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Scott Byrd - Strength and Conditioning / Fullbacks Coach
sbyrd@shorter.edu
Scott Byrd will be starting his third year on the football coaching staff and came to Shorter from Velocity Sports, where he was an assistant head coach for Team Velocity.
Byrd is USAW Club Coach and USAW Sports Performance certified. In 1980, he was the national collegiate power lifting champion and coached OTC from 1994-1996. He served as an IDEA Certified Trainer from 1987-2000 and is a professional member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
Byrd coached 12 school-age national champion athletes including three gold medalists, four silver medalists and one bronze medalist. He coached a three-member competition team that won third place nationally and also coached three junior national athletes, including one silver medalist. Byrd graduated from Fayette County High School in 1979 after lettering all four years in varsity football and varsity track. He then graduated from Jacksonville State University in 1985.
In addition to football duties, Byrd will also be coaching Shorter’s track program in its second year in 2008.
Tim Mathis - Offensive Line Coach / Recruiting Coordinator
tmathis@shorter.edu
Rome native Tim Mathis will work with Shorter’s coaching staff for a third year with a multitude of local coaching experiences. From 1996-1997, the West Rome High School graduate assisted with both football and soccer as a community coach at Rome High School. He then coached at Trion High School for the next four years, where he served as offensive line coach from 1997-2000, defensive back coach from 1997-1998, and linebacker coach and defensive coordinator from 1999-2000. In 1997-2000, Trion made it to the state playoffs.
Mathis was named 1999 Regional Georgia Assistant Coach of the Year. He served as Head Wrestling Coach at Trion from 1998-1999, when the team was ranked 8th and 12th in the state, respectively. Mathis was also Trion’s Head Golf Coach from 1999-2001. Following his stints in high school football, he worked in the private sector from 2002 until joining the Hawks staff in the summer of 2005.
Mathis graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1996. He also attended Shorter College from 1995-1996.
Mathis and his wife, Mesha, have two children: Abby and Hunter.
Walter Johnson - Outside “Jack” Linebackers Coach
wjohnson@shorter.edu
Fort Valley, Georgia, native Walter Johnson continues with the Hawks coaching staff this year with high hopes of helping the team to another successful season.
Johnson played collegiate football at Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee, where he graduated in 2005 with a major in sports science and a minor in coaching. He helped lead the team to their 2003 conference championship and was a pre-season all-conference linebacker in 2002. He finished his career placing third on Tusculum’s all-time sacks list and was among the Pioneer Elite for three years.
While in Greenville, Coach Johnson volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club and read to local children. Following his years as a player, Johnson served as linebackers coach for Cumberland College in 2005.
He has one daughter, Jaiya Simone.
Tony Lundy - Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach
tlundy@shorter.edu
Tony Lundy is returning for the Hawks’ 2007 season and he works closely with Coach Jones in formulating the offensive game plans and in the Hawks’ everyday practice. He will also serve as Shorter’s NAIA Compliance Officer.
Lundy came to Shorter from Cedartown High School. During his 15 years of football coaching experience, he has served as offensive coordinator, passing game coordinator and receivers coach. Lundy has been involved with football teams that have earned six regional championships, 11 state playoff berths, three semifinal appearances and one state championship appearance. He has had the privilege of coaching six different receivers who have been named to the “All-Rome Area Team” a total of eight times. Lundy holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration from Jacksonville State University.
Missy, his wife of 18 years, is a 1988 graduate of Shorter College. The Lundys have one daughter, Anna - age 9.
Ronnie Newberry - Inside Linebackers Coach / Team Chaplain
rnewberry@shorter.edu
Ronnie Newberry returns to the Hawks this year with a propensity for coaching and Christian leadership.
Newberry has been involved in local area high school coaching for 29 years, involving himself in football, track and wrestling with several region and state championships. He spent the past four years as the defensive coordinator at Adairsville High School, leading them to the state playoffs in ’01 and ’02. Throughout his coaching, he has also been a high school sponsor of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Newberry and his wife, Diana, have been married for 26 years and have one daughter, Haley, who is 25.
Tab Gable - Outside "Sam" Linebackers Coach
gphillips@shorter.edu
Coach Tab Gable joins the Hawks in 2007 after 36 years of coaching experience on the high school and college level. Included in that coaching tenure is 20 seasons as a head coach. Prior coming to Shorter, Coach Gable served as the Athletic Director and an assistant football coach at Gordon Central High School.
Gable and his wife, Sue, have been married for 36 years and have three children and three grandchildren.
Buddy Martin - Offensive Line Coach
bmartin@shorter.edu
Buddy Martin starts his first year as offensive line coach after serving as a graduate assistant for the ‘06 Hawks.
Martin came to Shorter from the University of the Cumberlands where he played four years on the Patriot football team. He graduated with a degree in business administration in 2006.
He and his wife, Ashley, live in Rome.
Paul Pitts begins his third season with the Hawks this year after serving as Tight Ends Coach in 2006 and a student assistant in 2005. He also coordinates all equipment distribution, video, and student assistants.
Pitts graduated from Shorter College in 2006 with a degree in history and political science.
Adam Joseph - Head Athletic Trainer
ajoseph@floyd.org
