Lipscomb Academy, football coach Kevin Mawae part ways after Tennessee playoff ban

Lipscomb Academy and head coach Kevin Mawae parted ways after a playoff ban related to recruiting violations, as ruled by the TSSAA.

Pro Football Hall of Famer and Lipscomb Academy football head coach Kevin Mawae parted ways on Friday, a week after the team received a two-year postseason ban from the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) for a recruiting violation.

Lipscomb Academy headmaster Brad Schultz said in a statement to The Tennessean that Mawae and the academy “mutually agreed to part ways.”

“We appreciate Kevin’s service as head of the coaching staff and for leading the Mustang football team as it transitioned into a higher level of competition this season,” Schultz said in the statement.

Mawae served as head coach for one season, stepping in after former coach and NFL star Trent Dilfer left the program for the UAB head coaching job. After winning back-to-back DII-AA state championships under Dilfer, the team moved up to the DII-AAA division and went 4-6 under Mawae.

One of those losses was the forfeit of a win over Briarcrest after the TSSAA ruled that Notre Dame quarterback commit Deuce Knight and three-star prospect Kohl Bradley “did not have a bona fide change of address when they moved to Mississippi,” The Tennessean wrote.

That was one of two findings of the TSSAA. The other was a recruiting violation “based on a brief text conversation between a football assistant coach and a former parent.” TSSAA executive director Mark Reeves wrote to Schultz that the organization’s findings suggest a coach “was offering to ‘intercede’ with donors to help secure financial assistance for the family,” according to the Tennessean. Read more here and here.

In February, the Lipscomb Academy athletics program was placed on probation and fined by the TSSAA for a social media post featuring a girls basketball player that the organization said broke a recruiting rule.

Playoff ban for Tennessee powerhouse Lipscomb Academy

Lipscomb Academy was penalized for a recruiting violation this week.

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) is handing down sanctions on Lipscomb Academy, banning the football program for two years from the postseason.

According to the TSSAA, Lipscomb has been found guilty of a “recruiting violation.” 

Lipscomb, is a national name and a state-wide powerhouse. The Nashville, Tennessee school went 13-0 last year and is routinely one of the top teams in the state. It is one of the most heavily recruited programs in Tennessee.

The 2023 season represents their first football season in the Division II-AAA East, which is considered to be the toughest and most competitive of the private school divisions in the state.

Truth be told, the ban may not matter much to Lipscomb. Given that this is their first year in a tougher division, there have been struggles this fall. They went into the weekend 4-5 (2-2 Division II-AAA East).

Given their difficulties this year, there is a real chance that Lipscomb may not have made much of a playoff run this year. Also, given that Lipscomb has a national non-conference schedule (they played IMG Academy and Alabama powerhouse Saraland this year), the competition level won’t be affected greatly by no postseason.

There schedule is already tough and has helped Lipscomb attract top talent to their football team.

Former NFL offensive lineman Kevin Mawae is in his first year as the head coach at Lipscomb.

Lipscomb Academy loses heartbreaker in overtime on missed PAT

The effort fell just short in the extra period – and in the worst possible way. 

During the 2022 season, the Lipscomb Academy (Tenn.) varsity football team went undefeated, going 13-0 against the competition, winning a state title, and finishing the year slotted at No. 13 in our national Super 25 power rankings. However, each new season represents a different challenge, and it hasn’t taken long for the Mustangs to learn that lesson in 2023.

Last Friday night, Lipscomb opened their regular season schedule with a brutal matchup against national powerhouse IMG Academy (Fla.), and they lost by a score of 35-10. IMG is a tough out for anybody, but what happened this week wasn’t supposed to happen to the reigning state champions.

Lipscomb played their second game of the 2023 season on Friday on the road against Saraland (Tenn.) and suffered a heart-breaking one-point defeat in overtime. The Mustangs found themselves trailing by 10 points with only a few minutes left to play in the fourth quarter. The team rallied and forced overtime, in part thanks to an onside kick recovery. However, the effort fell just short in the extra period – and in the worst possible way.

