Meet the 38 support staffers

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247sports.com

 

Meet 38 support staffers behind the scenes of Auburn football

ByBrandon Marcello

45-56 minutes

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Every year people come and go within the Auburn athletics department.

Many of those are so far behind the scenes, even the most diehard fans do not notice a difference when a new employee comes aboard or leaves the Plains.

Well, let's pull back the curtain a bit an introduce you to the 38 support staffers helping Auburn football. From graduate assistants and analysts, to the recruiting office and more, we have you covered with every position behind the scenes of Auburn football. The Tigers' football staff consists of roughly 50 people, including head coach Gus Malzahn and his 10 assistants. Plus, there are those auxilary players such as in-house photographers, media, sports information directors, facility management and others that we do not list here because their duties reside elsewhere in the department (though we did list Auburn's world-famous surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, because of his presence on game days).

We started this exercise last July, by introducing you to 39 support staffers. Well, nine of those folks have either departed by choice or force over the last year, and in their place are eight new additions.

Check out a brief glimpse below, and then scroll below for the extensive list and bios of the women and men behind the scenes making sure Auburn football clicks on all cylinders every single day. (Most bios are courtesy Auburn athletics)

DEPARTURES

• Cole Weeks, offensive graduate assistant -> Troy tight ends coach
• Bryce Giddens, offensive graduate assistant -> Valdosta (Georgia) High
• Devin Ducote, defensive analyst -> Kansas special teams consultant
• Patrick Suddes, assistant athletics director for football -> Georgia Tech general manager
• Billy High, director of football recruiting -> North Carolina, director of football recruiting
• Stefan Schmidt, director of player personnel -> Front Rush LLC, customer success representative
• Kenny Ingram, director of player relations -> Arkansas defensive tackles coach
• Luke Garrett, assistant equipment manager -> Middle Tennessee, assistant athletic director of equipment operations
• Colby Borden, assistant video coordinator -> Houston Texans, assistant director of video operations

ADDITIONS

• Levorn Harbin, director of recruiting <- Miles College, co-defensive coordinator
• Ryan Trichel, director of player personnel <- Louisiana Lafayette, director of player personnel
• Adam Herring, defensive analyst <- Akron, defensive quality control
• Addison Williams, assistant to the head coach <- Furman, cornerbacks coach
• Steve Ha’unga, offensive graduate assistant (offensive line) <- Tulsa, offensive analyst
• Kendall Simmons, offensive analyst
• Lewie Thompson, video assistant
• Beth Burkett, recruiting operations coordinator

 

Adam Herring

Former Auburn linebacker Adam Herring joined the staff as a defensive analyst working with the linebackers in February 2019.

Herring worked in defensive quality control at Akron and Texas before joining the Tigers' support staff. He played linebacker at Auburn in 2008 and 2009. He played in 19 games, including seven starts, but an ankle injury ended his playing career in 2009.

BARRETT TROTTER, OFFENSIVE ANALYST

Barrett Trotter (Photo: 247Sports)

Former Auburn quarterback Barrett Trotter rejoined the Tigers as an offensive analyst before the 2018 season. He came back to Auburn from North Carolina, where he was an offensive assistant with the Tar Heels for the 2017 campaign.

Trotter was with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams in the NFL for four seasons, serving first as a football operations and scouting assistant in 2013-14 and then moving into coaching as an offensive quality control assistant for the Rams in 2015-16.

In 2013, Trotter served as an offensive graduate assistant at Arkansas State. Trotter started his coaching career in 2012 at his alma mater, Briarwood Christian, coaching quarterbacks.

After backing up Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, Trotter became Tigers’ starting quarterback for his senior season in 2011, as Auburn defeated Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. At Auburn, he was a member of the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society and a four-year member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Trotter is from Birmingham, Alabama, and was a Class 5A all-state quarterback and Alabama Mr. Football finalist at Briarwood Christian School. He received his bachelor’s degree in communication from Auburn in 2010.

 

Former Auburn wide receiver Marcus Davis (Photo: Jake Evans, 247Sports)

Former Auburn receiver was hired in the summer of 2018 to replace Eric Munoz as an offensive analyst.

Davis was a four-year letterman for the Tigers from 2013 through 2016. He caught 83 passes for 650 yards and three touchdowns during his career, including a crucial 27-yard catch in traffic on third down that kept the game-winning touchdown drive alive at Texas A&M in 2013. He also had two rushing touchdowns during his career.

KENDALL SIMMONS, OFFENSIVE ANALYST

 

Kendall Simmons (Photo: Photo by Jason Caldwell, Scout.com)

Kendall Simmons joined the support staff in January 2019. He was a two-time All-SEC player and a two-time Super Bowl champion. He played at Auburn from 1997 through 2001 and played six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who selected him in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He retired from the NFL following the 2009 season.

Auburn made mention of the Tigers returning all five starters along the offensive line next season in its announcement. Simmons said in a statement he is “part of the staff."

"Coach (Gus) Malzahn has always been good to me over the years," Simmons said in a news release in January. "I really appreciate the opportunity he's given me to come in and be a part of the staff. I'm going to do the best I can. I'm going to work hard and try to learn as much as I can from coach Malzahn, (offensive line) coach (J.B.) Grimes and whoever else I have an opportunity to come in contact with, so I'm excited about it."

