than 30 years, serving in numerous capacities.

Most recently, he was the athletic director and offensive coordi-nator at Strom Thurmond High School for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. He took over both positions in 2004 when Lee Sawyer became the head coach and helped convert the Rebels’ offense from a run-oriented game to a spread offense. That conversion led to 10 wins and a region title in 2004. The Rebels then surpassed that last season, posting a 14-1 mark and winning the regional title and the South Carolina Class AAA State Championship.

Prior to his two years at Strom Thurmond, Smallen was the head coach at Lower Richland High School, where he was an assis-tant coach for the South Carolina team at the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. He was also the first head coach and athletic director in South Aiken’s history and has also served as a head coach at three other programs in the state, Batesburg-Leesville, Langley-Bath-Clearwater and Ridge Spring-Monetta, as well as working on the staffs at Airport, Broome, Strom Thurmond and Fairfield Central High Schools.

Smallen is very familiar with Coastal Carolina Head Coach Da-vid Bennett, as the two worked together on the football coach-ing staff at Newberry in the late 1980s, but in reversed roles with Smallen as the head coach from 1988-90.

A 1972 graduate of Furman University, Smallen was a two-sport letterman for the Paladins. He earned three letters in football as a defensive back and kick returner and four letters in track as a sprinter during his collegiate career. He also earned his master’s in teaching from South Carolina in 1975. Both of these followed his graduation in 1968 from Dentsville High School in Columbia, S.C.

Smallen and his wife of 33 years, Lynda, have one son Jason, 30, and reside in Myrtle Beach.

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Grant Cain starts his sixth year on the Coastal Carolina Uni-versity football staff, his fourth as a full-time staff member and first as defensive ends coach. Previously, Cain coached the outside linebackers (2007-09). He spent his first two seasons as a graduate assistant with the Chanticleers.

Working with the outside linebackers, Cain helped Coastal Carolina lead the Big South in sacks (25) in 2009 as well as rank second in tackles for losses. The Chants also paced the league in TFL in 2008, while ranking among the nation’s top 23 in both sacks and TFL in 2007.

Prior to Coastal Carolina, Cain spent the 2005 spring and summer seasons as a defensive assistant with the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League. Cain helped the Crush win its first AFL title in just its third season of play with a vic-tory over the Georgia Force in Arena Bowl XIX in Las Vegas.

Cain spent the previous two years at Catawba College, working under head coach Chip Hester. While at Catawba, Cain worked with the cornerbacks, outside linebackers and special teams. He also assisted with the strength and condi-tioning and Academic Success programs.

Cain is very familiar with the style of Coastal Carolina foot-ball, having played for current head coach David Bennett and defensive coordinator Curtis Walker at Catawba.

While he was a student-athlete at Catawba, Cain lettered as a defensive back and served as team captain his senior season. He also helped the Indians to four national playoff appearances, including a berth in the national semifinals. Cain earned his bachelor’s degree in business administra-tion in 2003.

Cain played his high school football at Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Ga. At Harrison, he was an All-Coun-ty performer and helped the Hoyas to three state playoff berths and a regional title.

He is married to the former Shauna Koontz and they re-side in Conway with their infant son Caleb.



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Mike Castellano is starting his eighth year on the football coaching staff at Coastal Carolina University, working with the secondary.

During Castellano’s time, Coastal Carolina has been at the top of the Big South and among the national leaders in pass defense. The Chants led the nation in pass efficiency defense in 2004, while leading the league in in the category from 2004-07. Nationally, Coastal was 15th in pass defense in 2009 (2nd in the Big South), while ranking first in Big South in pass defense in 2008, ‘07 (third nationally) and ‘06 (15th nationally).

The 2009 season was a banner-year for the Chanticleer secondary. Led by All-American and first team All-Big South pick Josh Norman, Coastal Carolina picked off 21 passes to rank fourth nationally. Norman was responsible for eight, setting a Big South record, and ranking third in the nation. Norman also set a league record with three picks in a game, earning national and Big South Defensive Player of the Week honors. Norman added seven PBU to lead the league in passes defended (15), while ranking eight nationally. Nor-man’s counter-part, Marcus Lott added two picks and five PBU to rank eighth in the league in passes defended.

