Autry Lamont Denson (born December 8, 1976) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player who is the

running backs coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He previously served as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Charleston Southern University Charleston Southern University (CSU) is a private university in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). History Charleston Southern Universit ...

from 2019 to 2022. Denson played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. He played professionally for four seasons in the NFL with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and one season in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

Playing career

High school

Denson attended

Nova High School Nova High School is a public high school located in Davie, Florida and is part of the Broward County Public Schools district. It is one of four schools that comprise the Nova Center for Applied Research and Professional Development, the other ...

where he played for Willie Dodaro.

College

Denson is Notre Dame's all-time leading rusher with 4,318 yards and 43 touchdowns while holding many other rushing records at the University of Notre Dame. In 1997, he ran for 1,268 yards on 264 carries and scored 12 TDs. In 1998, he ran for 1,306 yards on 277 carries and scored 18 TDs. Denson was the MVP of the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

in 1999 played against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

Professional

Denson was selected in the seventh round with the 233rd pick of the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. He never made it to the active roster for Tampa Bay. In two years (1999–2000) with

, he ran for 206 yards on 59 carries while also catching 18 passes for 133 yards. In 2000, he returned 20 kicks for 495 yards. Denson spent the 2001 season with the

. He had only one carry for 4 yards while spending most of the year on special teams. While on special teams he returned 23 kicks for 534 yards as well as 1 punt return for 5 yards. During the 2002 with the

, Denson rushed for 2 yards on 2 carries with 2 kick returns for 38 yards. Denson spent the 2004 season in the

(CL) as a member of the

. He finished eighth in rushing with 772 yards and nine touchdowns while being given the player of the week Honors during the season.

Coaching career

Early career

In April 2010, after spending some years away from the game of football, Denson was named the head football coach at Pope John Paul II High School in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

Bethune–Cookman

In 2011, Denson was hired as the running backs coach at

Bethune–Cookman University Bethune–Cookman University (B–CU or Bethune–Cookman) is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune–Cookman University is affiliated wit ...

Miami (OH)

In 2014, Denson joined

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

as their running backs coach.

Notre Dame

In 2015, Denson was hired to fill the running backs coaching vacancy at the

, his alma mater. , and the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

Charleston Southern

Denson was named the head coach at Charleston Southern on January 14, 2019. He was relieved of his duties following the 2022 season, after a 2–8 finish.

Arizona Cardinals

On March 1, 2023, the

hired Denson as their running backs coach.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Charleston Southern profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Denson, Autry 1976 births Living people American football running backs Arizona Cardinals coaches Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football coaches Canadian football running backs Charleston Southern Buccaneers football coaches Chicago Bears players Coaches of American football from Florida High school football coaches in Florida Indianapolis Colts players Montreal Alouettes players Miami Dolphins players Miami RedHawks football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players South Florida Bulls football coaches Nova High School alumni Sportspeople from Davie, Florida People from Lauderhill, Florida Players of American football from Broward County, Florida Players of Canadian football from Florida African-American coaches of American football 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen