Chowan University Head Football Coach Tim Place has announced his staff for the 2008 season.

Place, who was hired in April, brought four new faces with him and retained four other holdovers from the previous staff.

The new coach said his four additions will be beneficial to the program.

“I believe, in fact, I know not only will they add to the program on the field, but off the field,” he said. “The are great people, great teachers. They know what it takes to be successful in all facets of a student-athletes life.”

He also said he believes the four returning coaches are good men who will benefit the program.

“They are quality individuals,” Place said of the four.

The new Chowan University football staff includes the following:

Brian Matesic

Brian Matesic enters his first season as an assistant coach in the Hawks football program. Matesic will serve as the team’s Assistant Head Coach, Co-Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Backs Coach, and Recruiting Coordinator.

The Redford, Michigan native comes to Chowan after two seasons with the Urbana University Blue Knights where he worked under then-head coach Tim Place. Place hired Matesic at Urbana in March of 2006 where he worked primarily with the defensive backs. He was quickly promoted to the team’s recruiting coordinator and defensive passing game coordinator.

His coaching was instrumental in their on-field success in both the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Upon Place’s acceptance of the Chowan head coaching position, Matesic served as Urbana’s Interim Head Coach until the athletic department named a new head coach in late April. Place then offered Matesic a slot on his staff at Chowan.

Matesic served a brief stint at Wayne State University (MI) as a volunteer assistant coach in February of 2006. He worked with the team’s strength and conditioning program before accepting the coaching position at Urbana in March of the same year.

Previously Matesic spent three seasons at Highland Community College (KS) as the team’s Defensive Coordinator. He also helped to coordinate the special teams and the program’s strength and conditioning program.

From March of 2002 to December of the same year Matesic served as the Special Teams and Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. Outside of his duties with the special teams he also assisted in coaching both the offensive and defensive lines as well as tight ends.

Matesic got his start in collegiate coaching at his alma mater in 2000, Adrian College (MI), as a graduate assistant under Jim Lyall, a former University of Michigan football player. As a graduate assistant he helped coach the defensive line and special teams for both the varsity and junior varsity programs.

Matesic earned his B.A. in Health Education and Recreation from Adrian College (MI) in 2001 and his M.S. in Sport Management from the United States Sports Academy (AL) in 2002.  He was a four-year member of the football program at Adrian College, playing both defensive end and linebacker. He helped the team to a M.I.A.A. Championship in 1997.  He has been a member of the American Football Coaches Association since 2002.

Deon Doster

Doster will serve as the Co-Offensive Coordinator and work primarily with the wide receivers. Along with three other members of the football staff, Doster worked under Tim Place while at Urbana University.

The Pompano Beach, Florida native spent four seasons with the Blue Knights where he coached wide receivers and coordinated the special teams. He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in the summer of 2007 and also spent two seasons coaching the running backs.

Doster is a graduate of Coconut Creek High School where he played there for two seasons (93-94). During the ’94 season, Doster was the lead blocker for the Broward County leading rusher and Broward County Offensive Player of the Year. He transitioned to tail back and went on to star at Eureka College (IL) where he was a four-year letter winner at running back and was team captain from 1997-1998.

Doster got his start in collegiate coaching at his alma mater from 1999-2001. He was the running backs coach and assistant recruiting coordinator. Doster also headed up the junior varsity program at Eureka for three seasons.

Doster graduated from Eureka College with a B.S. in psychology/sociology in 2000.

He went on to earn his master’s in education from Urbana University in December of 2005.

Mark Hall

Mark Hall enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Chowan University football program. Hall is one of four coaches that came to Chowan with Tim Place from Urbana University. Hall will serve as the Co-Offensive Coordinator and will work with the Hawks’ quarterbacks and running backs.

The Miamisburg, Ohio native got his start in college level coaching at Urbana in 2005 after completing his B.S. in Sports Leisure Activities. At Urbana he coached the running backs and quarterbacks and was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2007.

Hall was a three-year starter and was a first team All-Ohio selection his senior year at Miamisburg High School. He graduated from Urbana in 2005 with his B.S. and in May of 2007, he graduated from Urbana University with a master’s degree in education.

 He and his wife Amy reside in Murfreesboro.