The 35-year-old Castellano spent the four years prior to arriving at Coastal Carolina as a high school defensive coor-dinator, the last two seasons at Millbrook High School and the 1999-01 seasons at North Wilkes. During his two sea-sons at Millbrook, he also worked with the special teams, as he helped lead the team to a pair of state playoff appear-ances.

Castellano spent one year with Delta State University as a graduate assistant, working with the tight ends and offen-sive line in the fall of 1998, helping the squad to their first-ever conference championship and the national playoffs. In the spring, he shifted to working with the wide receivers and quarterbacks.

Castellano is very familiar with Head Coach David Ben-nett, working for three seasons as a student assistant coach at Catawba College. A graduate of the school, he received his bachelor’s in history in December 1997. He also earned his master’s in education in 2000 from Delta State.

Born in Somerset, N.J., Castellano was a three-sport standout at Delaware Valley High School, playing football, baseball and basketball during his career.

Castellano resides in Myrtle Beach and is married to the former Allison Butterfass.

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Pat Covington is in his first year as an assistant coach with the Coastal Carolina University football program, coaching the offensive line.

Covington spent the last three years at the Air Force Academy, working with the Falcon offense. Most recently, he helped the Falcons to an 8-5 record and a victory over Houston in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. Coving-ton worked closely with the offensive line for three years, which was one of the best in the league and finishing sec-ond nationally in rushing with an average of 299.5 yards per game in 2007. Air Force’s rushing average was its best since winning its only national rushing title in 2002 with a 307.8 per-game average. The Falcons won their 26th conference rushing title last year and third straight with Covington’s as-sistance.

Covington is familiar with Coastal Carolina, as he was an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the 2006 sea-son. At Coastal Carolina, Covington was part of a coaching staff that led the Chanticleers to the Big South Conference championship with a 9-3 record.

Covington is a 2006 graduate of Furman University. He was a three-year starter and four-year letter winner for the Paladins from 2002-05. A two-time all-Southern Conference selection, he was rated as the No. 6 guard in NCAA I-AA foot-ball by The Sports Network. He was a Sports Network First-Team All-American and an Associated Press Second-Team All-American in 2005. That same season, the Furman of-fense averaged a school-record 469.9 yards of total offense per game. The Paladins ranked third in the nation in rushing and reached the semifinals of the 2005 NCAA I-AA Playoffs. Covington was also a team captain his senior year and was a 2006 National Strength and Conditioning All-American.

Covington is a native of Charlotte, N.C. He attended My-ers Park High School in Charlotte where he was a three-year starter and served as a team captain.

Covington is married to the former Ann Louise Duncan.



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Keith James is in his ninth season on the football staff at Coastal Carolina University, serving as the running backs coach, as well as the program’s academic coordinator.

Last season, a mid-season injury to Eric O’Neal could have been a setback, but fullback Tommy Fraser took the reigns and ended up earning first team All-American honors. The two combined to rush for over 1,000 yards and Coastal Car-olina ranked 37th nationally in rushing.

In 2008, James had his first Chanticleer play in the NFL, as fullback Mike Tolbert played in 13 games, including seven starts, for the San Diego Chargers. Tolbert received his shot at the NFL after Coastal ranked 27th nationally in rushing in 2007, with Tolbert ranking 76th nationally and fourth in the Big South.

The program has been solid at running back from the be-ginning. Aundres Perkins was a three-time second team All-Big South pick (2003, ‘05 and ‘06), while Patrick Hall, who led the league and ranked 25th in rushing (100.64), was both a first team selection and Big South Offensive Player of the Year in 2004. The Chants led the Big South in rushing in 2004 and 2005, ranking fifth nationally in the category in ‘04 and 18th in the program’s first year (‘03).

James arrived in Conway from Winston-Salem State Uni-versity, where he coached for the six previous years. Dur-ing his time at Winston-Salem State, the program won two consecutive CIAA Championships in 1999 and 2000 and were victorious in the 2000 Pioneer Bowl. During his time at WSSU, he was also the softball coach, leading the Lady Rams to a 49-18 record in two seasons. His softball team was also awarded the school’s Director’s Cup for the team with the highest grade point average for the third consecu-tive year. Prior to his time at WSSU, he spent two years at Mount Tabor High School, where his team improved five games during his tenure.

