COACHING STAFF

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Head coach Zak Willis enters his sixth season as the head football coach at Newberry College in the fall of 2008 Through five seasons at Newberry, Willis has compiled a won-loss record of 33-21 (.611) overall, making him the winningest head football coach in the institution’s history in terms of winning percentage. Willis’ 2007 squad finished the season with a record of 9-2, the second-best season of the program. Only the 2006 playoff squad had a better year. The 2007 team, the last to compete as Newberry “Indians”, finished the season with a national ranking of 18th in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll. A total of eight Newberry players were named to all-South Atlantic Conference teams, with four of those earning first team honors. The seniors of the 2007 team excelled both on and off the field. Alex Haynes earned multiple all-Southeast Region honors and was named an Honorable Mention all-American by D2Football.com. The running back also participated in the 2007 East Coast Bowl all-star game. Derrick Hines and Corky Howell were leaders on the field and in the classroom, earning ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District laurels. Offensive lineman Heath Benedict earned the most honors in school history before his tragic death in March of 2008. He became the school’s first representative in the Senior Bowl, participated in the NFL Scouting Combine, was a national finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award (best lineman in Division II), earned the Football Gazette Lineman of the Year, was named to four All-American squads and won the SAC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy for the second consecutive year. Newberry carries a five-game winning streak from the 2007 season into the 2008 campaign, and have a record of 20-4 in the last two years. The scarlet and gray have also enjoyed a considerable home-field advantage at Setzler Field under Willis’ leadership. Newberry has won 15 consecutive home games, which HEAD COACH ZAK WILLIS Furman, 1990 • Entering Sixth Season at Newberry College is the third-longest home winning streak in NCAA Division II. Overall, Newberry is 22-8 at home under coach Willis, including the postseason win over Albany State in 2006 and win over Division I-FCS opponent Coastal Carolina in 2004. Willis led the Indians to their best season in school history in 2006, as Newberry finished the season with an 11-2 record and captured their first-ever South Atlantic Conference Championship. Willis led the Scarlet and Gray to their firstever appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, advancing into the quarterfinal round. Willis was named the SAC Coach of the Year in 2006. The 2006 Indians finished the season with a national ranking of 12th in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. A total of 10 players were named to the All-SAC teams in 2006. Quarterback Josh Stepp, who was a First- Team selection at quarterback, was also named the SAC’s Offensive Player of the Year. Offensive lineman Heath Benedict was also named to the Little All-American First Team by the Associated Press, the first Newberry player to make this team since 1979. Willis brought the Indians their first winning conference season in 20 years in 2005. The 4-3 mark and third place finish was the best since 1985’s 4-2-1 record. Newberry’s 5-4 overall finish was the first .500+ mark in seven years. The Indians put together their first four-game conference winning streak in Newberry history. Along the way, they broke a five-game losing streak to Tusculum, an eightgame losing streak to Catawba, 12 2008 NEWBERRY COLLEGE FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE
and a six-game losing streak to Mars Hill, all those victories coming on the road. Willis directed the Indians to a 5-6 record in 2004, the team’s best since 1999. Newberry book-ended six conference losses with wins over Division I-AA Coastal Carolina, giving them their only loss on the year, and archrival Presbyterian College, bringing the Bronze Derby back to Newberry after seven seasons in Clinton. In his initial season, Willis broke an 18-game conference losing streak dating back three seasons by knocking off Lenoir- Rhyne in the homecoming game. Newberry went on to win its second conference game over Wingate later in the season. The Newberry football team has also earned the highest grade point average of any football team in the South Atlantic Conference in the 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic years. A total of 45 players were named to the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll in those seasons. Willis was hired as the 17th football coach in the history of the Division II institution at a press conference held at the Newberry Opera House on December 17, 2002. Willis completed a three-year stint as the head coach at Pikeville (Ky.) College, where he helped start football in the 2000 season at the NAIA institution. His teams went 9-11 in two years at the varsity level, including a 6-4 record in 2002. During Pikeville’s club campaign in 2000, Willis took a team from scratch to a 7-1 record. Willis, 40, is the youngest head football coach in the state of South Carolina. He is the second youngest coach in the South Atlantic Conference, just a year older than fellow Furman Paladin alum Frankie DeBusk, who heads the Tusculum College program. The two were teammates at the Greenville, S.C., Division I-AA program. A South Carolina native, Willis hails from McColl, a few miles from the North Carolina/South Carolina border. He was a graduate assistant at the University of South Carolina for the four years prior to his time at Pikeville, under head coaches Brad Scott and Lou Holtz. He served as tight ends coach and assistant to the recruiting coordinator. Prior to his time at USC, Willis was the defensive coordinator at Greenville (Ill.) College, leading that squad to league bests in turnover margin and rushing defense, while putting up number-two total defensive numbers in the 1996 season, his last with the school. He coached eight All-Conference players and three All-Americans while at Greenville College. Willis is married to the former Sara Ratliff and has a son, Zackary, aged 8. The couple are also the proud parents of an infant daughter, Reagan. 2008 NEWBERRY COLLEGE FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE THE ZAK WILLIS FILE Age: 40 (born December 30, 1967) Birthplace: Hometown: Laurinburg, North Carolina McColl, South Carolina High School: McColl High School Alma Mater: Furman (1990) B.A., History Master’s Degree: Southwestern Baptist Seminary (1992) M.A., Religious Education Playing Experience: Three-year letterman at Furman Defensive End Married: Children: wife Sara son Zackary (8), daughter Reagan (infant) Head Coaching Experience: 2000 Pikeville (Ky.) Club Head Coach 7-1 2001 Pikeville (Ky.) Head Coach 3-7 2002 Pikeville (Ky.) Head Coach 6-4 2003 Newberry Head Coach 3-7 2004 Newberry Head Coach 5-6 2005 Newberry Head Coach 5-4 2006 Newberry Head Coach 11-2 2007 Newberry Head Coach 9-2 Postseason Experience: 2006 NCAA Division II Playoffs Newberry NEWBERRY COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2006 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS 2006 NCAA DIVISION II PLAYOFFS 13
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COACHING STAFF

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