NGU Hires Farrington

NGU Hires Farrington

 

Jeff Farrington, who played high school football in Greer, SC, and coached for nine years at Furman University, has been named the new head football coach at North Greenville University it was announced by Director of Athletics Jan McDonald.

Farrington was introduced at an on-campus press conference at 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 in the President's Dining Room.

The new Crusader mentor comes from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia where he was the Keydets' defensive coordinator. Prior to his stint at VMI, Farrington spent a year at Mercer University in Georgia under Bobby Lamb helping to initiate the Bears' Division I FCS program which begins play in the fall of 2013.

Farrington was a defensive assistant coach for Lamb at Furman from 2002-2010, and was the Paladins' defensive coordinator in 2010. Furman's defensive teams under Farrington were highly regarded statistically in the Southern Conference, and the Paladins reached the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs four times (2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006). In 2005, Furman advanced to the FCS national semi-finals.

Before signing on at Furman, Farrington was the defensive coordinator and secondary coach for five seasons (1997-2001) at East Tennessee State University, and three of his Buccaneer defensive backs signed NFL contracts. No stranger to NCAA Division II football, he also was the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at West Georgia College from 1992 through 1996, and had defenses that attained national rankings.

A 1982 graduate of The Citadel where he lettered twice as a defensive back, Farrington began work in the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant at his alma mater (1982), and later at East Carolina (1983) and Florida State (1984). He was named outside linebackers coach at East Carolina in 1985. He later became defensive coordinator at Lenoir-Rhyne College (1987-90) and Presbyterian College (1991).

Farrington earned his Bachelor of Science degree from The Citadel in physical education in 1982. A former standout at quarterback and three-year letterman at Greer High School, he enrolled at the Citadel in 1978 and lettered twice as a defensive back before graduating.

He is a native of Winston-Salem, N.C., and he and his wife Traci, have three children, two daughters and a son.

"North Greenville is very excited about adding a native son to our coaching ranks in Jeff

Farrington," McDonald said. "He is very familiar with the Greenville area since he played and coached here, and his knowledge of local coaching staffs and players will be a major bonus for our athletic program. He has a wealth of experience at many different levels and he also brings the added dimension of a strong Christian faith to NGU that will help guide and teach our young men."
"I am excited and thrilled to be at North Greenville," Farrington said. "After being an assistant for a long time, this is the opportunity I've been looking for. I was familiar with the NGU program and its success on the field since I played in this area and coached across the mountain a little ways. It was a little bit different speaking to the whole team last night, but being the head coach is certainly a challenge which I do welcome. I will assemble a staff fairly quickly and begin to address recruiting, which is an ongoing process. I hope to be able to serve and lead the young men here at North Greenville in a way that everyone associated with the university will be proud."
"Who could have known that one day I'd get to come home and be where your mama can be with her grand kids all the time."

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Photo Courtesy of Carlie McKinley

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