MEET THE COACHES
Matt Wannebo
Tommy Joe Whiddon
Safeties
Assistant Coach Tight Ends
OVC
HISTORY
RECORDS
REVIEW
OPPONENTS
ABOUT JSU
COACHES
GAMECOCKS
OUTLOOK
INTRO
One of the most experienced coaches on the staff, Matt Wannebo enters his 12th season on Jack Crowe’s staff and he will coach safetites for the 2011 season.
Tommy Joe Whiddon begins his first season on the Gamecock coaching staff, but is no stranger to Jacksonville State after spending four years as a player and three years as a student assistant coach for Jack Crowe.
Wannebo returns to the defensive side of the ball this year after spending the last two seasons coaching wide receivers. Prior to that, he coached on the defensive side for nine seasons for the Gamecocks.
Last season, the Gamecocks posted one of the most successfual seasons in the school’s Division I history, finishing with a 9-3 overall record, and was ranked as high as No. 2 during the season.
JSU also advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoffs and hosted its first home playoff game in 18 years at the newly renovated Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium, while also claiming one of the bibest wins in school history with a 49-48 double-overtime thriller at Ole Miss. Jax State led the Ohio Valley Conference in passing efficiency with a 140.39 rating, which also ranked 17th nationally. The Gamecocks also ranked among the conference leaders in total offense (384.17), passing offense (217.7) and was ranked 12th nationlly with 32.17 points per game.
The 2009 Gamecock offense once again led the Ohio Valley Conference in total offense, averaging 431.1 yards per game, which ranked eighth nationally. Jax State also led the OVC in rushing offense (188.8), scoring offense (35.0), and passing efficiency (161.2) in 2010 as JSU posted the best record in the OVC with an 8-3 mark. With Wannebo helping on defense, the Gamecocks began their domination on that side of the ball, where the Gamecocks led the OVC in defense for four straight years. In 2008, JSU led the OVC in scoring defense for the third-straight year, allowing just 21.7 points per game. In 2007, the Gamecocks led the league in total defense (354.3 yards per game), rushing defense (145.5 yards per game) and scoring defense after allowing only 23.4 points per contest.
In 2006, the Gamecocks allowed just 17.5 points per game, 114.8 rushing yards and only 270.2 yards of total yards, which were all tops in the conference. In 2004, the Gamecocks led the OVC in rushing defense and turnover margin, after recording 16 interceptions. They had 15 the year before, more than another other team in the OVC.
Whiddon served as a student assistant for the Gamecocks for three years, working with tight ends in 2007, working with quarterbacks in 2008 and with receivers in 2009. In 2008, Whiddon worked with former Gamecock All-American quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, who led the team with 2,318 passing yards and led the OVC with 14.16 points responsible for as a junior. In 2009, he coached first-team All-OVC receiver James Wilkerson, who led the Gamecocks with 716 yards on 36 receptions as the Gamecocks posted the best record in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 8-3 record. Whiddon served as defensive quality control at Auburn University last season as the Tigers posted a perfect 14-0 record and claimed the BCS National Championship. He worked primarily with the defensive line with Tracy Rocker and coached Nick Fairley, who went on to win the Lombardi Award. Whiddon was a four-year letterman for the Gamecocks from 2003-07 and was a member of both the 2003 and 2004 Ohio Valley Conference Championship teams. He finished with a four-year record of 29-16, including an 8-4 record in 2003 and 9-2 in 2004. A native of Niceville, Fla., Whiddon prepped at Niceville High School for John Hicks. He has two younger brothers, John Houston, who was a three-year letterwinner for the Gamecocks from 2008-10, and Rayce, will be a sophomore on this year’s team. Whiddon, 26, is married to the former Kristen Hicks.
A former quarterback from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. (1977-81), Wannebo earned his degree in both education and exercise science then moved on to Auburn University, where he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Motor Learning and Motor Development.. His coaching ventures have included some prominent Division I programs, including Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas and Minnesota. Prior to joining the Gamecocks in 2000, Wannebo coached the secondary at Auburn.
Wannebo is a native of Minnesota and a 1977 graduate of Cooper High School. He is currently single.
PERSONAL Full Name: Family: Born:
EDUCATION
Matt Wannebo Single May 14, 1959
High School: College:
Cooper High School (1977) Hamline University (1981)
Hamline University
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
COACHING EXPERIENCE 1982 1983-86 1986-88 1988-90 1990-92 1992-96 1996-98 2000-08 2009-10 2011-A
Cooper High School (Assistant Coach) Auburn University (Graduate Assistant) Minnesota (Graduate Assistant) Clemson University (Graduate Assistant) University of Arkansas (Graduate Assistant) University of Alabama (Operations) Auburn University (Operations/Secondary) Jacksonville State University (Defensive Backs) Jacksonville State University (Wide Receivers) Jacksonville State University (Safeties)
96 2011 Gamecocks Football
PERSONAL
Full Name: Thomas Joseph Whiddon Family: Married (Kristen Hicks) Born: January 28, 1985
EDUCATION
High School: Niceville High School (2003) College: Jacksonville State University (2007) M.P.A. Jacksonville State University (2010)
PLAYING EXPERIENCE Jacksonville State (2003-07)
2003 and 2004 Ohio Valley Conference Championship
COACHING EXPERIENCE 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011-A
Jacksonville State (student assistant/tight ends) Jacksonville State (student assistant/quarterbacks) Jacksonville State (student assistnat/wide receivers) Auburn University (defensive quality control/ defensive line) Jacksonville State (Tight Ends)