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André Powell is in his first season coaching Tiger running backs, but he has plenty of experience in the ACC. Powell just finished a six-year stint at North Carolina, and prior to that, he spent five years coaching running backs and wide receivers at Virginia. He has coached in six bowl games as a full-time assistant coach. The Indiana graduate has also worked at Army, Virginia Military, and Rhode Island.
Powell has worked with some outstanding running backs in his career, players who have gone on to noteworthy careers at the NFL level. That list includes former New York Giant great Tiki Barber, Arizona Cardinal running back Thomas Jones, and Pittsburgh Steeler Super Bowl MVP Willie Parker. He inherits a Clemson backfield that includes returning First-Team All-ACC running back James Davis along with returning Second-Team All-ACC and freshman All-American C.J. Spiller.
Powell also has significant experience in the special teams area, and he will be significantly involved in that area of the game on the staff. North Carolina was seventh in the nation in kickoff returns in 2005 and second in the ACC in kickoff return coverage in 2006. Each of the last two years, the Tar Heels returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns, the only ACC team to do that.
Powell coached North Carolina running back Ronnie McGill throughout his career, and he finished 10th in Tar Heel history with over 2,300 rushing yards. North Carolina had one of the top rushing attacks in the ACC in 2004, averaging 176.3 yards per game and 4.9 per carry, the second-best mark in the league. Three different Tar Heels each had at least one 100-yard rushing game, and all three averaged over 5.0 yards per carry for the season.
In 2003, North Carolina used a two-tailback offense most of the season, and McGill led the team with 654 rushing yards, including 244 against Wake Forest. The Tar Heel rushing attack helped lift the team to a 16-10 win in the 2001 Peach Bowl, as Parker rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown. Parker signed as a free agent with Pittsburgh and was named the MVP of the Super Bowl in 2005.
Powell came to North Carolina after spending five years at Virginia, where he coached wideouts and running backs. He coached several former Cavaliers who currently play in the NFL, including Jones, and wideouts Germaine Crowell, Charles Kirby, Pat Washington, and Terrence Wilkins.
Powell coached running backs during his first season at Virginia in 1996, then tutored the wideouts for three years before returning to teach the running backs in 2000. He came to Virginia from Army, where he was the running backs coach in 1995. He also spent the 1991 season at Army as the inside linebackers coach. In between stints with the U.S. Military Academy, Powell was the running backs coach at Virginia Military in 1992 and Rhode Island in 1993,94.
Powell earned his bachelor's degree in health, physical education, & recreation in 1989 from Indiana, where he was a two-year letterwinner at running back. He was a member of Hoosier teams that participated in the 1986 All-American Bowl and 1987 Peach Bowl, and was the team's Most Improved Player as a senior. He was the lead blocker for 1,000-yard rusher Anthony Thompson in 1987. Thompson went on to be a 6,000-yard rusher in his Indiana career, and he is still in the top 20 in NCAA history in rushing yards.
He began his coaching career as a student assistant coach at Indiana during the 1988 season, a year that ended with a victory over South Carolina in the 1988 Liberty Bowl. After two years at Indiana, he was a graduate assistant coach at South Carolina in 1990.
A native of Lockhart, SC, Powell attended Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC for two years (1984,85) before transferring to Indiana.
An avid fisherman, Powell has won several tournaments and has been featured in North Carolina Sportsman magazine.
Powell and his wife Joann have a son, André II (11), and two daughters, Alayna (8) and Mikala (5).
Playing Experience
Letterman at Indiana in 1986 and 1987...named Most Improved Player in 1987 as a senior...attended Lees-McRae College prior to attending Indiana.
Bowl Participation as a Player
1986 All-American Bowl...1988 Peach Bowl.
Education
B.S. degree in health, physical education, & recreation from Indiana in 1989.
Coaching Experience
Student assistant coach at Indiana (1988)...graduate assistant coach at Indiana (1989)...graduate assistant coach at South Carolina (1990)...inside linebackers coach at Army (1991)...running backs coach at Virginia Military (1992)...running backs coach at Rhode Island (1993,94)...running backs coach at Army (1995)...running backs coach at Virginia (1996,00)...wide receivers coach at Virginia (1997-99)...running backs coach at North Carolina (2001-06).
Bowl Seasons as an Assistant Coach
1988 Liberty Bowl...1996 Carquest Bowl...1998 Peach Bowl...1999 MicronPC.com Bowl...2000 Oahu Bowl...2001 Peach Bowl...2004 Continental Tire Bowl.
Personal Data
Born September 29, 1966 in Lockhart, SC...married to Joann...the couple has one son (André II 11) and two daughters (Alayna 8, Mikala 5).
