Zak Willis

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Zak Willis
Biographical details
Born (1967-12-30) December 30, 1967 (age 56)
Laurinburg, North Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
1986–1987 Furman
Position(s) Defensive end
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1992 Greenville (OLB)
1993Greenville (DE)
1994Greenville (DC)
1995Greenville (AHC/DC)
1996–1999 South Carolina (GA)
2000–2002 Pikeville
2003–2008 Newberry
2009–2011 Michigan State (GA)
2011–2012 Miami (OH) (ST/RC)
2014–2016 Union (KY)
Head coaching record
Overall61–60
Tournaments1–1 (NCAA D-II playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 SAC (2006, 2008)
Awards
SAC Coach of the Year (2006)

Zak Willis (born December 30, 1967) is a former American football coach. He Willis served as the head football coach at Pikeville College—now the University of Pikeville—from 2000 to 2002, at Newberry College from 2003 to 2008, and at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky, from 2014 to 2016.

Contents

Coaching career

Willis was the first head football coach at Pikeville College in Pikeville, Kentucky. He held that position for three seasons, from 2000 until 2002. His coaching record at Pikeville was 16–12.

In December 2002, Willis was named head coach at Newberry College in Newberry, South Carolina. While at Newberry he helped engineer one of the biggest turnarounds in college football. Willis's teams won the only two South Atlantic Conference championships in Newberry's history (2006, 2008 co-champions). During this time period, Newberry also emerged as a leader academically, posting the highest team GPA for any college football team in the South Atlantic Conference (2006, 2007). Willis's teams were also ranked in the top 25 in the nation for 29 consecutive weeks between 2006 and 2008. They posted a 15-game home win streak and an overall home record of 20–1 over the last three seasons of his tenure. Willis's overall record at Newberry College was 39–25 (.609), giving him the highest win percentage in Newberry football history. In Willis's nine-year career as a head coach he coached 69 all-conference performers, 40 All-Region players, and 16 All-Americans. Willis was fired from Newberry shortly after the 2009 spring game.

In 2009, Willis joined the staff at Michigan State University as a graduate assistant, [1] working with the offensive line and in recruiting. Even though Willis went to Division 1A from D2, the graduate assistant position was considered a big step down; graduate assistants are usually reserved for students just graduating, hence the name. In 2010, the Spartans won their first Big Ten Conference championship in 20 years, and participated in the 2011 Capital One Bowl. In 2011, Willis was hired by Don Treadwell as recruiting coordinator and special teams coordinator at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His 2011 kickoff team led the nation in kickoff return yards allowed. The Miami recruiting class of 2012, under Willis's coordination, was ranked number one in the Mid-American Conference, a first since 2007.

In April 2014, Willis was introduced as the new head coach at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. That fall the Bulldogs went 1–9. They had another 1–9 season in 2015.

Personal life

Willis resides in Barbourville with his wife and three children.

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs
Pikeville Bears (Independent (club))(2000)
2000Pikeville7–1
Pikeville Bears (Mid-South Conference)(2001–2002)
2001 Pikeville3–72–57th
2002 Pikeville6–44–4T–4th
Pikeville:16–126–9
Newberry Indians / Newberry (South Atlantic Conference)(2003–2008)
2003 Newberry3–72–5T–5th
2004 Newberry5–61–68th
2005 Newberry5–44–33rd
2006 Newberry11–26–11stL NCAA Division II Second Round
2007 Newberry9–24–2T–3rd
2008 Newberry6–45–2T–1st
Newberry:39–25
Union (Kentucky) Bulldogs (Mid-South Conference)(2014–2016)
2014 Union1–91–5T–6th (East)
2015 Union1–91–55th (East)
2016 Union4–5 [n 1] 3–2 [n 1] (East) [n 1]
Union:6–235–12
Total:61–60
      National championship        Conference title        Conference division title or championship game berth

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Willis resigned after nine games of the 2016 season. Andre Linn was appointed as interim head coach to replace him. Union finished the season with an overall record of 5–6 and a conference mark of 4–2, placing third in the East Division of Mid-South Conference.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Pikeville</span> Presbyterian university in Pikeville, Kentucky, US

The University of Pikeville (UPIKE) is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Pikeville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1889 by the Presbyterian Church and is located on a 25-acre (10 ha) campus on a hillside overlooking downtown Pikeville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Richt</span> American football player and coach (born 1960)

Mark Allan Richt is a retired American football coach, former player, and television analyst. He was the head football coach at the University of Georgia for 15 years and at the University of Miami, his alma mater, for three. His teams won two Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships, five SEC division titles, and one Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) division title. He was a two-time SEC Coach of the Year, the 2017 ACC Coach of the Year, and the winner of the national 2017 Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award. On January 10, 2023, he was inducted into College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2023 class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Orgeron</span> American football player and coach (born 1961)

Edward James Orgeron Jr. is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), a position he held from midway through the 2016 season until the 2021 season. Orgeron previously served as the head football coach at the University of Mississippi from 2005 to 2007 and was the interim head coach at the University of Southern California (USC) in 2013. He led the 2019 LSU Tigers football team to a national championship, beating the defending champions Clemson in the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mauer</span> American college basketball coach, baseball coach, football coach

John W. Mauer was an American college basketball, baseball and football coach and multi-sport college athlete. During the course of his 36-year collegiate coaching career, Mauer was the head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, Miami University (Ohio), the University of Tennessee, the U.S. Military Academy, and the University of Florida. John was the head coach of the Tennessee baseball team. John also served as the defensive backs coach for Tennessee under head coach General Robert Neyland. After coaching his college coaching career, John worked under Vince Lombardi scouting players for the Green Bay Packers. Mauer also scouted for the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and New York Giants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Schnellenberger</span> American football player and coach (1934–2021)

Howard Leslie Schnellenberger was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore Colts and in college for the University of Miami, University of Oklahoma, University of Louisville, and Florida Atlantic University. He won a national championship with Miami in 1983.