Simmons started in 36 games for the Tigers during his playing career.

MATT HASSAN, DEFENSIVE ANALYST

 

Matt Hassan

Matt Hassan serves as an analyst with the Auburn defense, a role he assumed in June 2018, after two years working for the Tigers as an operations assistant from 2016-18.

Hassan spent two seasons on the coaching staff at Concordia University Chicago, working with the running backs in 2014 and tutoring the linebackers in 2015, as well as coordinating academics, video and social media. He served as running backs coach at Alma College for the 2013 season. He was one of 30 participants selected for the 2014 NCAA/AFCA Future Football coaches Academy and is a Bronze Certified coach through the National coaches Education Program.

Hassan ranks second among career rushers at North Park University in Chicago, where he was a two-year captain, three-time offensive MVP and an all-CCIW running back in 2011 and 2012. He was vice-president of the North Park Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and received the CCIW Merle Chapman Leadership Award.

A product of Glen Ellyn, Ill., where he was a football and wrestling letterman at Glenbard West High, Hassan received his bachelor’s degree in history and education from North Park in 2013 and a master’s degree in sports management and leadership from Concordia in 2015. He is married to the former Anna Maria LaMantia, who played soccer at North Park while earning a degree in exercise science and received a master’s degree from Auburn in kinesiology.

JONATHAN RUTLEDGE, SPECIAL TEAMS ANALYST

 

 

Jonathan Rutledge

Jonathan Rutledge joined the Auburn family in 2018 as a special teams analyst. He came to the Plains from Missouri, where he served as a special teams analyst with the Tigers during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Punter Corey Fatony was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist and the punt return unit ranked third (16.57 ypr) among FBS schools in 2017.

In 2014-15, Rutledge was a graduate assistant for special teams and wide receivers at North Carolina, as the Tar Heel punt, punt return and kickoff teams finished ranked in the NCAA top 12 and kicker Nick Weiler was a Groza semifinalist. During the 2013 and 2013 seasons, he was a special teams analyst at Memphis, working with Guy Award winner Tom Hornsey and Groza semifinalist Jake Elliott.

A 2011 graduate of Ole Miss with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with an emphasis in social studies, he served as a football manager there from 2007-10 and was an offensive quality control specialist for the 2011 season. A native of Madison, Mississippi and a graduate of Madison Central High, he is married to the former Kaylon Kirk.

STEVEN HA'UNGA, GRADUATE ASSISTANT (OFFENSIVE LINE)

 

Steven Ha'unga

Former Arkansas State offensive guard Steven Ha'unga joined the Auburn staff as a graduate assistant, replacing Bryce Giddens, earlier this year. 

Ha'unga, like Giddens, played offensive line under Grimes at Arkansas State in 2012, when Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was the head coach for the Red Wolves.

Ha'unga comes to Auburn after coaching the last three seasons at Tulsa. He served as an offensive analyst in 2018 after previously serving in roles as a graduate assistant on the field and as a graduate assistant on the athletic performance staff. He was previously the defensive line coach at Kuna High School in Idaho, and was also an intern for the strength and conditioning programs at California and Boise State.

He lettered two seasons at Arkansas State, where he arrived after two seasons at the College of the Canyons.

Ha'unga started every game at left guard during Malzahn and Grimes' lone season at Arkansas State in 2012.

CHARLES MOORE, GRADUATE ASSISTANT (DEFENSIVE BACKS)

 

Charles Moore

Charles Moore joined the Auburn family prior to the 2017 season as a graduate assistant working with the Auburn defensive backs.

Moore came to Auburn after two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant working with the secondary, while also holding the role of co-special teams coordinator at Tarleton State University.

Moore played safety at Tarleton State from 2010-14 under coach Cary Fowler, starting as a junior and senior. He recorded 204 career tackles for the Texans, and was part of the Texans’ 2013 Lone Star Conference championship squad. He earned Daktronics second team All-America, Daktronics all-Super Region Four and all-Lone Star Conference honors on the field.

A first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, Moore earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Tarleton State in December, 2014, and was named the Kinesiology Department’s most outstanding graduate. One of 17 recipients of the National Football Foundation postgraduate scholarship and a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy as the top scholar-athlete in college football, he also received the Eddie Robinson Scholarship and was honored as one of nine Texas scholar-athletes by the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas.

A product of Carrollton, Texas, and a graduate of R.L. Turner High, Moore has a master’s degree in athletic administration from Tarleton State, and is currently pursuing a specialist degree in adult education from Auburn.

COURTNEY PRINCE, GRADUATE ASSISTANT (DEFENSIVE LINE)

 

Courtney Prince

Courtney Prince joined Auburn football in February 2018, as a graduate assistant for defense, working with the defensive line.

From 2013-16, Prince was a federal police officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency/DOD in Washington, D.C. During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Prince was a defensive graduate with Virginia Tech football, his alma mater. He coached football at Henry A. Wise and Gwynn Park High Schools in Maryland during the 2013-15 seasons while serving as a substitute teacher and aide.

Prince played on both the defensive and offensive lines at Virginia Tech from 2008-11, as the Hokies played in the Chick-fil- A, Sugar and two Orange Bowls. He was a member of the Dean’s List and ACC Academic Honor Roll.