The 44-year-old James graduated from Winston-Salem State in 1989 with a bachelor’s in mass communication. As a quarterback, James led his team to the 1988 CIAA Cham-pionship game, where he was named the game’s Most Valu-able Player. He then attended North Carolina A&T, earning a master’s in adult education in 1998.

A three-sport letterwinner at Dudley Senior High School, James was the Most Valuable Player and Outstanding Of-fensive Player on the football squad. James also played bas-ketball and ran track, graduating in 1984.

Born in Greensboro, N.C., James lives in Conway with his wife, Phyllis.

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Jamel Smith, a Columbia native and All-America honoree at Virginia Tech, was named defensive line coach at Coastal Carolina in June of 2010.

Smith spent the previous two seasons at Virginia Tech as a graduate assistant coach. In 2008, the Hokies went 10-4 and played in the Orange Bowl, while going 10-3 in 2009 and earning a Chick-fil-A Bowl berth. He worked with the defensive line, helping the unit rank 12th nationally in total defense and ninth in scoring defense in 2009, while ranking seventh in total defense in 2008.

Smith was a four-year letterman and a three-year starter for Virginia Tech from 1996-99. He finished his career with 301 tackles with 27 tackles for losses, including six sacks. Smith was voted second team All-America by the Associat-ed Press in 1999 and first team All-Big East Conference. He was a semifinalist for the Dick Butkus Award, given annually to the nation’s top linebacker, as he led the Hokies with 89 tackles (52 solos) as a senior with eight TFL and one sack. He also led Tech in tackles as a junior with 99 stops.

After his successful career at Virginia Tech, Smith signed as a free agent with the New England Patriots. He then played three years for the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe. From 2003-2006, Smith coached at his high school alma mater, Spring Valley, before following coach Noonan to Wilson Hall HS in Sumter for the 2007 season.

Prior to going to Virginia Tech, Smith helped Columbia’s Spring Valley HS to an 11-2 record and Region 4-AAAA ti-tle as a senior. In turn, he was named to first team Class AAAA All-State at linebacker and started at inside linebacker for the South Carolina team in the Shrine Bowl game with North Carolina.

He received his B.S. in sociology at Virginia Tech in 2004 and his MSED in Health & Physical Education, Liberal Arts & Human Sciences from Virginia Tech in spring of 2010.



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Drew Watson is in his ninth year on the football staff at Coastal Carolina University, coaching the safeties.

During his tenure at Coastal Carolina, Watson has helped the Chants’ defense rank among the Big South’s best in pass defense. In 2009, the squad was 15th nationally (second in the league), while it led the Big South in 2008, ‘07, ‘06 and ranked second in ‘05. Coastal ranked fourth in the nation with 21 picks in 2009, ranking 12th in 2007 (18th), first in 2006 (19), 17th in 2005 (17), first in 2004 (27) and 16th in 2003 (17).

In 2009, safety Dominique Davenport ranked third on the team in tackles and added three interceptions to rank third in the Big South and 87th nationally.

From 2004-06, safety Quinton Teal was perhaps the top defender in the Big South. The two-time All-American led the Big South in interceptions three times, ranking 12th na-tionally in 2004, 15th in 2005 and 49th in 2006.

The 43-year-old Watson previously was on the coaching staff at Wofford College for 12 seasons. For six seasons, he served as the running backs coach and was the offensive line coach for six seasons. During his tenure at Wofford, the team led the nation in rushing offense and made the NCAA Division II Playoffs two separate occasions.

Prior to that, he served as the secondary coach at New-berry College for the 1989 and 1990 seasons.

A 1989 graduate of Newberry College with a bachelor’s in business administration, Watson was a four-year letter-winner and three year starter at cornerback for the Indians. He earned Second Team NAIA All-American honors and First Team All-South Atlantic Conference honors as a senior, as well as the team’s Most Valuable Player award. As a junior, he was also named Honorable Mention All-American. He attended T.L. Hanna High School, where he played football and ran track prior to graduating in 1984.

