The catalyst for a new and excitingdirection for Maryville College’s football program was thehiring of new head coach Mike Rader and his staff in 2012.
Coach Rader took the reigns as MaryvilleCollege’s Head Football Coach in the winter of 2012. TheJohnson City, Tennnessee, native became the 28th head coach inMaryville College’s storied 121-year history.
During his inaugural season with theScots, Maryville posted a 6-4 record and 5-2 mark within the toughUSA South Athletic Conference giving Maryville its highest finishin the USAC after eight seasons within the league and theCollege’s first football title since MC’s Highlanderstook back-to-back Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference titles underHonaker’s direction in 1930 and 1931.
His 2012 USA South Co-Champions produceda dozen All-USA South performers and 14 league All-Academichonorees. Coach Rader’s squad won their final three gameswith a defense that paced the league in four categories. Theiroffense boasted the league’s top rusher while averaging 211yards per game on the ground. His creative offense finished theseason averaging over 366 yards per challenge.
Under his leadership, the Fighting Scotsaccomplished additional historic accolades in 2013. MC earned theirfirst eight-win season since the 1978 campaign and only the fourtheight-win season in school history. Their 8-3 overall mark and 6-1league record earned back-to-back USA South Co-Championships,allowing Maryville’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Division IIIpost-season championship as the league’s automatic bid.
His squad featured the league’s toprusher once again averaging 287 yards per game on the ground whileincreasing their total offensive production to over 473 yards pergame. MC led the league and was nationally ranked in 3rdDown Conversions, 4th Down Conversions and Least PassesIntercepted. MC’s offensive line led the nation with fewestsacks allowed. The Scots staff produced 21 All-Academic honorees,nine All-USA South performers, four All-South Region standouts, andthe program’s 38th All-American in offensivelineman Rance Hightower.
Rader's 2014 squad finished the year with a 7-3 mark, whilegoing 6-2 within the USA South. Rader led a team that posted 408.2yards per contest, while averaging 271.5 rushing yards per game— a mark that ranked 10th nationally. The Scots led the USASouth in four different rushing categories behind a stout,senior-laden offensive line that ranked 23rd nationally with onlyone sack per outing. That line led the way for Maryville'sthird-largest individual rushing effort in school history, asTrenton Shuler had 1,046 yards on 182 carries for 12 touchdowns.Shuler's touchdowns ranked him 36th in the nation.
Maryville averaged 31.8 points per game, while converting on74 percent of fourth down tries. The Scots only allowed 104.5rushing yards per contest (23rd nationally) and contributing 2.9sacks per game (26th nationally). Maryville produced 10 USA SouthAll-Conference accolades, while Rance Hightower and Zach Capehartwere named to the All-South region. Hightower also earned a spot inthe National Bowl for his season. As a squad, the Scots were alsohonored with the USA South All-Sportsmanship Award.
Rader received his Bachelor of Artsdegree from East Tennessee State University in 2002. A three-yearstarter on the Buccaneer football squad as a student, he earned afootball scholarship after an All-State career as a quarterback andreceiver at Science Hill High School in Johnson City.
Following graduation, he attained hisMaster of Arts degree in sports management from ETSU while servingas a graduate assistant for his alma mater. Following a season atTroy University in Troy, Ala., under head coach Larry Blakeney, hewas chosen by Huntingdon to help build the school’s programfrom the ground up.
Prior to his Maryville stop, Rader was aformer assistant football coach at Huntingdon College inMontgomery, Ala. He coordinated the recruiting efforts and assistedthe offense for eight seasons at the Division III, church-related,liberal arts school.
In 2004, Rader was selected by HuntingdonCoach Mike Turk to improve results and bring stability to asecond-year start up NCAA Division III program. Rader helped theHawks earn a 52-20 record while receiving “Top 25”votes in five different seasons.
Rader displayed significant experience inbuilding a successful NCAA Division III program. While atHuntingdon, his Hawks developed one of the most prolific offensesin college football. In 2009, Huntingdon was the only offense inthe nation (Divisions I, II, or III) to average over 300 yards ofpassing and 200 yards of rushing per game. As the Hawks’recruiting coordinator for the past two seasons, Rader’sstaff has brought in more than 170 student-athletes to campus afterdeveloping strategies for student-athlete searches, visits andon-campus presentations.
Mike, his wife Lindsey and sons Max, Eli and Ellis, reside inMaryville.
The Rader File
2012 6-4(.600) 5-2USAS 2012 USA SouthCo-Champions
2013 8-3(.727) 6-1USAS 2013 USA SouthCo-Champions (1st NCAA Appearance)
2014 7-3(.700) 6-2 USAS
Career 21-10 (.677) 17-5 USAS