Born in Washington, D.C., Prince’s hometown is Clinton, Maryland. He was team captain at Gwynn Park High School, where he was all-league, all county and all-state in football. He received a bachelor’s degree in human development from Virginia Tech in 2011, and he is working toward a master’s degree in adult education at Auburn. He is the son of Chris and Sharon Prince and has one brother, Chris Jr.

Brett Whiteside, director of football operations and administration

 

Brett Whiteside

Began at Auburn: 2013

Education: Whiteside graduated from Arkansas State in 2012 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies with emphasis on business, education and mathematics. He graduated from Auburn University with a master's degree in administration of higher education in August 2015.

Past Experience: Whiteside worked with head coach Gus Malzahn as Director of Player Personnel at Arkansas State in 2012, coordinating the Red Wolves' team travel, assisting with on-campus recruiting and helping oversee the day-to-day operations of the ASU football program. As a student recruiting assistant at Auburn from 2009-12, Whiteside helped with the recruiting effort of two of the top six recruiting classes in the nation, including the 2011 class, ranked No. 2 nationally and first in the Southeastern Conference. He was also instrumental in signing ASU's first recruiting class under head coach Gus Malzahn, which was ranked first in the Sun Belt Conference in 2012.

Personal: Whiteside is Originally from Gadsden, Ala., and is married to the former Natalie Slaten.

RYAN TRICHEL, DIRECTOR OF PLAYER PERSONNEL

 

Ryan Trichel

Ryan Trichel worked for seven years on Louisiana Lafayette’s support staff and, including the last five seasons as director of player personnel.

          Trichel worked for two years (2004-06) as an operations assistant in the Southeastern Louisiana athletic department, assisting in the game day operations for seven sports, including football, while earning his undergraduate degree.

       Trichel graduated from SLU in 2006 with a degree in general management and enrolled in graduate school at Mississippi State, earning a master’s degree in sports administration in 2008 and a second master’s in business administration in 2010.

Trichel is married to the former Amanda Pellegrin and they have two sons, Ryan Joseph and John Maverick.

LEVORN HARBIN, DIRECTOR OF RECRUITING

 

Levorn Harbin

Levorn Harbin joined the staff for his third stint at Auburn in February. Harbin was previously a defensive analyst in 2013 and 2014, and an administrative assistant in 1999 and 2000 at Auburn.

Harbin replaced Billy High, who left Auburn to take a similar position at North Carolina.

Harbin spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons on Malzahn's staff as a defensive line analyst. He was hired away and spent the 2015 through 2017 seasons as a defensive line coach at Louisiana. He joined the staff at Miles College, a Division II school, as a co-defensive coordinator in 2018.

Harbin is a veteran assistant, having previously coached seven seasons at Tuskegee, where he was a defensive line coach, special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator during his tenure from 2006 through 2012. He was also a defensive ends coach and special teams coordinator at Georgia Southern in 2002 and 2003. He entered the coaching fray as a defensive line coach at Valdosta State in 2001.

He was previously a pro scout for the Atlanta Falcons in 2004 and student assistant at his alma mater, North Alabama, in 1998.

Harbin played defensive line for North Alabama and won a national championship as a player in 1995.

The Butler, Alabama native was a member of the Mobile Press-Register's all-area team out of Choctaw County High in the early 1990s.

ADDISON WILLIAMS, analyst/assistant to head coach

 

Addison Williams

Former Furman cornerbacks coach Addison Williams joined Auburn's staff as an "assistant to" head coach Gus Malzahn in February 2019. He is also an analyst. It's not clear if he will be on Auburn's personnel staff or strictly work with Auburn's offensive and defensive analysts in the film room and on the field in the fall.

Williams worked previously as a defensive backs coach and coordinator at Tusculum College, a Division II school, before joining Furman. He was an All-SEC cornerback for three years South Carolina.

 

Mollie Moore

Mollie Moore serves as the director of recruiting operations for Auburn football, overseeing the Tigers’ recruiting department. She returned to her alma mater in June 2017. Moore served as the recruiting program coordinator at Georgia from 2015-17, where her responsibilities included coordination of all official and unofficial visits, facility and campus tours, game day events, managing student workers and all recruiting compliance documentation.

From 2014-15, Moore served as recruiting operations coordinator at UAB under coach Bill Clark, planning and implementing all logistical aspects for recruiting on game days, official and unofficial visits, junior days, summer camps and clinics, football social media and the student host group.

Moore spent four seasons as a football recruiting assistant at Auburn, helping the on-campus recruiting coordinator plan and coordinate football recruiting events and handling administrative duties, assisting the Tigers during the 2010 national championship season and top 5 recruiting classes in 2010 and 2011.

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Moore graduated from Auburn in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science.

 

Will Flowers

Will Flowers returns to Auburn after two years as the Marketing and Creative Director for Milo’s Tea Company where he was responsible for managing the strategy and implementation of all marketing tactics including branding, social media, and experimental, new and traditional media. 

During the 2014-2015 seasons, Will was the Branding and Marketing Director for Auburn football team. 