Lipscomb scored a clutch touchdown to make it a one-point game, only to miss the extra point, ending the game in a win for Saraland. Watch.

Now 0-2 to start the season, Lipscomb will try to bounce back next week on the road against Briarcrest Christian (Tenn.).

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Who are four-star linebacker Edwin Spillman’s top six schools?

Four-star linebacker recruit Edwin Spillman has named his top six schools entering a critical stage in his recruitment. Spillman, a member of the class of 2024, is one of the best recruits in Tennessee.

The four-star prospect plays high school football for Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. Spillman is ranked as the No. 245 recruit in the class of 2024. Spillman is considered the No. 22 linebacker in the nation and the third-ranked player in Tennessee.

Who are Edwin Spillman’s top six schools?

Did Trent Dilfer REALLY coach the ‘most dominant’ high school team in Tennessee history?

Trent Dilfer might want to rethink this hot take.

Former NFL quarterback and UAB’s new head coach Trent Dilfer loves a spicy take.

In an interview with The Tennessean, Dilfer reminisced about his four years coaching high school football at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville. Let’s just say he might’ve gotten carried away with how successful those teams really were.

“We were the most dominant team in the history of Tennessee high school football,” he says, feet kicked up on the desk of his new office, “and it’s not arguable. There’s no argument against what we just accomplished.”

OK, pump the brakes.

While Dilfer’s teams were undoubtedly some of the best in Tennessee, they were at the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s D-II AA level.

The state’s most competitive level of play for private schools is D-II AAA, featuring heavyweights Brentwood Academy (a school that has produced athletes like Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey), Briarcrest, Baylor and Montgomery Bell Academy.

Though Lipscomb’s moving up to AAA this fall, it won its two state titles with Dilfer at the AA level. To even vaguely claim any sort of “greatest of all time” status, his teams would’ve needed more wins against AAA competition. To boot, Dilfer’s team actually lost to Brentwood Academy, 29-19, in August 2020.

Dilfer’s team also never defeated Tennessee powerhouse Oakland High School. Stationed in Murfreesboro, Oakland has become the team to beat since coach Kevin Creasy was hired in 2015. If any schools in state history have a fair argument for “most dominant” status, it’d be Creasy’s Oakland teams.

You can’t even argue Dilfer’s teams were the most dominant in Lipscomb Academy’s history. For about three decades, Lipscomb was led by TSSAA Hall of Fame coach Glenn McCadams, who won three state titles and went to the playoffs 27 of his 31 years at the high school. That makes Dilfer the second-most accomplished football coach in school history.

While Dilfer certainly accomplished a lot in his four years, saying his teams were the most dominant in Tennessee history is a stretch. It might not be as outlandish as his take on modern quarterback play, but it’s up there.

Kevin Mawae replaces Trent Dilfer at Nashville high school

The former LSU star has found a new home.

A former LSU standout and pro football hall of famer is taking a new job heading up a Nashville high school.

[autotag]Kevin Mawae[/autotag], who played offensive line for LSU in the ’90s, is set to lead Lipscomb Academy. He replaces former NFL QB Trent Dilfer, who took the UAB job late last year.

Lipscomb Academy went 13-0 under Dilfer last year. According to a report, it also targeted former Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.

Mawae spent the last couple of years on the Indianapolis Colts staff. Prior to that, he was an offensive analyst at Arizona State.  In the past, LSU fans suggested he could eventually end up in Baton Rouge, but LSU’s offensive line is in good shape with Brad Davis.

Mawae earned all-conference and All-American honors while at LSU. In the NFL, he played for the Seahawks, Jets and Titans. He was First-Team All-Pro on seven occasions and made eight Pro Bowls.

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Colts’ Kevin Mawae to be hired as Lipscomb Academy head coach

Kevin Mawae is expected to be the next head coach for Lipscomb Academy.

Indianapolis Colts assistant offensive line coach Kevin Mawae is leaving the team to become the new head coach for Lipscomb Academy.

After joining the team in 2021 as the assistant offensive line coach, Mawae is leaving with the likely turnover coming across the coaching staff as the Colts search for their new head coach.

