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Courtesy: Gardner-Webb Release: 08/07/2006 |
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Steve Patton has averaged nearly seven wins per season in his 12 years with the Gardner-Webb program, and has the Bulldogs in strong shape heading into his 13th campaign. The Oneonta, Ala., native became the first coach in Big South history to record 100 career wins in 2007, and now has 107 victories in his 16 seasons of coaching on the collegiate level. Patton has recorded a 77-54 record during his 12 seasons at Gardner-Webb, giving him more wins than any coach to lead the program before him. The Runnin' Bulldogs are poised to make a run once again in the Big South Conference, with 23 starters returning on offense, defense and special teams for the 2009 campaign. The Runnin' Bulldogs sent receiver Dobson Collins to the NFL (San Francisco) in 2008, marking the second season in a row that a GWU player had either signed a free agent deal or been drafted by the league. Collins and linebacker Jeffery Williams earned All-America honors and Williams was named Big South Defensive Player of the Year – following up strongly on his Freshman of the Year Award from the previous season. In 2007, Brian Johnston earned consensus All-America honors and was drafted in the seventh round by Kansas City. Linebacker Mario Brown and cornerback Cedric McGowan were named honorable mention All-America by The Sports Network, Williams earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors after setting a new pace with 120 total hits in 2007. Patton, a two-time Big South Coach of the Year, directed the 'Dogs to a 6-5 record in 2006, the ninth winning season in his 11-year tenure in Boiling Springs. All five of those losses came at the hands of teams ranked at some point during the season as members of the Division I FCS top-25 – including national champion Appalachian State. The success of 2006 came with one of the youngest rosters in Division I, with 74 percent of the Bulldogs' team holding membership in either the freshman or sophomore class. Five of the team's six wins came against Division I competition, and Johnston was named Big South Defensive Player of the Year and a Division I FCS All-American by the Associated Press and Football Gazette. Linebacker Brown and center Kris King also earned All-America honors, with King accepting a roster spot for the U.S. National Team at the 2007 World Cup of Football in Japan. Kicker Hunter Smith was named to the Division I FCS Athletic Director's Academic All-Star Team, and was highly decorated on and off the field – becoming the first student-athlete in Big South football history to earn All-Conference honors in four consecutive seasons. GWU has played one of the toughest collections of teams in the Big South over the past four seasons. Of Gardner-Webb's five wins in 2004, two came against teams that were ranked in the NCAA Division I FCS top-25 at some point during the season, and four of the losses came against teams who capped top-25 seasons in November. The same can be said for 2005, as GWU fell in overtime to a top-15 squad, and dropped two more games to top-10 teams Furman and Hampton. Patton has forged a solid program, winning 51 games at the Division I level. Since joining the Big South Conference in 2002, Gardner-Webb has gone 15-8 during five seasons of competition – with league titles won in 2002 and 2003 with undefeated ledgers. Notable in terms of the strength of Gardner-Webb's non-conference schedule since 2004 is that 13 of the Bulldogs' last 18 non-league losses have come at the hands of either top-25 FCS teams or teams from the Bowl Championship Subdivision – including last season's 10-7 loss at eventual top-25 member Georgia Tech. During Patton's tenure, 31 GWU players have earned All-America honors. Johnston and Brown's selections in 2007 made the pair two-time All-Americans, and Cedric McGowan became the Bulldogs' first corner to earn that distinction since 2004. King continued that tradition in 2006, and Duvaughn Flagler was tabbed in 2005. In 2004, Patton saw two players earn I-AA All-America honors, with Harold Wells earning I-AA National Defensive Lineman of the Year honors from the Football Gazette. The Bulldogs' 26-20 overtime win over Western Carolina surprised many – and sparked interest in the Gardner-Webb program locally that helped smash previous single game and season attendance records at Ernest W. Spangler Stadium. Another 19 Bulldogs earned All-Big South honors as well, which led the league for the third-straight season. GWU has seen 101 players earn All-Big South honors since 2002. Under Patton's guidance, the Bulldogs followed up a surprising run into the national spotlight in 2002 with another big season in 2003. The ‘Dogs posted an 8-4 record, won all four of their Big South games and appeared in the national top-25 for three weeks during the ‘03 campaign. Three of the Bulldogs’ four losses came on the road to teams ranked in the national top-20, and GWU pushed its active home winning streak to 15 games with an overtime win over current FBS program Florida International in November. Mario Williams, Graham Whitlock and Harold Wells each earned some form of All-America honors at the I-AA level, with Williams earning first-team All-America honors from The Sports Network. Five GWU players earned All-East Region honors from The Football Gazette, and the program tied its school record from a year earlier by having 20 student-athletes named to the All-Conference team. Williams was named Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, and graduate student Jim Maxwell earned Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year honors from the league. Following the 2003 season, Maxwell turned his attention to the NFL, signing a free agent contract with the New York Giants after receiving offers from no fewer than 10 teams – and played in 13 games with the Big Blue. William Andrews, Jr., who became the school’s career leader in receptions, inked a free agent contract with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes. In 2002, Patton directed his Bulldogs to what some consider the most successful season in school history, winning 90 percent of a 10-game schedule that was made up exclusively of Division I-AA opponents (9-1) and bringing home the school’s first conference team championship