Editor’s Note: The Dispatch on Sunday began a series titled “Pieces of a Dynasty,” which examines the East Mississippi Community College football team’s rise to national prominence. Today, we look at Buddy Stephens, the head coach of the team throughout its success.
SCOOBA — Buddy Stephens knew the East Mississippi Community College football team hadn’t had a lot of success before he took the job.
He didn’t care.
“I really think you can win anywhere,” said Stephens, who is in his eighth year as the school’s coach. “That is not being brash or arrogant. I just have that belief. If your plan is good enough and you can get the right athletes to run your plan, you can be successful anywhere. The administration has to play a role. The fans have to play a role. But you can get there.”
EMCC had one playoff appearance in its history (1984) before Stephens’ arrival. Now the school has appeared in the postseason in each of his first seven years as coach. A perfect postseason worksheet is impressive considering only four of the 14 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) programs reach the state playoffs each season.
However, the numbers get even better. EMCC won the MACJC state championship in 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2014. It won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championship in 2011, 2013, and 2014. EMCC also won all four bowl games played under Stephens — the Mississippi Bowl in 2009, 2013, and 2014 and the El Toro Bowl in 2011.
Stephens is 69-10 in his eight seasons at EMCC.
No. 1 EMCC can tie the national record for consecutive wins Thursday night when it plays at No. 7 Copiah-Lincoln C.C. EMCC enters the game with 25 straight wins, one shy of Blinn College’s (Texas) 26 straight from 1995-97. The previous MACJC record of 23 set by Pearl River C.C. from 2003-05.
One common denominator in the two longest in-state streaks is Stephens, who was an assistant coach in PRCC’s run a decade ago.
“Buddy is the most detail-oriented coach I have ever been around,” said PRCC third-year head coach William Jones, who was Stephens’ defensive coordinator for five seasons before getting his head coaching job. “It is all about perfection. From uniforms to pre-game meals, to execution on the field. Everything connected to the program is on that different level. It takes a special student-athlete to perform in that program. He does a great job of finding those players.
“It is a model that can be replicated if the right things are in place.”
A ‘lifer’
Stephens calls himself a “junior college lifer.” Having played in the MACJC system (at PRCC), he followed that up with seven years as an assistant coach at PRCC. Dr. Rick Young had a vision to move athletics forward when he took over as EMCC’s president in 2004. The vision involved a new stadium and hiring the right man to take over.
Current EMCC President Dr. Thomas Huebner has learned quickly the special nature of the football program at EMCC.
“Football is a way to get your brand out nationally,” Huebner said. “Buddy and his staff have been able to do that. Successful athletic teams build morale on campus. They lead to increased enrollment. The exposure garnered by the football program can’t be measured.”
During the hiring process, Stephens said the administration expressed a willingness to give the coach the things he needed to be successful. The new football stadium opened 2011 and was immediately considered the best in the state.
EMCC also benefited from the elimination of recruiting districts. Now preferred student-athletes aren’t required to attend a community college close to home and can sign anywhere in the state.
“It is a perfect example of what (the administration is) doing to make this work,” Stephens said. “In 2011, when the districts went away, we had to re-evaluate how we were doing things. The recruiting area become much wider. As we have won games and had success, we have now become the No. 1 choice in the state. We feel like if a player in-state wants to play junior college football and we want him, he is going to come here.”
Sophomore wide receiver Corey Davis, of Meridian, remembers the day the offer came from EMCC.
“Being invited to play here is a big day,” Davis said. “A lot of people think negatively about junior college football, but the (MACJC) is a tough league. So many players have gone on to play Division I ball, and even in the NFL after playing here. Not all junior college offers are alike. When coach Stephens and coach (offensive coordinator Marcus) Wood tell you they want you, that changes everything immediately.”
EMCC also has found the right combination of out-of-state performers to make the system go. All of the recent quarterbacks have moved on to successful senior colleges — Randall Mackey (Ole Miss), Bo Wallace (Ole Miss), Quez Johnson (Florida Atlantic), Dontreal Pruitt (Florida Atlantic), Todd Mays (Oklahoma State), and Chad Kelly (Ole Miss).
“The plan is simple really,” Stephens said. “It is a wide-opening offensive attack. We feature short passes, long passes. Our running backs get good work even though they get lost in the numbers sometimes. The goal is to score within two minutes on every possession. The quarterback has to react quickly. When the ball is snapped, he has six or seven options at the line of scrimmage.”
Mays, an All-American at Olive Branch High School, played one season at Arkansas State before transferring back to the Magnolia State. After two seasons as a quarterback, running back, receiver, and kick returner for EMCC, Mays is at Oklahoma State.
“(The coaches) promise they can make you big time,” Mays said. “They make good on those promises. In my time there, I really grew as a player, and I also grew as a person. It is a special place.”
Stephens doesn’t plan to leave.
“I live in a good place (Meridian),” Stephens said. “The administration does everything we need to be successful. The money is good enough for my family to have everything they want. I don’t think you ever say ‘never’ because you just don’t know. However, I think you could call me a ‘junior college lifer’ and the label would fit.
“We are really molding young men’s lives. We are helping them become better husbands, workers, brothers, and sons. Through the game of football, they are learning about life. We have some second-chance players where it didn’t work out at that first stop. We take pride in the success stories.
“It is all about making a difference. Not only have we made a difference, but we are also being highly successful on the field. That helps.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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