Former NFL RB joins Tennessee high school football coaching staff

A Tennessee high school football team hired a former National Football League running back to become its offensive coordinator and running backs coach.

Fayetteville High School announced on X (formerly Twitter) that I’Tavius Mathers will join the squad starting in the 2026 season. After playing at Blackman High School, Mathers committed to Ole Miss and played three seasons for the Rebels.

Mathers had modest productivity at Ole Miss, which could have prompted him to transfer to Middle Tennessee State for his senior year. It was a breakout season for him as he tallied 232 carries for 1,561 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in 12 games.

Likewise, he added 633 receiving yards and three touchdowns in his lone season with the Blue Raiders. These numbers made him the first NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision player to have 1,500 rushing yards, 600 receiving yards, and 60 receptions in a season.

Despite those impressive stats, Mathers became a free agent after the 2017 NFL Draft. However, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed him to a three-year, $1.67 million rookie contract. Unfortunately, that deal did not guarantee him playing time. Worse yet, the Jaguars placed him on injured reserve and released him the following year. Mathers did not play in an NFL game, as no other team expressed interest in him.

After the brief NFL stint, he returned to Tennessee high school football as Blackman’s running backs coach. He worked in that role for four seasons before becoming a graduate assistant at Middle Tennessee State.

Mathers will join a team that went 7-6 last season. After losing four of their first five games, the Tigers rallied by winning seven of their next nine. However, their season ended with a 39-0 shutout loss to McKenzie in the Division I Class 1A state semifinals. Fayetteville last won the state championship in 2020.