Walter Ray Perkins was an American football coach and player. He played as a wide receiver for the University of Alabama and Baltimore Colts. He later worked as a football coach for 28 years, including stints as the head coach for the New York Giants, the University of Alabama, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Arkansas State University.
Keith A. Adams is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns. He also was a member of the Berlin Thunder in NFL Europe. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, earning consensus all-American honors.
Donald Eugene Nehlen is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University (1968–1976) and at West Virginia University (1980–2000). Nehlen retired from coaching college football in 2001 with a career record of 202–128–8 and as the 17th winningest coach in college football history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and has served as a president of the American Football Coaches Association.
Randy Leonard Shannon is an American football coach and former player who is currently the linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator for the Florida State Seminoles football program. Shannon was the head coach at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010 and has served as an assistant coach for the National Football League (NFL)'s Miami Dolphins and several college teams, including stints as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes, the Florida Gators, and the UCF Knights. He won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top collegiate assistant coach while at Miami in 2001.
Adalius Donquail Thomas is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, and also played for the NFL's New England Patriots.
DeMeco Ryans is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Ryans played college football at the University of Alabama, where he was named a unanimous All-American.
Patrick L. Willis is an American former professional football player who spent his entire eight-year career as a middle linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the 49ers in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels and received consensus All-American honors.
Richard David Robinson is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and professionally for the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins. Robinson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Dwight Douglas Lewis is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Mississippi State University and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1968 NFL Draft. Lewis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Emory Dilworth Bellard was a college football coach. He was head coach at Texas A&M University from 1972 to 1978 and at Mississippi State University from 1979 until 1985. Bellard died on February 10, 2011, after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis since the fall of 2010.
Joseph Francis Fortunato was an American professional football player who spent his entire 12-year National Football League (NFL) career playing linebacker for the Chicago Bears. A five-time Pro Bowl selection, he was the captain and signal-caller for the Bears defense, leading to an NFL Championship in 1963. Fortunato is one of only four players, and the only defensive player named to the National Football League 1950s All-Decade Team who has not yet been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Clarence Vaughn is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins.
Quinton Culberson is a former American football linebacker. He has played for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League and was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Mississippi State. Culberson has also played for the Florida Tuskers.
Danny Verpaele is an American football player and coach. He played as the free safety for the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls NCAA Division I college football team. Verpaele is a 2004 graduate of Merritt Island High School. Verpaele coached linebackers as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State, and is currently the defensive backs coach for the Kennesaw State Owls. Verpaele previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Valdosta State, where he won a Division II National Championship in 2018. Prior to VSU, Verpaele served as offensive quality control and tight ends coach at Army, defensive backs coach at Jacksonville University, and he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at VMI.
Tyrone Nix is an American football coach who currently serves as defensive coordinator for the Tarleton State Texans. Nix is the former defensive coordinator for the Middle Tennessee football team, the former associate head coach and defensive coordinator for Ole Miss Rebels football, and the former defensive coordinator for the South Carolina Gamecocks and Southern Miss Golden Eagles. He is the brother of Derrick Nix, a former Southern Miss star and the current wide receivers coach at Ole Miss.
Jamar Antwon Chaney is a former American football linebacker who is currently a part of the Florida Gators coaching staff. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mississippi State. He was previously the head football coach at St. Lucie West Centennial High School in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Manuel Alberto Diaz II is an American college football coach. He is the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Pennsylvania State University, a position has held since the 2022 season. Diaz served as the head football coach at the University of Miami from 2019 to 2021.
Kenneth Bernard Wright Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Jack DeWayne Dotson is a former American football linebacker and fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Nashville Kats in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at the University of Mississippi.
Johnathan Jauquez Abram is an American football free safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State and Georgia and went to high school at East Marion High School where he played high school football for the East Marion Eagles.