A native of Anderson, S.C., Watson resides in Conway with his wife Melanie and their son Cole (16) and daughters Cate (9) and Anna (6).

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Wilson Beaver is in his ninth season as the football equipment coordinator at Coastal Carolina University and has 18th

years overall experience in his profession.He has been with the program since its inception, seeing the

team win three Big South titles (2004, ‘05 and ‘06) and earn a berth in the 2006 NCAA Championships.

Prior to Coastal Carolina, he worked for four years at Catawba College, serving as a student equipment manager for David Ben-nett’s football team. During his time, the Indians won two confer-ence titles and made three appearances in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. He was also honored with South Atlantic Conference Stu-dent Service Awards for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. He graduated from Catawba in 2002 with a bachelor’s in physical education.

A native of Albemarle, N.C., Beaver also spent four years as a student equipment manager and athletic trainer at Albemarle High School. A 1998 graduate, he was given the Athletic Service Award for his work, as well as having an award named for him.

Certified by the Athletic Equipment Manager’s Association, Beaver serves as the District III Internet Chairperson. Beaver re-sides in Myrtle Beach.

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Jeff Pounds is in his ninth year on the sports medicine staff at Coastal Carolina University, having been promoted to Asso-

ciate Athletic Trainer in 2006 after four years as an assistant. He has primary responsibility for the school’s football program.

Pounds came to Coastal Carolina from Davidson College, where he served as an assistant athletic trainer and the head football athletic trainer from 1998-2002. Prior to that, he was a staff ath-letic trainer for Healthworks Rehab and Fitness in Morgantown, West Virginia and the head athletic trainer at Fairmont (WV) Se-nior High School.

A member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association, Pounds has extensive experience in athletic training, working various camps, including for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. He also served as the host athlet-ic trainer for the 1999 and 2000 NCAA Men’s Soccer Final Fours.

Originally from Petaluma, California, the 35-year-old Pounds earned his master’s degree from West Virginia University in 1998. Prior to that, he received his bachelor’s degree from Sacramento State University in 1996. During his collegiate career, he played two years of baseball at Santa Rosa (CA) Junior College.

Pounds lives in Myrtle Beach.



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Louis Francois is entering his fifth year overall at Coastal Carolina University and his second as video coordinator for the football program, serving as assistant video coordinator 2008.

Francois worked the 2006 and 2007 seasons as a student assistant, serving on the video staff and as-sisting the offensive line and the tight ends and followed it with one year as assistant video coordinator. He was a student assistant at Catawba College in 2004 and 2005, working as the assistant video coordinator and working with the offensive line and the tight ends. He coached the offensive line, defensive line and linebackers during his two years at Gateway High School in Kissimmee, Fla., helping the school to the most wins in school history in 2003.

Francois graduated from Coastal Carolina in May of 2008 with a bachelor’s in recreation and sports management.

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Jill Kingston is in her ninth year as the football administrative assistant, coordinating numerous events and functions for the Coastal Carolina football program.

The 31-year-old Kingston was a four-year letterwinner at Campbell in basketball from 1997-2001, leading the Camels to the 2000 TAAC title and the NCAA Tournament.

A graduate of South Rowan High School, she was a three-sport standout in basketball, softball and tennis. She was a four-time All-Conference and three-time All-County honoree in basketball.

Kingston was married in 2005 to husband Eric, and they reside in Little River with their daughter Claire.

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Lynn Mentzer is in her sixth year in the administration of the football program at Coastal Carolina University. She will be assisting in office operations, as well as in the equipment room.

Mentzer is familiar with the football program, having been a student manager for the past three seasons, working with equipment manager Wilson Beaver. There she helped with the Chanticleers since the first season of practice through the Chanticleers’ Big South Conference Championship in 2004, including traveling on the road with the team.

Mentzer is a 2005 graduate of Coastal Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in business management. She is a native of Ken-ton, Ohio, where she graduated from Kenton High School in 2000. She lives in Conway.

2010 coastal carolina fb guide coaches bios

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