In Will’s prior role as a Marketing Consultant, he worked for several companies, including Electronic Arts and Spectrum Brands. Will’s experience includes his work as the Director of Shopper Marketing for Luckie and Company where he worked with brands such as Little Debbie Snacks and American Cast Iron Pipe Company. Will was also an Account Director for NorthStar Partnering Group, where he established and managed marketing plans for Johnson & Johnson, Disney Consumer Products, specifically focusing on their business with Walmart. His experience also includes managing relationships with 16 offices in six countries worldwide while he worked on the Global Connections Team at Saatchi & Saatchi X. 

Will graduated from Samford University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication, concentration in Advertising, with a Minor in Communication Studies.

 

Natasha Sanders

Natasha Sanders serves as a coordinator of on-campus recruiting for Auburn football, coming back to her alma mater in March 2018.

From 2016-18, she was discovery officer and associate of the Roadrunner Athletic Fund (RAF) at Texas-San Antonio, responsible for identifying donor prospects for the RAF, overseeing the development and implementation of cultivation strategies, and soliciting contributions for UTSA Athletics Annual Giving. She helped raise $2.61 million and increased the UTSA donor base of members.

Prior to UTSA, Sanders worked with athletic recruiting at Georgia, assisting the recruiting program coordinator with planning and coordinating all official and unofficial visits, facility and campus tours, game coverage, and overseeing more than 100 student workers. She was also a development assistant for The Georgia Bulldog Club, overseeing the Young Alumni program consisting of more than 1,000 football season ticket holders and the Gymnastics Endowment Fund.

Prior to Georgia, Sanders was a graduate assistant development officer at Georgia State, where she was instrumental in increasing membership for the Panther Athletic Club by 42 percent. Within her role, Sanders managed all Panther Athletic Club meals before home basketball contests and coordinated donor attendance at each game.

A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Sanders served as a Tigerette/ S.O.A.R host at Auburn, assisting in the recruiting efforts for the 2011 BCS National Championship Team and providing facility and campus tours for 2010 and 2011 prospective recruit official and unofficial visits.

Sanders earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State in 2015 and a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Auburn in 2011.

 

Beth Burkett

 

Jorrell Bostrom

Former Auburn offensive lineman Jorrell Bostrom works for the Tigers in player development. He joined coach Gus Malzahn’s staff in 2014 as assistant director of player development before being promoted to the director’s role in 2015.

The first Auburn player of Tongan heritage, Bostrom earned two letters playing in every game along the offensive line and on the punt, PAT and field goal units for the Tigers in 2009 and 2010. He was on the field for Wes Byrum’s game-winning kick in the 2011 BCS national championship game. A member of that national championship and SEC championship team, from 2011-14, Bostrom served as an administrative assistant in the Auburn recruiting office.

Bostrom played football at Bakersfield (California) Community College during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, and earned an associate’s degree in communication. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Auburn in 2011 in philosophy and leadership, and completed his master’s degree at Auburn in adult education in 2017.

Bostrom participated in the Alabama state championship of USA Powerlifting, placing first in his weight class and winning Best Male Lifter honors.

Bostrom, whose hometown is Nampa, Idaho, is the oldest of six children, all adopted. He and his wife, Kevra, have two daughters, Kailani and Kekoa.

 

Ken Carter

Ken Carter joined the Auburn football staff in 2015 working for the Tigers in player development.

An Auburn defensive lineman from 2010-13, he was a part of the Tigers’ 2010 BCS championship team and also a key member of the 2013 squad that played for the BCS national title. Making 12 career starts in 47 games played, he posted 53 career tackles and three fumble recoveries and was a part of two SEC championship teams. He was invited to rookie camp with the Kansas City Chiefs following his Auburn career.

A graduate of Greenville (Alabama) High, he was selected as the 2009 5A Lineman of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, and played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game.

A December, 2013, graduate with a bachelor’s degree in public administration, Carter received his master’s degree in adult education from Auburn in December, 2014. His brother, Marlon Davidson, is a defensive lineman on the Auburn team.

Carter and his fiancée Alexis Broughton have a daughter, London Elaine.

 

Doug Goodwin

Auburn alum Doug Goodwin, who spent 29 years coaching high school football in Alabama, serves as the director of high school relations for Auburn football. He also serves as NFL liaison and oversees the walk-on program. He joined the Auburn football staff in 2014.

His prep teams made 22 playoff appearances, including 20 consecutive, and advanced five times to the state title game. Fifteen of those teams were area or region champions and seven were state semifinalists. His 114-28 region record is among the best in state high school history.

Goodwin spent three years at Homewood High, winning the region championship in 2012 and 2013. He became the first coach in AHSAA history to take three different schools to the state finals in 2008 with Russellville, which finished as the state runner-up in 2008 and 2009 as the Golden Tigers went 46-9 over four seasons (2007-10).

He had an eight-year stint at Demopolis (1999-2006) as the head football coach and athletic director; his teams won 82 games, reached the playoffs each season and won the state title in 2004 with a 15-0 mark, setting a state record for points in a single season with 761.

Goodwin was the head coach and athletic director at Lineville from 1993-98 where his teams won 59 games and played in the state championship game in 1996 and 1998. Each of his six teams qualified for the playoffs and won the region championship. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Lanett (1985-86) before becoming the head football coach and athletic director at Marion County (1987-92). He was inducted in the Alabama High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2015.

