The University of South Alabama football program added another significant piece to its coaching staff this week, announcing that Major Applewhite has been hired as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under new head coach Kane Wommack. The hire is one of several moves Wommack has made in recent days as he builds his first staff with the Jaguars.
Applewhite, 42, brings one of the more decorated resumes in the sport to Mobile. A former standout quarterback at the University of Texas, he has spent nearly two decades coaching at the major college level, including stops at Texas, Syracuse, Rice and Houston. He served as head coach at Houston for two seasons, from 2017 to 2018, compiling a 15-11 overall record with the Cougars.
Applewhite’s ties to Alabama football run deep. He was Nick Saban’s first offensive coordinator in 2007, the year Saban took over the Crimson Tide program, and he most recently worked as an offensive analyst at Alabama. Earlier in his career, he returned to his alma mater and spent three seasons as Texas’ assistant head coach and running backs coach before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator for the Longhorns from 2011 through 2013. He then spent two seasons as offensive coordinator at Houston prior to taking over as the Cougars’ head coach.
The addition comes as something of a surprise to those following the coaching carousel in the Sun Belt Conference. Applewhite had reportedly given a verbal commitment to become offensive coordinator at conference rival Arkansas State under new head coach Butch Jones, with whom he had worked as an offensive analyst at Alabama. However, no contract had been signed with Arkansas State, leaving him free to join Wommack’s staff in Mobile instead.
Along with Applewhite, the Jaguars announced three additional offensive assistants. Earnest Hill, the head coach at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile, will coach running backs. Hill has been highly successful leading the Yellow Jackets, posting a 40-8 overall record in four seasons as head coach, including a 28-3 mark against regional opponents and a 5-4 record in playoff games. His deep ties to prep football in the Mobile area are expected to make him a key contributor to South Alabama’s recruiting efforts.
Gordon Steele will coach the offensive line for the Jaguars. Steele is the son of Kevin Steele, Auburn’s interim head coach and defensive coordinator. He played offensive line at Valdosta State and has coaching experience as an offensive line coach at Murray State, in addition to serving as a graduate assistant at LSU. He also spent time recently as an offensive analyst at Alabama.
Rob Ezell has been added as tight ends coach. Ezell was an all-state quarterback at Athens High School before walking on at Alabama, where he played sparingly at quarterback and wide receiver. He worked as a graduate assistant at Alabama and later spent three seasons as a graduate assistant at Colorado State before returning to Tuscaloosa as an offensive analyst.
The offensive hires follow the earlier announcement of three defensive assistants for the Jaguars: defensive coordinator and safeties coach Corey Batoon, cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Dwike Wilson, and linebackers coach Will Windham. With both sides of the ball now taking shape, Wommack’s inaugural South Alabama staff is quickly coming together as the program looks ahead to its next season in the Sun Belt Conference.