Ben Fox saw his first Maryville College squad close out the 2021 campaign with significant momentum in the fall of the season; the Scots rolled to a 4-2 finish in the final six weeks of the season, positioning themselves for a potential leap year in 2022.
Now, just a week after opening his second fall camp as the NCAA’s head football coach, Fox has positioned its program for even more momentum in the fall, multiple sources tell FootballScoop.
Maryville College, an NCAA Division III program outside of Knoxville and in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, is adding Jake Flaherty, a former Bucknell University senior with senior football experience, as the Scots’ new wide receivers coach, according to sources. . It’s another important move for MC, where Fox also recently added well-known Knoxville area prep coach Albert Long-Hill to the Scots staff as a defensive line coach.
Flaherty, who will start immediately for the program of the Scots, replaces Justin Zimmerman, who recently said goodbye to the program.
In Flaherty, Fox adds an energetic young position coach whose experience includes an internship with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, as well as work as the Miami Hurricanes’ assistant wide receiver coach and also the interim coach “Canes” during that program’s coaching transition. from Al Golden for Manny Diaz.
In addition, Flaherty most recently brings three years of experience from his role as the Lafayette College wide receivers coach for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision program.
He’s also kept track of time at his alma mater and Montana State University, and Flaherty’s early career includes time with well-known football minds Al Golden (the current Notre Dame defensive coordinator), Jason Garrett (the longtime Cowboys head coach), and Ron Dugans ( current Florida State wideouts coach).
Maryville College returns 16 starters in what is essentially Fox’s first full fall campaign, following its January 2021 hiring and the program’s return alongside its peers to drop the competition after the COVID-19 pandemic.