The Sylacauga, Alabama, native walked on to the football team at Auburn as a defensive back. Goodwin graduated from Auburn in 1984. He and his wife, Donna, have two children, Dustin and Devin.

 

Dana Marquez

Dana Marquez is associate athletics director for equipment operations, overseeing all aspects of equipment and apparel for all of Auburn’s 21 varsity teams. His passion is to create innovative, impactful solutions for player safety across the spectrum. A member of the Auburn family since 2006, Marquez worked previously at California and Oregon State.

Winner of the 2015 Maxwell Award for innovation and safety, Marquez is the inventor of Obelic Spheroid Technology (OST), a new foam that is used in Russell Carbon Tech shoulder pads and contributing to the next generation of athletics safety technology. He is also the owner and founder of HelmetFitting.com, an education-based website and video series that provides a platform for parents, coaches, administrators and players to better understand and educate themselves on proper manufacture-fitting guidelines.

A native of Littleton, Colorado who attended Colorado State, studying sports sciences and management, he is married to the former Liz Asher. The couple has a daughter, Jordan, who attends Auburn University.

 

Brad Rapacz

Brad Rapacz serves as the director of equipment for football with the Auburn Tigers, involved in running the day-to-day operation of the football equipment room. Rapacz first came to Auburn in 2009, serving as an intern for the football team with the Auburn equipment staff during that season after working with the football team at the University of Minnesota for four seasons from 2005-09. He was certified by the Athletic Equipment Managers Association (AEMA) in June, 2009.

A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Rapacz graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in sports management in 2002. He is married to the former Lindsey Goodson, a native of Titusville, Florida, and they have a son, Brantley.

 

Hunter Smithwick

Hunter Smithwick is an assistant equipment manager at Auburn, working with the Tiger football program, a position he has held since May, 2016. Smithwick spent four years as a student manager with Auburn football as an undergraduate, and was part of the Tigers’ 2013 SEC championship and BCS national championship game, 2015 Outback Bowl and 2015 Birmingham Bowl teams.

A product of Childersburg, Alabama, where he served as a student manager for football, softball, basketball and baseball at Childersburg High School, Smithwick received his bachelor’s degree in business management from Auburn in 2016. He was certified by the Athletic Equipment Managers Association (AEMA) in June, 2017. He is married to the former Carlee Vinson, an Auburn graduate from Albertville, Alabama

 

Ryan Russell

Ryan Russell serves as the assistant athletics director for athletic performance, heading up the strength and conditioning for Auburn football as he continues his professional partnership with Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn.

Russell held a similar position on Malzahn’s staff at Arkansas State, where he served as director of athletic performance during the 2012 season.

From 2010-11, Russell served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Auburn, working with the football program. He was also football’s director of sports nutrition. He was an associate strength and conditioning coach for the Boise State football team from 2007-09.

He served professional internships as a strength and conditioning coach at Pitt (2005) and Louisville (2004-05) before coming to Auburn as a graduate assistant coach in 2005- 06.

Russell played professional football in the Arena Football League for the Las Vegas Gladiators and the Louisville Fire in 2003.

Russell received his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from West Liberty State in 2003. He played wide receiver for West Liberty State from 2000-02, receiving all-conference honors all three years. He earned his master’s degree in Adult Education from Auburn in December 2006. He holds a number of professional certifications, including CSCS, SCCC, SNC, USAW Level 1 and FMS.

A native of San Bernadino, California, he met his wife, the former Sarah Porter (an Auburn graduate with a degree in nutrition and food science), during his first stint at Auburn.

 

Morris Henry

Morris Henry serves as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for Auburn football. He joined the Auburn family in 2016.

Henry came to Auburn from the University of Tulsa, where he worked as a graduate assistant in the strength and conditioning program, training student-athletes in the football, golf, tennis and throwing programs.

A fourth-degree black belt in taekwondo, Henry did an internship with the EXOS training facility in Pensacola, Florida. Henry played football at Morehead State University, earning his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from MSU in 2014. He is completing work toward a master’s degree in adult education at Auburn.

A native of Orlando, Florida, Henry is a graduate of Ocoee High School, where he lettered in football and track and field. He holds USA-W and CSCS certifications.

 

Anthony Kincy

Anthony Kincy became an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Auburn Tigers prior to the 2015 season, after joining the Auburn family in January, 2013.

He previously spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons as a graduate assistant in strength and conditioning after graduating from Arkansas State, where he played H-back for coach Gus Malzahn and the 2012 Sun Belt champions.

In addition to his responsibilities with football, Kincy serves as strength and conditioning coach for the Auburn equestrian program. He began working with equestrian in 2013 and has been a part of two national championships (2013, 2016) and one Southeastern Conference title (2016).

Kincy was a part of two bowl teams and two league championship squads at Arkansas State, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2012 in interdisciplinary studies. He also spent one season as a student-athlete at both Butte Community College in Orrville, California and Jacksonville (Fla.) University before moving to ASU.

Kincy, from St. Petersburg, Florida, completed his master’s degree in adult education at Auburn in December 2015. He has one son, Amaud Kincy.

 

Connor Mielke

Connor Mielke serves as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for Auburn football.

Mielke came to Auburn in January, 2014, as a strength and conditioning intern, and became a graduate assistant in the strength and conditioning program under coach Ryan Russell in August, 2014. He was promoted to his current role in August, 2016.

