The Vols do not currently have any 2021 targets at Knoxville Catholic, but 2022 do-it-all athlete Tommy Winton projects to be a key target in his cycle, while Kaden Martin, the son of Tee Martin, is a two-sport star for the Irish. Learn more about upcoming championship events and see in-depth history on high school sports in Tennessee. As a professional, Ayers played in 120 games totaling 34.5 sacks and 192 total tackles. They have three children. Mobbs replaces Steve Matthews, who resigned earlier this month after being arrested on drunken driving and drug charges. Since 1999, all sources remain confidential. He has compiled an impressive record and his passion and enthusiasm for the game of football is contagious. Mike Gutelius. Philip Shadowens confirmed to Knox News that he will be an assistant football at Catholic this upcoming season. Catholic hired Korey Mobbs as its new coach on Wednesday. Ketia Daniel, founder of BHM Cleaning Co., is BestReviews cleaning expert. In eight seasons of varsity football Mobbs helped develop three All-Americans, including the No. A former University of Tennessee football star and NFL player has been promoted in the local high school coaching ranks. Mardi Growl to close several roads in downtown Knoxville on Saturday, What you need to know about paying to park in the Great Smoky Mountains. Knoxville Catholic High School has been inspiring young people through the ministry of Christ since 1932. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Ayers, who played at Tennessee as a linebacker and defensive end between 2004-08, joined the Fighting Irish's coaching staff in 2020. In the NFL, Ayers played for Denver (2009-13), the New York Giants (2014-15) and Tampa Bay (2016-17). "Catholic is a great place. Were excited about those guys that are on that list., Mobbs wanted to stay as consistent as possible during spring football, retaining a lot of the previous coaching staff with the plan to, make a few additions as they move along.. Catholic has won three state championships in its history and two came under Matthews (2015, 2017). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Knoxville Catholic High School 9245 Fox Lonas Rd. Korey Mobbs is takes over the Irish program with 16 years of high school coaching experience. The drug possession charge was dismissed and he pled to a lesser charge of reckless endangerment on the DUI, according to online court documents. Football Camps Touchdown Club Golf Tournament Program Advertising Corporate Sponsors Fan Zone Staff. Former Vol Robert Ayers has been named defensive coordinator at Knoxville Catholic High School. 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They know that I love them and that I care about them and they handled it like good young men.". Josh Heupel's 2023 Tennessee football recruiting class has more in-state signees than in recent years, Trevor Duncan: Why I signed with Tennessee football, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. I think there's certainly a redemptive quality to bringing Steve back," Sompayrac said, "and, you know, we're confident that he's doing the things that he needs to do to stay in a good place., NEW ASSISTANT COACH AT CATHOLIC:Knoxville Catholic football adds two-time state champion Philip Shadowens as assistant coach, NEW KNOX CATHOLIC COACH:Knoxville Catholic hires Ensworth assistant Dean Cokinos as football coach, "I'm excited to be back," Matthews said. Dean Cokinos, who coached inside linebackers at Ensworth the past two seasons, has been named Knoxville Catholic's head coach. A special, special place, special people at Knox Catholic and so that's why I made that decision. He also coached a season at Middle Tennessee Christian in 2008 before spending 2009-14 at Blackman, where he coached former Tennessee star and San Francisco 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings. Ayers, who played at Tennessee as a linebacker and defensive end between 2004-08, joined the Fighting Irishs coaching staff in 2020. Knoxville Catholic has been inspiring excellence since 1932, where every student is known, loved and called to greatness. Jonathan Rutledge. When you come to a program as a football coach, you can tell how theyve been coached and what kind of homes they come from by their body language, said Mobbs, who compiled a record of 58-22 as a head coach and won a pair of region championships. A lot of these guys have already been here and theyve done a great job of that.. Tennessee signed defensive end Tyler Baron and offensive lineman Cooper Mays in the 2020 recruiting cycle, and the local powerhouse has been a national recruiting hotbed for several years, producing the likes of Cade Mays and Amari Rogers. All rights reserved. His position was not formally announced, but there is no doubt, Ayers will find himself working somewhere across the defensive front. He was also an assistant coach at the college level at UMass, Austin Peay and West Alabama. The Knoxville Catholic Diocesan said school leaders and Bishop Richard F. Stika are aware of the incident involving Matthews. "They were sad but they understood. He was selected No. Ayers was first-team All-Southeastern Conference as a senior in 2008. Mobbs has only been in Knoxville for eight days but says he feels right at home on the practice field. Best smart home devices for older users, according, How to get