Mawae also held the role of tight ends coach after Klayton Adams left the team during the middle of the regular season.

Mawae played 16 seasons in the NFL and earned a gold jacket to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2019.

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Lipscomb Academy targeting Jason Witten to replace Trent Dilfer as head coach

According to numerous reports, the Mustangs are now targetting former Cowboys tight end Jason Witten to replace Dilfer.

The Lipscomb Academy (Tenn.) varsity football team could be going from one famous former NFL player as their head coach to another.

Trent Dilfer had been the team’s head coach for the last four seasons, but a few weeks ago, he accepted an offer from UAB to fill their head coach opening. Before coaching and a broadcast career at ESPN, Dilfer went 58-55 as a starting quarterback in the NFL from 1994-2007.

According to numerous reports, the Mustangs are now targeting former Cowboys tight end Jason Witten to replace Dilfer.

Witten played a remarkable 271 games in the NFL, most of them for Dallas. He retired after the 2020 season, having made 11 Pro Bowl teams and getting two All-Pro nods.

After he was done playing, Witten tried his hand at broadcasting – spending one season as an analyst on ESPN’s Monday night crew. That didn’t work out too well, though.

Since then, Witten has been serving as the head football coach for Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas. This past season he led them to a 10-2 record and won Coach of the Year in Texas Private Region after going 2-8 in his first year.

As for Lipscomb, they finished the 2022 season with a perfect 13-0 record. According to Sports Illustrated, the school is flying Witten in to convince him and the job is reportedly his if he wants it.

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New UAB head coach Trent Dilfer wins championship in final high school game

New UAB head coach Trent Dilfer coached Lipscomb Academy to its second consecutive championship in his final high school game.

Trent Dilfer was announced as the new head coach of the University of Alabama at Birmingham football team on Wednesday. On Thursday, he tied a bow on his final high school season, coaching Lipscomb Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) to an undefeated championship season.

The Mustangs won the title in dominant fashion, shutting out Christ Presbyterian Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) 42-0. Lipscomb Academy scored more than 40 points in each of the final eight games of the season, outscoring opponents 417-72 during that span and breaking 70 points in two of the games.

Dilfer coached Lipscomb Academy for four seasons. In the two years before he took over, the school went a combined 3-19; in his first season, the team jumped above .500 to a 7-6 record and won double-digit games each of the next three years, taking home the championship in both of the final two.

Even with his immense high school success, Dilfer is best known as an NFL quarterback. He spent 14 years in the league, winning the 2000 Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, and was a Pro Bowler with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997.

He has now officially taken the mantle for a UAB team that has been .500 or better for seven straight seasons. Former head coach Bill Clark retired in June due to health issues after coaching the team to two conference titles and four bowl game appearances. Interim head coach Bryant Vincent coached the Blazers to 6-6 this season.

Wide receiver Nate Spillman discusses committing to Tennessee, Josh Heupel’s offense

2023 wide receiver Nate Spillman discusses committing to Tennessee and Josh Heupel’s offense.

2023 wide receiver prospect Nate Spillman has committed to Tennessee and head coach Josh Heupel.

The 6-foot-1, 194-pound Spillman is from Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. He plays for head coach and Super Bowl champion quarterback Trent Dilfer.

Spillman discussed his commitment to Tennessee with Vols Wire.

“What stood out to me was just the relationship I have with the coaching staff,” Spillman said of Tennessee. “Since day one, they have really put in the effort to build a great relationship with me and my family. I love that Coach Heupel’s offense is fast and explosive. I like how he gets the ball to the receiver’s hands and lets them make big plays. I like that he trusts the receivers to go and make big plays when needed.

“The fan base and atmosphere definitely stood out to me, too.”

Spillman plays the X-receiver position at Lipscomb Academy.

Dilfer previously joined the show “Football Two-A-Days” and discussed his coaching career and implementing an Air Raid offense at Lipscomb Academy.

The show with Dilfer can be listened to here.

Lipscomb Academy head coach Trent Dilfer. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

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