Harper Adds Four to Coaching Staff
1/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 7, 2008
NACOGDOCHES - Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack head football coach J.C. Harper announced the hiring of Shannon Dawson, David Gibbs, Kris Kocurek and Eric Lokey as new assistant coaches Monday afternoon. The hire includes two former SFA All-Americans, and one of the top offensive minds at the NCAA Division III level.
"I'm really excited with all four new additions to our staff," said Harper. "It makes me feel good to be able to hire past Lumberjacks to coach our future players. I believe that is very important to the program. Our players will benefit from their past experiences. I also felt that it was important to bring in coaches with a background in Texas, and I believe we accomplished that with this hire. I would also like to thank Gerald Broussard, Darren Drago, Matt Graves and Brad Laird for their service to our program."
Dawson steps in as the 'Jacks' offensive coordinator and will coach the quarterbacks. Gibbs will coach the Lumberjack defensive backs, and will take over as the new defensive coordinator. Kocurek will coach the defensive line, while Lokey will coach the SFA linebackers. The new additions replace Gerald Broussard, Darren Drago, Matt Graves and Brad Laird who resigned last month to pursue other career opportunities.
Both Gibbs and Lokey return to their alma mater where they helped produce one of the best defenses in school history. Four-year lettermen, Gibbs and Lokey wrapped up their collegiate careers by earning first-team All-America honors.
The 'Jacks' dynamic defensive duo helped guide the team to its first 10-win season in school history and the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. SFA spent nine weeks ranked among the nation's top 20 that season, including two weeks at No. 1, before finishing ninth overall. One of the top defenses in the country, the Lumberjacks surrendered only 10.6 points per game to their opponents in 1988.
"I am excited to be back at SFA," said Gibbs. "I really believe that this is a great opportunity for myself and my family. We had a really young team last year, and with the talent we have coming back I believe we have a chance of being very good. I feel Coach Harper has the program headed in the right direction."
An eight-year coaching veteran at the collegiate level, Gibbs is making his second coaching stop at SFA. Gibbs comes to SFA from Texas A&M-Commerce where he was the defensive coordinator for one of the top defensive units in the nation. The Lions finished 31st in the country in total defense, and 26th overall at stopping the run, while helping guide A&M-Commerce to its first LSC North Division title in school history. Gibbs' defense produced six first-team all-conference selections, including the conference defensive lineman of the year, Marcus Smith, and two all-region honorees.
Gibbs began his coaching career in 1989 as a student assistant at SFA, before being promoted to assistant coach for defensive tackles, where he served for the next six seasons. During his final five seasons, Gibbs also took on the role of recruiting coordinator where he helped bring in some of the biggest names to wear the Lumberjack uniform.
During that time SFA had five nationally ranked teams, including two top-five squads (1989 and 1995). The Lumberjacks set a school record for wins (12 in 1989), recorded their highest finish in the NCAA Division I-AA poll (3rd in 1989), won an SLC title and advanced to the finals of the 1989 Division I-AA playoffs and the semifinals of the 1995 playoffs.
Dawson is a six-year college coaching veteran who has made stops at Wingate, Southeastern Louisiana, New Mexico State and most recently Millsaps College, where he has served as the offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. During his two seasons at Millsaps, Dawson was the architect of an offense that produced a 15-5 (.750) overall record and won back-to-back Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference titles, with a trip to the 2006 NCAA Division III playoffs.
Millsaps' offense has averaged close to 36 points per game under Dawson, and has been ranked as high as fifth in the country in pass offense. Millsaps recorded 4,107 yards of total offense in 2006, and followed that up by recording more than 4,500 yards of total offense this past season.
Kocurek spent the 2007 season in Canyon, Texas, where he was the assistant head coach and defensive line coach for West Texas A&M. Kocurek helped coach the Buffaloes to the 2007 Lone Star Conference title, and the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The Buffaloes became one of the top defensive units in the LSC, leading the conference in scoring defense. Kocurek also helped Brandon Swain become one of the top defensive players at the Division II level. Swain was a 2007 First-Team Daktronics, AFCA and AP Little All-American, and conference defensive lineman of the year after recording 24.5 tackles for losses, and 14 sacks.
Lokey will step in as the 'Jacks' new linebackers' coach, after spending 19 years in the high school ranks. Lokey comes to Nacogdoches by way of Denton, Texas, where he has spent the past the past six seasons as the defensive tackles, linebackers and special teams coordinator for class 4A power Denton Ryan.
During his time at Denton Ryan, Lokey helped guide the Raiders to the 2002 Texas Class 4A Division II State Championship. He has also produced several athletes who have continued their playing careers at four-year institutions, including 10 at the NCAA Division I level. Three of his former athletes, Ishie Oduegwu (Texas - 2005), Derek Lokey (Texas - 2005) and Jarvis Moss (Florida - 2006) have gone on to win BCS National Titles at their respective schools.
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