Mike Yeager promoted; Shafer added to Mocs football staff
The Chattanooga Mocs defensive staff is getting a couple of changes for the 2024 campaign.
Linebackers coach Mike Yeager is taking over defensive coordinator duties for the departed Lorenzo Ward with Wolfgang Shafer entering the picture as safeties coach.
Yeager has been with Coach Rusty Wright almost from the latter’s handshake agreeing to take the head coaching position in December 2018. He has worked closely in game planning and was the “eye in the sky” handling press box duties in games over that timeframe.
“Thankfully it worked out to where we had somebody on staff that could do it,” Coach Rusty Wright began. “Mike’s been a Division III head coach and coordinated defenses at other places. (With Mike) We’re not going to change what we do. He’s got his own way of putting his stamp on it, but I think the biggest thing is you know, kids are going to hear the same thing over and over again.”
Shafer enters the picture from Indiana State. He was the Sycamores’ secondary coach for the 2022 and 2023 campaigns. He also worked two seasons with the DBs at Marietta College and was a defensive graduate assistant at Texas in 2020 and 2021.
He does have experience in Tennessee spending four years at Middle Tennessee.
The first in 2017 was as an offensive graduate assistant with the wide receivers before shifting to the secondary from 2018-2020. His career started at Ithaca College as a volunteer assistant working with tight ends in the spring of 2017.
That came after a fouryear playing career at Ithaca where he served as captain in 2016. He played 19 games at quarterback for the Bombers in his final two seasons, throwing for 3,561 yards and 29 touchdowns.
“I think it’ll be a good addition for us,” Wright continued. “He’s very, very sharp and detail oriented. He’s already been kind of doing some of the stuff we were already doing schematically, so that helps. I think he’ll be a great addition for us and our DB room.”
The Mocs defense was one of the best in the nation year-in and year-out under Ward’s tutelage with the most eye-popping statistics come from the front.
Three of the six best sack seasons came with “Whammy” at the helm with 36 last season, which is second only to the 38 in 2016. The 35 in 2022 ranked highest for sacks per game at 3.18, with 32 in 2021 coming in sixth.
Not surprisingly, his top defenders rate highly in the individual records. Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devonnsha Maxwell is the program’s all-time sack leader with 37.5 with recent New England Patriots signee Jay Person fourth with 27.0 and defensive end Ben Brewton in sixth (22.5).
The last three Southern Conference Defensive Players of the Year — 2021 (Maxwell), 2022 (Person) and 2023 (Person).
“I asked him (in 2019) to give me two years and he gave us five,” Wright said of Ward. “He’s taking the next step in his career. We’re appreciative to what he’s meant to this program from the student-athletes to our staff as a whole. He’ll certainly be missed, but it’s always something we’ve talked about that if he did leave, Mike would take the spot. We’re fortunate to not to worry about changing a whole bunch.”
The season opener at Tennessee is on Saturday, August 31. Game time is 12:45 p.m., with the game airing on the SEC Network.
Season tickets for students are free. However, students do need to register for their tickets. Students can also apply to purchase tickets to the game in Knoxville, which requires current enrollment with valid school ID.