Russ Huesman

Russell Frederick Huesman (born January 28, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He was named head football coach at the University of Richmond on December 14, 2016 after spending eight years as head coach of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The Spiders compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision as members of the Patriot League.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Huesman played prep football at perennial power Moeller High School, where he lettered for four years under head coach Gerry Faust. He helped Moeller's team compile a record of 43–0–1 and win a pair of Ohio state championships.

An all-city selection in football as a senior, Huesman signed a football scholarship with Chattanooga, where he started all four years as a defensive back (1978–1981) and was a two-sport athlete. He played under the late Joe Morrison for two years and competed his final two seasons under Bill Oliver. Huesman also patrolled center field on the baseball field for the Mocs during his freshman and junior seasons. During his playing career at Chattanooga, the Mocs posted a 31–11–2 mark and were Southern Conference co-champions in his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Huesman began his coaching career as a student coach for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga during the 1982 season. He followed that up with a move to the University of South Carolina as a graduate assistant under Morrison.

Huesman than began a 14-year stretch at the College of William & Mary and was the Tribe's defensive coordinator for the 1996 and 1997 seasons. During his tenure with the Tribe, Huesman coached current NFL star Darren Sharper, who led a defense ranked second in the nation, allowing just 231.8 yards per game in 1996. That defensive squad also led the Yankee Conference in total defense and helped power the Tribe to their first conference title since 1970. In 1997, the Tribe defense was third overall in the Atlantic 10 and led the league in pass efficiency defense.

In addition to coordinating the Tribe's defense, Huesman, also coached the William & Mary secondary, a job he took over in 1991. In eight seasons under his direction, the College of William & Mary developed one of the most effective backfields in the nation.

During his time at William & Mary, Huesman also coached Steve Christie, a 15-year NFL place kicker with Tampa Bay, Buffalo, San Diego and the New York Giants. His coaching family tree also includes Alan Williams, the defensive backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts, and Sean McDermott, the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Both Williams and McDermott played for Huesman at William & Mary.

Huesman then spent six years at the University of Memphis (1998–2003) where he held several positions, serving as the recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach, before leaving for Richmond. He also coached the outside linebackers, tight ends and running backs. As recruiting coordinator, Huesman brought in a top-50 recruiting class, ranked No. 1 in Conference USA, in 2002. It was the first recruiting class ranked in the top-50 at Memphis in school history.