Mielke began his coaching career as a student intern at the University of Minnesota, working in the strength and conditioning program. He served internships with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks during their 2012 and 2013 training camps, and also served as a strength and conditioning coach with the Day of Champions football camps in Oklahoma in 2013.

He received his bachelor’s degree in 2013 from Minnesota in kinesiology and exercise science with a minor in sports management. He received a master’s degree from Auburn in adult education in 2016.

A Level 1 USA Weightlifting coach, Mielke is CSCS certified under the National Strength and Conditioning Association, FMS, MAT, and a certified sports nutritionist. He is also certified as a speed and agility coach and sport yoga instructor through Precision Nutrition and ISSA.

A native of Adams, Minnesota where he was a three-sport athlete at Southland High, Mielke is married to the former Amanda Osswald.

 

Bryan Tatum

Assistant strength and conditioning coach Bryan Tatum joined the Auburn family in 2014. In that role, he combines a decade of collegiate coaching experience with a mindset of growth and development meshed with a slight-edge philosophy.

Tatum came to Auburn from North Carolina State, where he was the assistant strength and conditioning coach for three years, working with women’s basketball, wrestling, men’s and women’s golf and rifle.

Prior to N.C. State, he was the assistant strength and conditioning coordinator at Western Carolina (2008-2010), assisting with football and coordinating women’s basketball, women’s soccer, softball, volleyball, women’s tennis, men’s and women’s cross country, track and field and cheerleading.

Tatum spent two years as the graduate assistant strength and conditioning coordinator at Western Kentucky (2006-2008), assisting with football while coordinating men’s and women’s soccer.

He played football at West Liberty (W. Va.) State College, and earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology with a minor in physical therapy in 2005. A team captain as a junior and senior, he was part of the 2000 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions. In 2002, he was an All-WVIAC selection at defensive back.

Following graduation, Tatum completed an internship at Notre Dame before served as the strength and conditioning coach at West Liberty while also working as an assistant football and co-head track and field coach.

He completed his master’s degree in exercise physiology from Western Kentucky in 2008. He holds a number of professional certifications, including RSCC, CSCS, USAW, USATF, ISSC, SAQ, FMS, CES, MAT and TPI. Tatum is married to the former Alison Poe of Barboursville, West Virginia and they have four children: Jaxson, Jett, Hensley, and Jude.

 

 

Dr. Michael Goodlett  

Dr. Michael Goodlett oversees all aspects of the daily sports medicine/health care needs of every Auburn University student-athlete. He coordinates that care with the Auburn University athletic training staff, VCOM associate Team

Physicians, local medical community, and Dr. James Andrews, Auburn University’s medical director.

Dr. Goodlett also serves as special assistant to Auburn University president Dr. Steven Leath for medical education, and he is the Sports Medicine discipline chair for the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Auburn.

Dr. Goodlett is a fellow of the American Board of Family Practice and a Certified Team Physician by the American College of Sports Medicine.

A charter member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, Dr. Goodlett is also a member of the American Sports Medicine Fellowship Society, American Medical Society, Medical Association of the State of Alabama, Lee County Medical Society, American Academy of Family Physicians and Alabama Academy of Family Physicians. He is a member of Auburn’s Institutional Review Board for the Use of Human Subjects in Research since 1996.

Dr. Goodlett previously served as medical director of Auburn’s Drake Student Health Center and is a former team physician at Jacksonville State. He was named SEC Team Physician of the Year in 2008. Additionally, he is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society and was an NCAA Scholar at the 2012 NFL Combine/Physician Society Annual Scientific Meeting.

Dr. Goodlett graduated summa cum laude from North Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He then graduated from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile with a Doctor of Medicine before completing a family practice residency at UAB/Baptist Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Goodlett is married to the former Donna Webster of Tanner, Alabama He has two children, Haley and Hunter, and two granddaughters, Mason and Maggie.

 

Dr. James Andrews

Dr. James R. Andrews, orthopaedic surgeon, serves as Medical Director for Intercollegiate Sports at Auburn University.

Dr. Andrews is one of the founding members of Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center and the American Sports Medicine Institute located at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Andrews Institute located in Gulf Breeze, Florida. To date, Dr. Andrews has mentored more than 370 orthopaedic and sports medicine Fellows.

Dr. Andrews graduated from Louisiana State University in 1963, where he was Southeastern Conference indoor and outdoor pole vault champion. He completed LSU School of Medicine in 1967 and completed his orthopaedic residency at Tulane Medical School in 1972. He had surgical fellowships in sports medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1972 with Dr. Frank McCue, III and at the University of Lyon, Lyon France in 1972 with Dr. Albert Trillat, who is known as the Father of European Knee Surgery.

Dr. Andrews is a member of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is a Past President of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and also served on that Board as its treasurer and secretary. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Arthroscopy Association of North America as well as the International Knee Society. He is Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Alabama Medical School, the University of Virginia School of Medicine, the University of Kentucky Medical Center and the University of South Carolina Medical School and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of South Alabama.

He has been awarded a Doctor of Laws Degree from Livingston University, Doctor of Science Degree from Troy University and Doctor of Science Degree from Louisiana State University.

