SCOOBA — There’s a serious argument to be made DJ Looney has the most difficult job on the East Mississippi Community College football staff.
In his first season, Looney took a position as offensive line coach that his boss — head coach Buddy Stephens — could be considered an expert in.
“I’m able to bounce a lot of ideas off coach Stephens every day, and it’s been such a awesome experience here at EMCC,” Looney said. “We’ve been able to come together so much that the working relationship has really been seamless.”
Stephens was a former offensive lineman at Pearl River C.C. and Delta State. He specialized in coaching the offensive line at four schools in Alabama and Louisiana and as offensive coordinator at PRCC.
“I’m a offensive line guy as a coach, so I have a hard time trusting my offensive line with just anybody,” Stephens said. “DJ is a guy I trust, and I don’t make it easy on him. He’s been a huge pickup for us in every aspect.”
Stephens found himself comfortable handing the offensive line responsibilities over to Looney, an Alabama native who was named first-team All-State in Class 6A and first-team All-Metro by The Birmingham News as a three-year starter at Oak Mountain High School.
In his four seasons as an offensive lineman at Mississippi State from 2007-10, Looney competed at tackle, guard, and center. He then spent his fifth season of eligibility as a graduate assistant coach at MSU, where he learned how to be a college coach. At 2 p.m. today, Looney and the rest of the Lions will try to complete a perfect season when they take on No. 1 Georgia Military College in the Mississippi Bowl at Biloxi High School’s Indians Stadium.
“Our entire coaching staff is incredibly proud of DJ as he begins to establish himself in this business,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “We will all be cheering for him (today) as he has a great opportunity to make a memory that will last a lifetime.”
Mullen, who has used the pipeline of EMCC talent to help his program, spoke at the pregame dinner Friday night for the Mississippi Bowl.
In Looney’s first season, the Lions have averaged 259.2 rushing yards per game in a undefeated regular season. The Lions have committed only 19 offensive penalties, and their dominance up front on both of sides of the ball has allowed them to win games by an average of 55.5 points.
EMCC’s dominance up front is one reason Stephens and the Lions have been able to interchange skill position players year after year. This season, Looney has been helped sophomore offensive tackle Avery Gennesy mature as a player. As a result, Gennesy likely will sign a National Letter of Intent with Texas A&M. Gennesy, a four-star, 315-pounder, turned away interest from Ole Miss, Ohio State, and Tennessee to be the sixth Lions offensive lineman to earn a scholarship offer to a Football Bowl Subdivision program.
Looney also has made a name for himself on the recruiting road for EMCC. The time he spent at MSU, his ability to build relationships with high school coaches, and his personality have helped the Lions attract national commitments.
“It’s pretty sweet to be able to build those relationship in the state of Mississippi, and I really love getting know everything about the high school programs in this state so I can represent EMCC the very best I know how,” Looney said. “It was a so big for me to get started in Mississippi at the most premier junior college in the country.”
With all Looney’s accomplished in his first season, Stephens has no doubt fans will see Looney on the sidelines of a major Division I college program very soon.
“He is a very successful young man that could be governor of a state before it’s all said and done,” Stephens said. “He knows everybody and is just a pleasure to be around with his youthful exuberance.”
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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