Tarleton adds two to football coaching staff

Advertisement
Chase Holbrook, left, and Jack Taylor are the newest members of the Tarleton State football coaching staff. || Photos from NMSU and TAMUC via Tarleton Athletic Communications

TheFlashToday.com NEWS & SPORTS – FREE & LOCAL

Special to the Flash

Tarleton Athletic Communications

STEPHENVILLE (April 13, 2015) — Head coach Cary Fowler has announced the addition of Chase Holbrook and Jack Taylor to the Texan Football coaching staff.

Holbrook comes to Tarleton State as the quarterbacks coach with six seasons of coaching experience, including two seasons as an offensive coordinator, while Taylor will begin his third season of college coaching in 2015 as the leader of the Texan defensive line.

“Chase comes to us from New Mexico Highlands, where he led them to the No. 1 passing offense in the country last season and he was only there for the spring and the fall – which tells you how quickly he can make a difference,” said Fowler. “He’s coached and played for Hal Mumme and Mason Miller and Mumme said he was one of the best quarterbacks he’s ever had in the air raid system. To have a coach with his pedigree leading our quarterbacks, I expect big things from them this season.


Advertisement
Advertisement

 

“Jack brings an unbelievable energy and passion for the game,” continued Fowler. “He coaches the defensive line like it is supposed to be taught and I can already see incredible strides from our defensive line this spring with his leadership. I’ve known Jack for a long time and to get him here was a big lift for our defensive line.”

Holbrook comes to Tarleton with six years of previous coaching experience, including two seasons as an offensive coordinator. The former Aggie signal caller began his coaching career at McMurry in 2009 following a brief stint as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys.

He joined the Warhawk staff, led by his former coaches Hal Mumme and Mason Miller, and spent his first two seasons as the running backs coach before taking over the quarterbacks in 2011-12. He was promoted to offensive coordinator when Miller was named the head coach prior to the 2013 season.

After his five seasons at McMurry, he ventured back to New Mexico to claim the offensive coordinator position with New Mexico Highlands. In his only season in charge of the Cowboy offense, Holbrook led Highlands to the top passing offense in NCAA Division II with 388.5 passing yards per game. The Cowboys threw for 4,274 yards through the air in 11 games with 38 passing touchdowns.


Advertisement
Advertisement

 

Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Holbrook played three seasons for the Aggies after spending his freshman campaign at Southeastern Louisiana with Mumme and Miller.

During his time with the Aggies, Holbrook forever etched his name into the WAC record books with the fifth most yards of total offense (11,570) as well as the fourth most passing yards (11,846) and the fifth most passing touchdowns (85) in the 50-year existence of the conference. Holbrook was the successor of Scott Grantham, who transferred from New Mexico State to Tarleton State following a serious medical injury that nearly ended his career. Grantham went on to have one of the greatest careers of a Tarleton quarterback and led the Texans to the second round of the 2009 NCAA playoffs.

Holbrook is a 2004 graduate of L.D. Bell High School in Hurst, Texas and currently resides in Stephenville with his wife, Robin.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Taylor joins the Texan coaching staff after spending his first two seasons in the collegiate ranks as the leader of the defensive line at conference rival Texas A&M-Commerce. During his tenure with Commerce, the Lions tallied 85.0 total sacks and had a defensive lineman named the LSC Defensive Player of the Year in each season. Taylor also coached five defensive linemen to all-conference honors in the last two seasons, including four first-team selections.

Prior to arriving at Texas A&M-Commerce, Taylor spent his first season of coaching as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Keystone Heights High School in his hometown for his high school alma mater.

Taylor played five seasons of college football before stepping into the coaching role, including his final three seasons at Wingate University in North Carolina.


Advertisement
Advertisement

 

After wrapping up his high school career at Keystone Heights, Taylor went to West Texas A&M for his first two seasons before transferring to Wingate for the 2008 season as a sophomore. He played his final three seasons with the Bulldogs and was named a second-team all-conference selection as a senior. He also ranks second-most all-time in tackles for a loss with 34.5 in his career and fourth most all-time with 13.5 sacks.

Taylor currently resides in Stephenville.

Holbrook and Taylor will make their unofficial Tarleton debut Saturday, April 18 when the Texans take the field for the annual Purple and White Spring Game at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.