EMORY, Va. - A familiar face will lead playcalling for the Emory & Henry College football team as Graham Clark '77 accepted the position of offensive coordinator for the Wasps this week.
Clark is a Tennessee Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame former head football coach who spent 25 seasons leading the Dobyns-Bennett High School football program in Kingsport, Tennessee. Clark totaled 252 wins and guided the Indians to 17 conference championships during his tenure, including 25 consecutive playoff appearances.
"I've been fortunate to be at two places that I graduated from (Dobyns-Bennett '73), and I'm just excited to join this staff. I can't wait to get out on the field in August," said Clark.
His coaching honors include being named Big Eight Coach of the Year five times (1996, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2017) and he is a two-time Northeast Tennessee Coach of the Year.
"We are fortunate to get someone of his character with his accomplishments," said Emory & Henry head football coach Curt Newsome. "He brings a lot of experience to the table, and he's an alum, and that means so much to me our football program."
Clark will be taking over a prolific offense led by rising-junior quarterback Hunter Taylor (Summerville, S.C) who threw for 1,942 yards and 21 touchdowns, completing nearly 60 percent of his passes (136-of-231). He also tied the E&H record for touchdown passes in a game twice during the season.
"I watched many of these guys play in high school, so I know how talented they are," Clark said.
Newsome says the overall offensive approach will continue to focus on the run-pass option.
"Coach Clark ran this type of offense in his last few years of coaching, and our overall approach will remain the same," said Newsome, "but we will let him add some of his ideas in there as well."
Emory & Henry will open the 2019 season at home against North Carolina Wesleyan College on Saturday, September 7. It will be the third meeting between the two programs and the first since 2009.
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