started on spring cleaning early, according, Worried about your student using ChatGPT for homework? Before being an assistant coach at Ensworth, he was the special teams coach at Brentwood Academy for a year in 2020. I look forward to meeting them and I look forward to working with our young men. It's great football. Well continue to evaluate that. "Everybody knows Knox Catholic. Two-time state championship coach Steve Matthews will be returning to Knoxville Catholic as the football team's offensive coordinator, school president Dickie Sompayrac told Knox News. Kaden Martin after picking Miami: New Tennessee football staff never contacted me, Seven potential candidates to become Knoxville Catholic football coach, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. After Knoxville Catholic High School introduced Korey Mobbs as its head football coach at a press conference April 28, the new coach said he is looking forward to starting the 2021 season. Well wear the green and gold with pride, he said. Knoxville Catholic High School 9245 Fox Lonas Rd. Sign up for the Vols Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Coach Mobbs builds programs that personify class and excellence, and his teams compete with relentless energy, Dickie Sompayrac, president of Knoxville Catholic High School, said. The introductory press conference took place inside the school's gym with . RELATED: Knoxville Catholic head football coach resigns following arrest, RELATED: Tennessee Football closes out spring season with Orange and White game, RELATED: Grainger High School baseball player Eli May fights through adversity, returns to the mound. "He has a solid understanding of the balance between winning and educating young men and developing lifetime skills. We dont want to talk about being a family. Its a great day to be Irish., Mobbs won a Georgia State Championship as a player in 1997 and said it was tough to leave Lanier due to the relationships that hed established through the game of football but said I look forward to establishing those same relationships here with the faculty, staff and administration at Knoxville Catholic.. Tommy E. Winton III | Knoxville Catholic HS, TN. Knoxville Catholic High School9245 Fox Lonas RoadKnoxville, TN 37923, Copyright 2023 Knoxville Catholic High School.All Rights Reserved. Our student-athletes are fortunate to have him as their head coach. Catholic . So thats what weve talked about with the staff, and thats what weve started over the last eight days. To learn more about ChatGPT and how we can inspire students, we sat down with BestReviews book expert, Ciera Pasturel. ET. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Knoxville Catholic head football coach, Stephen Matthews was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and drug possession Thursday. Ayers Jr. started his coaching career as the defensive line coach at Knoxville Catholic in 2020 and was the defensive coordinator there in 2021 before moving to Oak Ridge, where he was the. Were excited to welcome Coach Cokinos to Catholic High," said Dickie Sompayrac, President of Knoxville Catholic High School, in a press release. "The only hard part of taking a job like that was leaving those kids at Eagleton because they had really bought in and worked their tails off," Shadowens said. Were happy to be in Knoxville. "There is a solid foundation in place at Catholic and I'm excited to grow a winning culture and build the Fighting Irish into a top performer in Division II-AAA.. He also earned Region 8-AAAAA Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015. Were going to do things with character. Doug Samuels. Phone: 202-319-4749. Ayers totaled 257 tackles, 35 sacks, 14 pass deflections, eight forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one defensive touchdown during his NFL career. 9. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE)- A new era is underway for Knoxville Catholic football as head coach Korey Mobbs began his first spring practice at the helm. I saw their eyes as I paced nervously around the locker room and that validated that we made the right decision for our family. He even has a son named Knox in honor of his late father as the two grew up going to games at Neyland Stadium on Saturdays. At Lanier, Mobbs has been the head coach since 2014. By Dan McWilliams. Coach Mobbs builds programs that personify class and excellence, and his teams compete with relentless energy," school president Dickie Sompayrac said. Cokinos most recently was the linebackers coach at. By Grant Ramey Jun 13, 2020. Ayers will serve as the second former Vol in as many years to assist at Catholic, as Rico McCoy was also on the sidelines last season. He started his career as an assistant coach for Collins Hill High School in Suwannee, Georgia. We love supporting multisport athletes, Mobbs said. Since then, he and his staff have hit the ground running. Inspiring Excellence since 1932. And the Irish lured a successful coach from Georgia to East Tennessee to take over the reins for the Catholic program. Lanier won two regional championships, made the Georgia Sweet 16 three years and made six consecutive playoff appearances under Mobbs. Sompayrac said that after Korey Mobbs resigned after this season, a number of candidates including new coach Dean Cokinos mentioned Matthews as a person they would want to join their staff. Cokinos most recently was the linebackers coach at Ensworth in Nashville, which finished this past season with a 7-4 record. Knoxville Catholic football adds two-time state champion Philip Shadowens as assistant coach, Knoxville Catholic hires Ensworth assistant Dean Cokinos as football coach, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Our expectation is we'll be competitive but we'll do things the right way, Sompayrac said. Eagleton will be in its first season of TSSAA region play this season. He said it was tough to leave Georgia and his current job to come to Knoxville because of relationships that he established there, but also noted that Catholic and Knoxville are the right places for his family and him. He resigned three days later. