STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Joe Moorhead named Louisville native Mark Hudspeth associate head coach and tight ends coach Thursday.
“Mark brings 25 years of experience as an assistant coach and head coach to our staff,” Moorhead said. “Having devoted much of his life to football in this state, he will do an outstanding job recruiting and developing our players. We are glad to have him back as a Bulldog.”
Hudspeth returns to MSU after serving as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2009-10.
“I look forward to helping coach Moorhead realize his vision for our football program,” Hudspeth said. “It’s great to be a Bulldog.”
Hudspeth guided Louisiana-Lafayette to five New Orleans Bowl appearances during his tenure as head coach from 2011-17. The Ragin’ Cajuns won four-straight bowl games under his watch and posted four consecutive nine-win seasons.
Prior to being named the 26th head coach in Louisiana-Lafayette history, Hudspeth played a key role as MSU’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. He tutored wide receiver Chad Bumphis for two seasons. Bumphis finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in receiving yards.
After three years as an assistant coach at Delta State (1999-2000) and Navy (2001), Hudspeth took over as coach at North Alabama. He guided the Lions to a 66-21 record in seven seasons (2002-08), winning two Gulf South Conference titles and making five appearances in the NCAA Division II Championship, advancing to the semifinals three times (2003, 2005, 2008).
Hudspeth played football at Winston Academy in Louisville. He led the Patriots to the state title game as a senior in 1987. He went on to earn All-County honors three times and to play in the Mississippi High School All-Star game as a senior.
Hudspeth lettered four seasons at Delta State, working his way up from the scout team to earn a starting job as a safety (1990) and quarterback (1991).
After graduating from Delta State with a degree in health and education in 1992, Hudspeth began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Central Arkansas. He received his master’s degree in secondary school administration in 1993.
While at UCA, he was part of the coaching staff that guided the squad to the 1992 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference crown.
Hudspeth earned his first full-time coaching position when he went to Nicholls State to coach the wide receivers and tight ends in 1994 before switching to running backs in 1995.
Hudspeth returned to his high school to coach Winston Academy in 1996. He led the program to a 25-1 record in two seasons and the 1997 Mississippi Private School Association Class A state title.
In 1999, he served as offensive coordinator at Delta State for two seasons before moving to Annapolis to serve as offensive coordinator at Navy in 2001. He earned his first collegiate head coaching job at North Alabama the following year.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.