Jack Larish
Sports Editor
On February 3rd, Sewanee welcomed the new head coach of the football team, Andy McCollum. Given his impressive coaching record, McCollum’s hiring is a promising development for Sewanee football. McCollum has coached in assistant roles at Baylor University, The University of Tennessee, and Georgia Tech. He was also the head coach at MTSU from 1999 to 2005.
Coach McCollum accepted a Sewanee football jersey from junior defensive back, Kaleb Seay, symbolizing the beginning of his tenure at Sewanee. During his speech, McCollum spoke with passion and enthusiasm about his goals for the team, “I don’t see any reason why everybody in the state of Tennessee doesn’t know how good Sewanee football can be.”
Coach McCollum spoke about his excitement for the recruiting aspect of his position when he said he wanted to “find guys that love playing, find guys that have high motors. Those kids like that, they’re out there.” McCollum also expressed his intention to market Sewanee itself to potential recruits, “What drives me in recruiting is Sewanee’s great name. Those kids would be crazy not to come here.”
Despite only having known them for a short time, Coach McCollum made a point to praise the current football players, “Every one of them has work ethic, or else they wouldn’t be here at Sewanee. They’ve already shown that.”
Senior running back and team captain, Mike McGhee was a member of the search committee for a head coach. When asked about criteria for the job, McGhee said, “What I was looking for was someone who was going to be a good fit for Sewanee.” The team members on the search committee had the opportunity to meet Coach McCollum during the search process. “He’s just a great guy, really. He knew a little bit about all of us.”
Coach McCollum’s first game as Sewanee’s head coach will be against Maryville on September 2nd.