Dr. Andrews serves as a medical consultant to numerous professional sports teams and associations including Senior Orthopaedic Consultant for the Washington Redskins Professional Football Team; Medical Director for the Tampa Bay Rays Professional Baseball Team, Team Physician for the Birmingham Barons AA Professional Baseball Team, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox; and Medical Director for the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Dr. Andrews was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

Dr. Andrews and his wife Jenelle have six children: Andy, Archie, Amanda, Ashley, Amber and Abby, as well as six grandchildren.

 

Bo Larkin

Bo Larkin is the video coordinator for Auburn football, a post he has held since March, 2016. In that role, Larkin supervises all of the video and computer needs for Auburn football, as well as the filming and editing of all practices and games. He also manages Auburn’s virtual reality technology and the distribution of video content to student-athletes.

Prior to his appointment as video coordinator, Larkin served five years as a student worker with video and football. He also worked as a production assistant and camera operator with War Eagle Productions and produced sports highlights for 109 Productions.

Larkin is an active member of the Collegiate Sports Video Association. A native of Opelika, Alabama, and a 2010 graduate of Opelika High School, where he got his start working with coaches’ film for the Opelika Bulldogs football team, Larkin earned his bachelor’s degree in radio, television and film from Auburn in 2015.

 

Lewie Thompson

A 2017 graduate of Auburn University, Lewie Thompson returned to his alma mater in 2018 as an assistant video coordinator. Thompson assists in all of the teams video and technology needs including directing the filming at practices, games and team events. He is also responsible for the breakdown of opponent game film and maintaining Auburn’s video network. 
 
Thompson, who earned a degree in business management, was a four-year student videographer for Auburn’s football program. He was an integral part of a video staff that worked the Chick-fil-A, Outback and Birmingham Bowls as well as the 2013 SEC Championship and 2014 National Championship games. 
 
Following graduation, Thompson was the video coordinator at Jacksonville State for a year, managing a staff of 12-plus students for the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference championship football team. Thompson then moved to Oklahoma State as a video coordinator for the football team. 
 
A native of Enterprise, Ala., he is married to the former Marie Howard.

 

Joe-Joe Petrone

Joe-Joe Petrone oversees Auburn’s department of 14 certified full-time staff and eight certified graduate assistants as the Tigers’ Director of Sports Medicine. He also serves as the sport administrator for Auburn’s national champion equestrian program.

Petrone spent six and a half years as the head athletic trainer at Middle Tennessee State University, overseeing medical care given to the athletes of 18 different varsity sports, before joining the Auburn family in 2008. Prior to MTSU, he spent six years as the athletic trainer and therapist at the Healthsouth Sports Medicine Center in Tampa, Florida.

An assistant athletic trainer for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987-96, from 1981-87, Petrone was an assistant athletic trainer at Ole Miss. He worked five years as an athletic trainer at the New York Yankees Fantasy Camps and also was a volunteer athletic trainer for Florida College and Hillsborough High School football. He worked summer assistantships as an athletic trainer for the New York Jets’ training camps in 1979 and 1980.

Petrone earned his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt in 1980 and a master’s from South Florida in 1994. He and his wife, Allyson, have twin sons, Chas and Michael, and are the proud grandparents of Everett Petrone. He is a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, and is also a member of the Southeastern Athletic Trainers Association and the Alabama Athletic Trainers Association.

 

Robbie Stewart

Robbie Stewart joined the Auburn athletics family in July, 2014. He serves as head athletic trainer for football. He previously served seven years as the head athletic trainer for football and golf at Middle Tennessee State. Stewart received the Eugene Smith/Mickey O’Brien College Athletic Trainer of the Year Award from the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society in 2012 for his role in identifying the splenic rupture of MTSU wide receiver Shane Blissard during a 2011 spring scrimmage and promptly getting Blissard to the hospital where doctors performed emergency surgery to remove the injured spleen.

Blissard made a full recovery.

Stewart, a native of Seneca, South Carolina, was an athletic trainer at Clemson from 2001-07, working with football and men’s golf. Stewart oversaw all graduate assistants and student athletic trainers and taught undergraduate kinesiology. Prior to Clemson, Stewart spent one year as the head athletic trainer at Gaffney (S.C.) High School. He was an intern athletic trainer during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers mini-camp in 2001.

Stewart, who earned his master’s degree from Middle Tennessee in 2000, worked as a graduate assistant in the Blue Raider sports medicine program (1998 to 2000), working with women’s basketball and women’s soccer. A Titleist Performance Institute Certified Golf fitness instructor and certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association, Stewart earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Clemson in 1998.

Stewart is married to the former Lindsay Henderson of Covington, Louisiana and they have three sons: Griffin, Dalton and Davis.

 

Kirk Nieslon

Kirk Nielson serves as senior athletic trainer for football, working on the Tigers’ medical and athletic training staff for the care, prevention and rehabilitation of injuries for the Auburn football team.

Nielson, who joined the Auburn family full-time in July, 2008, served as a seasonal intern with the Atlanta Falcons during the 2007-08 NFL season, and served a similar internship with the 2008 Georgia Force of the Arena Football League.

A product of Dansville, Michigan, Nielson first came to Auburn as an intern in the fall of 2004, working with the football team. In the spring of 2005, he worked as a graduate assistant athletic trainer with the Auburn softball team before returning to football in the fall of 2005 to serve as a graduate assistant.