in any sport since Gardner-Webb’s move to the NCAA Division I level in 2000. Patton saw the Bulldogs capture the league’s inaugural title in dominant fashion, winning two games on the road and outscoring league competition by a combined 126-63. The Bulldogs finished the season ranked in the top-25 of all three major Division I-AA polls (now FCS), and were among the nation’s most surprising teams – finishing with the second-longest active win streak in the nation (8 games). A total of 20 student-athletes earned All-Conference honors in 2002, including Big South Offensive Player of the Year Jeremy Martin, Big South Defensive Player of the Year Mario Williams and Big South Freshman of the Year Keppy Baucom. Williams (Sports Network, 3rd Team), Martin (FB Gazette, Honorable Mention), Maxwell (FB Gazette, Honorable Mention) and Jason Bright (FB Gazette, Honorable Mention) also earned All-America honors after standout seasons, with Williams finishing among the top-10 nationally in tackles per game (12.0). Williams was the first Bulldog sophomore to earn a spot on a major All-American Team since former GWU wide receiver and NFL draftee Terry Guess in 1994. In 2001, Patton directed his ‘Dogs to their fifth straight winning season with a 6-4 mark, the first time in school history that the program had seen five straight campaigns above .500 in football. Senior Tory Atkins became the first Gardner-Webb player to earn Associated Press I-AA All-America honors, landing on the organization’s second team at linebacker. The Bulldogs also won the National Christian College Athletic Association’s Victory Bowl, defeating Trinity International (Ill.), 54-14, in Boiling Springs. Against I-AA foes, the ‘Dogs were 5-3 – the second straight winning record against I-AA foes since the move up from Division II in 2000. Since inheriting a team that finished 2-9 prior to his arrival in February 1997, Patton has posted a 72-48-0 mark. In the Bulldogs’ first season at the I-AA level in 2000, Patton saw his team post a 7-4 record (4-3 vs. I-AA foes), including a thrilling, last-second win over No. 23 New Hampshire on the road. Atkins and Sam Durst each earned third-team I-AA All-American honors (FB Gazette). In addition to the 27 All-America players Patton has coached at the Division I level, former standouts Bo Shannon (1998) and Chris Mintz (1999) were each named Division II All-Americans following their senior seasons. Patton is no stranger to success. Evidence is his 131-88-1 career coaching record. That total includes a 107-77-1 record in 16 seasons at the collegiate level, which includes stops as the head coach at Mars Hill College, North Greenville College and Gardner-Webb. Patton, 55, made his head coaching debut at Mars Hill in 1985, directing the NAIA Lions to an 8-3 record and the school’s only outright SAC-8 conference crown. The smashing entrance into the head coaching ranks earned Patton National Coach of the Year honors and SAC-8 Coach of the Year honors from his peers. While at Mars Hill, 23 players were awarded All-Conference honors and current Gardner-Webb offensive coordinator Joe Pizzo was selected the 1985 SAC-8 Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Pizzo went on to play professionally with the Cleveland Browns and the World Football League’s Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks. Patton’s experience in pro football includes coaching the Charlotte Rage of the Arena Football League and the Alabama Magic and the Carolina Storm of the American Football Association. After guiding the Storm to an 11-0 record and an American Bowl National Championship, Patton added an AFA Coach of the Year award to his trophy case. He coached former Gardner-Webb All-Americans James Harbison and Rodney Robinson during his stint as head coach of the Rage. Former Gardner-Webb all-star Charlie Harbison was also an assistant coach under Patton with the Rage. Harbison is entering his first season as defensive coordinator at Clemson University after a year in the same role at Mississippi State. Another former Gardner-Webb standout, Jim Washburn, also coached with Patton in the professional ranks. Washburn, who was later an assistant coach at South Carolina and Arkansas, is currently the defensive line coach with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. In 1996, Patton returned to the college ranks, taking the head coaching position at North Greenville (S.C.) College and directing the Mounties’ transition from a junior college to a four-year program. To no one’s surprise, he was successful, leading his teams to a 12-9 record in two seasons. In his final campaign (1996), Patton led the Mounties to a 7-3 record, a national top-10 ranking and an outstanding offensive season. North Greenville led the Mid-South Conference in total offense (440 yards per game) and scoring (31.0 points per game) in 1996. Running back Coco Henderson and offensive lineman Scott Buchanan were among several Mounties to earn All-Conference accolades following the season. Players competing for Patton can expect honors and superlatives to come their way. In addition to the previously mentioned All-America honors, 155 players have earned All-Conference selections. With experience as a scout for the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes and as a former professional head coach, Patton has enjoyed success preparing his players for pro football. Canadian League, Arena League and NFL scouts are very familiar with Boiling Springs, and can be seen milling through the GWU Football Center, evaluating talent, each year. Patton began his college career at the University of Alabama before transferring to Furman. During his time at Furman, Patton competed successfully on the gridiron and as a collegiate tennis player – while graduating Magna Cum Laude with an undergraduate degree in History. As a graduate assistant coach with the Paladins, Patton earned a Master’s Degree in Education in 1979. During his high school playing days at Oneonta (Ala.) High, Patton earned All-State honors while competing in football and track before heading to Tuscaloosa. Patton is married to the former Debbie Talbert of Charlotte, N.C. The couple has two daughters, Stetson Kay and Shelby Anne. |
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September 2
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Courtesy: Willis Glasgow / WG Sports Photos