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Two-time state championship coach Steve Matthews will be returning to Knoxville Catholic as the football team's offensive coordinator, school president Dickie Sompayrac told Knox News. Mobbs has not been working with a full squad yet, as some key players like Miami baseball and football commit Kaden Martin are in the midst of the spring sports season. It just feels great to be back and excited to get to work and hopefully get this program to one be one of the top programs in the state.". KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) Knoxville Catholic is dipping into Atlanta to get its next head football coach. We look forward to Coach Cokinos leading the Fighting Irish on and off the field. Shadowens, who won two state titles at Smyrna, has coached at William Blount and Eagleton while in the Knoxville area. Matthews . Coaching Experience: 2021-2022 Knoxville Catholic High School Head Coach 2014-2020 Lanier High School Head Coach 2 Region Championships Playoff Appearances 2014-2019 GHSA Sweet Sixteen 2015, 2018, 2019 State Semifinals . Knoxville Catholic finished 7-4 during the 2019 campaign and will look for another return to the state playoffs under Head Coach Steve Matthews in 2020. In the two seasons, Mobbs coached the Irish went 8-12. Matthews coached the Irish from 2013-20 and won state championships in 2015 and 2017. We obviously talked with a lot of people and met with Steve and sat down with Steve's wife as well and talked with them and talked with his pastor, Sompayrac said. Robert Ayers played in Knoxville for the Tennessee Volunteers from 2005-2008, and afterward, he was drafted with the 19th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. {{current_weather.dt | momentjs( atts.date )}}, The Knoxville Focus for February 27, 2023, Treadwell and Underwood: Player and Coach of the Year, Lady Devils come back to nab tournament title in hostile territory, Karns girls go back to work after bowing in district finals, The Knoxville Focus for February 20, 2023, Hot Seymour rolls past ice cold Lady Hornets, Catholic taps Travis Mains to be next girls basketball coach, Knox Catholic beats Oak Ridge, stands one step away from state title game, Local players named Mr. Football Finalists. Former coach Steve Matthews resigned on April 5 after an arrest on DUI and drug charges. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) Knoxville Catholic High School announced the hiring of Dean Cokinos as the new head football coach for the Fighting Irish. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Dr. Sedonna Prater, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Knoxville, and Dickie Sompayrac, president of Knoxville Catholic High School, have accepted the resignation of . Mobbs replaces Matthews, who resigned after eight years last month after he was arrested for DUI and drug possession charges. Former Vol Robert Ayers has been named defensive coordinator at Knoxville Catholic High School. To learn about our exceptional academic programs, athletics and student life, please visit us and apply! While still navigating his new role, learning his roster, getting to know his new coaching staff and getting acclimated with his new city, Mobbs said he is excited about the group of guys he is inheriting. Cokinos worked as an NFL pro personnel scout for the Tennessee Titans from 2003-2007 and was an Arena Football League coach in Washington D.C. (2016-18), New Orleans (2014-15) and Atlanta (2007-14). Football Highlights with Knoxville Catholic - Varsity Football and 1 other. But it will be around family. The 'quiet UT fan' comes to the Fighting Irish after a successful head-coaching career in Georgia. Mobbs previously coached at Lanier High school in Georgia. We're off to see the Wizard. Coach Cokinos brings a wealth of football . Facebook. He said that Eagleton is a special place and that it was difficult to tell his players on Wednesday of his departure. Mobbs was recently named the football coach at Jackson County (Georgia). "He is highly experienced in football operations, and player development, and he builds programs that personify class and excellence. Example video title will go here for this video. Sompayrac said that the expectations for Catholics upcoming season are not centered on wins or losses. Knoxville Catholic head football coach resigns following arrest, Tennessee Football closes out spring season with Orange and White game, Grainger High School baseball player Eli May fights through adversity, returns to the mound. Email. Prior to Eagleton, he coached at William Blount for seven seasons.