The South Florida Bulls football team represents the University of South Florida. The Bulls began playing in 1997 and compete in the American Athletic Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Wildcats football</span> Football team of the University of Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats football program represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of American football. The Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Wildcats play their home games at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky and are led by head coach Mark Stoops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Cristobal</span> Cuban-American American football coach and former player

Mario Manuel Cristobal is Cuban-American head football coach of the Miami Hurricanes football team at the University of Miami. Cristobal previously was the head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) from 2007 to 2012 and the University of Oregon from 2017 to 2021. He was an all-conference offensive tackle on the Miami Hurricanes football team that won national championships in 1989 and 1991.

Bradley Todd Franchione is a former American football coach. He won two NJCAA National Football Championships as the head coach at Blinn College. He is the son of retired football coach Dennis Franchione.

Larry Robert Seiple is a former American football player and coach. He played professionally as a punter for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League (AFL) from 1967 through 1969, and the NFL's Dolphins from 1970 through 1977. With the Dolphins, Seiple was a part of two Super Bowl-winning teams, Super Bowl VII in 1972, when the Dolphins posted the only undefeated regular and post-season record to date in NFL history, and in Super Bowl VIII in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Muschamp</span> American football player and coach (born 1971)

William Lawrence Muschamp is an American football coach and former player who is a defensive analyst at the University of Georgia. He previously served as the Bulldogs' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2022 to 2024. Before his time at Georgia, he served as head football coach at the University of Florida from 2011 to 2014 and at the University of South Carolina from 2016 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Lembo</span> American football player and coach (born 1970)

Peter Lembo is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at the University at Buffalo. Previously, he was the special teams coordinator at the University of South Carolina, where, in 2022, he oversaw the highest rated special teams unit in college football. Prior to that, he was the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Memphis, a position he assumed in January 2019. Prior to Memphis, he was the associate head coach and special teams coordinator at Rice University. Before joining the coaching staff at Rice University, he was the head coach at Lehigh University from 2001 to 2005, at Elon University from 2006 to 2010, and at Ball State University from 2011 to 2015. He was also the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Maryland for two seasons. Lembo enjoyed success in each of his three stops as a head coach and accumulated a 112–65 career record over a 15-year period. His 79–36 record in ten seasons at the FCS level makes him one of the winningest coaches in the history of that classification.

James Coley is an American football coach who is currently the wide receivers coach at the Georgia Bulldogs. He had been an co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Texas A&M University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Holtmann</span> American basketball coach (born 1971)

Christopher Adam Holtmann is an American college basketball who is currently the head coach at DePaul University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Vanderbilt Commodores football team</span> American college football season

The 2015 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tennessee, which has been Vanderbilt football's home stadium since 1922. Derek Mason coached the Commodores for his second year. They are members of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores finished with a losing record for the second year in a row with an overall record of 4–8 and 2–6 in SEC play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Candle</span> American football player and coach (born 1979)

Jason Tyler Candle is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Toledo, a position he had held since the 2016 season. Candle had been an assistant at Toledo since 2009, and at Mount Union before that. He played as a wide receiver at Mount Union and Geneva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Guidry</span> American football player and coach (born 1971)

Lance Guidry is an American football coach and former player. He is the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, a position he has held since the 2023 season. Guidry served as the head football coach at McNeese State University from 2016 to 2018. He was also the interim head football coach at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for one game in 2010 and at Western Kentucky University for one game in 2012. Guidry played college football as a defensive back at McNeese State from 1990 to 1993. He was a four-year starter, a team captain, and a two-time All-Southland Conference selection. Guidry ranks 17th on the McNeese all-time tackle leader board and also 10th in interceptions.

Tyson Helton is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current head coach of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. He played college football at Houston from 1996 to 1999. He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tennessee (2018), quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at USC (2016–2017), offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky (2014–2015), and as an assistant at Cincinnati, UAB, Memphis, and Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Napier</span> American football coach (born 1979)

William Hall Napier is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he served as head coach at the University of Louisiana, amassing a 40–12 record in four seasons with three consecutive 10+ win seasons and two seasons finishing in the AP Poll, both firsts in the programs' history. Prior to Louisiana, he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona State University in 2017.

Brian Wright is an American college football coach and former player. He became the head football coach for Northern Arizona University in 2024. He was the head football coach at Pittsburg State University from 2020 to 2023. He was the interim head football coach for Florida Atlantic University in 2013. He also coached for Wooster, Walsh, Youngstown State, Montana State, Florida Atlantic, and Toledo. He played college football for Wooster as wide receiver.

References

  1. "Zak Willis Profile". CBS Sports.com College Network. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2011.