Omar Nesbit

Omar Nesbit enters his second season with the Hawks football program and will serve as the offensive line coach. He was hired in January of 2007 to take over the offensive line, a unit that needed improving. Since his arrival the offensive line has shown marked improvement on the field and in the weight room. 

Nestbit, a native of Summerville, South Carolina, was a stand out football player at Summerville High School. Following graduation from Summerville High he continued his playing career at The Citadel as an offensive lineman. In his junior and senior seasons he was named to the All Southern Conference Team while also earning All American Honorable Mention honors in his senior season.

After graduating from The Citadel, Nesbit was hired at Fort Dorchester High School (SC)  where he spent two years coaching both the defensive and offensive lines. He also served as an instructor.  

Nesbit earned his B.S. in Business Administration from The Citadel where he was an honors graduate.

Bryan Tripp

Bryan Tripp enters his fifth season as an assistant coach with the Hawks football program. Tripp is no stranger to the Chowan University football program after playing on the football team for four seasons. He played both the offensive line and full back positions from 2001-2004. 

His primary football duties this season will be assisting in the coaching of the tight ends as well as helping to run the team’s strength and conditioning program. 

Tripp graduated from Chowan in 2004 after earning his B.S. in Physical Education with an emphasis in Sport Management.  Tripp is a native of Winterville and attended D.H. Conley High School.

Tripp also works in the University’s Student Life as the Director of the Jenkins Center, the recreation and work out center located on main campus. Prior to being hired as the Jenkins Center Director he served as a Residence Hall Director.

Mark Long

Mark Long enters his third season as an assistant coach with the Hawks football program. Long comes to Chowan by way of Northampton County where for 10 seasons he has served as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Northampton County High School-East football program.

In 2004 he helped lead the team to a Tar-Roanoke Conference Title and state play-off appearance.  He has coached over 25 players that continued their playing careers at the college level.

Long is no stranger to the Chowan football program as he played two seasons under then head coaches Jim Garrison and Dan Surface. Long still holds records for single-season tackles (145) and single-game tackles (21) which he collected in 1993. 

Long will assist in the coaching of the defensive line this season along with helping to run the strength and conditioning program.

Long received his B.A. in History from Chowan in 1997. He is currently employed full-time with Northampton County Schools as a history teacher. He and his wife, Meredith Davies Long, have two daughters, Dakota and Dallas. They reside in Murfreesboro.

 Jim Garrison,

Jim Garrison is a name that’s all too familiar in the Chowan University community and resounds nationally after serving as the teams head coach for 43 seasons.

The “old ball coach” has been back on the field for four seasons helping the football staff with his extensive knowledge of the game as Coach Emeritus. Garrison’s bio could last for pages, as his coaching accolades seem endless.

Over his vast career he has been inducted into five Halls of Fame: the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the Gardner-Webb Hall of Fame, Chowan University’s Hall of Fame and Western Carolina University’s Hall of Fame. 

He is active within the athletic department, assisting the Hawks Haven with various administrative duties and functions. 

Greg Mitchell , Video Coordinator, Strength & Conditioning, Outside Safeties

Greg Mitchell enters his first season as an assistant coach for the Hawks. Mitchell was hired by Head Coach Tim Place in June of this year and will serve as a defensive assistant coach overseeing the outside safeties as well as serving as Video Coordinator and working with strength and conditioning.

Mitchell, a native of Orrville, Ohio, was named a graduate assistant and running backs coach at the Urbana Blue Knight football program in January of 2008. Once Place resigned his position at Urbana to take the Chowan job, he did not hesitate to offer Mitchell a position on his staff.

Before joining the Blue Knight staff Mitchell spent one year with the Iowa Wesleyan College football program where he was the recruiting coordinator and a running backs coach. He also worked as the fundraising coordinator and the video coordinator. He started his coaching career as an intern at Hiram College (OH).

After lettering two seasons on the Hiram College football program, Mitchell suffered a career-ending injury in preseason of his junior year. His final two seasons at Hiram he served as an intern coach working primarily with the running backs. He was also director of basketball operations and a student assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at Hiram.

 

He graduated from Hiram with a Political Science degree in May of 2006.