Nielson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sports medicine from Central Michigan University in 2004 and a M.Ed. in Higher Administration Education from Auburn in 2007. He is a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, the Southeastern Athletic Trainers Association and the Alabama Athletic Trainers Association. He and his wife Abby are the proud parents of two sons, Brian and Bryce.

 

Andrew Crane

Andrew Crane serves as an assistant athletic trainer for Auburn football, working to help prevent, treat, and rehabilitate injuries.

Crane joined the Auburn family in July, 2016, after helping build and manage the sports medicine department at the University of St. Thomas – Houston in his native Texas. He served as the head athletic trainer for the Celts via the Memorial Hermann Hospital System as well as a preceptor for the University of Houston graduate athletic training program. During his two-year tenure at St. Thom¬as, Crane was recognized as the 2015-16 Red River Athletic Trainer of the Year.

Prior to his stint at UST, Crane spent two years as a full-time intern with the Houston Texans as an athletic trainer where he was member of the 2013 PFATS Athletic Training Staff of the Year. He also served the same role with the Bay Area Toros, a non-affiliated professional baseball team in the Houston area.

A native of Pearland, Texas, Crane received his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Texas State University – San Marcos in 2010 while minoring in sports psychology. While at Texas State, he was certified through the National Athletic Trainers Association and licensed by the State of Texas. Crane earned a master’s in physical education with emphasis in sports and business administration at the University of Houston, where he was a graduate assistant with the Cougar football program and was recognized as the Most Distinguished Student in his master’s program.

Crane is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, National Strength and Conditioning Association, and Alabama Athletic Trainers Association, as well as several associations in Texas.

 

Rev. Chette Williams

Rev. Chette Williams, a former Auburn linebacker, serves as the Auburn football team chaplain. Williams is also the Auburn campus director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the State Director for Urban Ministries for FCA.

During his playing career (1982-84), Auburn won the Sugar Bowl, the Citrus Bowl and the Liberty Bowl.

The former President of IMPACT Ministries in Spartanburg, South Carolina (1995-99), Williams served as Pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church in New Orleans (1993-95) and co-Pastor of New Song Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama (1991-93). He was licensed as a minister in 1987 and ordained in 1988. He received a bachelor’s degree from Auburn in Adult Education in 1985, and a master’s of divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1993.

Williams has two daughters, Lauren and Caitlyn, and one son, Chette Jr.

 

Emily Ann Tatum

6COMMENTS

A 2008 graduate of Auburn University, Emily Ann Tatum has been the assistant to the head football coach since March 2014. 

In her role she coordinates logistics and serves as the key point of contact for the head coach. She also assists the head coach and football staff with internal matters pertaining to the day-to-day operations of the football program including recruiting, travel, special events, and communication. 

Before returning to Auburn, Tatum launched the brand of an internet sales business Tin Roof Cutting Boards in Sugar Land, Texas, where she served as owner and manager for three years. She also spent two years as the National Development Director for Distinguished Young Women (previously America’s Junior Miss) and one year as an account executive at Onmedia Ad Sales in Mobile, Ala. 
 
Tatum was a cheerleader at Auburn from 2006-08, earning her bachelor of arts in public relations. A double graduate of Auburn, she obtained her Master’s in Administration of Higher Education in August 2018. Tatum is a native of Ozark, Alabama. She is married to John Tatum and the couple has a daughter, Mary Berkley, and is expecting their second child.

">247Sports   sorry phone folks i left the pictures in so we could see a face with a name with most of these folks...........

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

I wonder which 3.8 will have to go?

[abw0004 10,134]

I’m happy to see Ken Carter, Barrett Trotter, and Kendall Simmons back.

[augolf1716 21,269]

Biggest/longest post of all time

[bigbird 60,580]

3 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

Biggest/longest post of all time

You haven't read rednilla's post?

[aublaise 199]

The pic of Beth Burkett caught my eye..   Anyone know what role she has in the department? 

[bigbird 60,580]

6 minutes ago, aublaise said:

The pic of Beth Burkett caught my eye..   Anyone know what role she has in the department? 

Recruiting operations coordinator 

[aublaise 199]

44 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Recruiting operations coordinator 

Interesting that she is the only person in the article without a description of their experience or qualifications 

[gr82be 14,460]

Too bad they couldn't find Ryan Trichel a different shirt. 

[oracle79 3,569]

11 hours ago, aublaise said:

Interesting that she is the only person in the article without a description of their experience or qualifications 

Her picture is sufficient.

[I_M4_AU 7,957]

12 hours ago, aublaise said:

Interesting that she is the only person in the article without a description of their experience or qualifications 

There was no description?  I didn’t notice.

[Gene Loblaw 636]

Hopefully JB Grimes is back on the hot seat with Kendall Simmons lurking back there

[beaumak 174]

On 7/3/2019 at 3:33 PM, dyehardfanAU said:

I wonder which 3.8 will have to go?

Didn't they already do the cuts? We had 42.22 last season right?

[McLoofus 35,182]

On 7/3/2019 at 11:13 PM, bigbird said:

You haven't read rednilla's post?

Which one? Regardless, I didn't finish.