Zac Etheridge (born July 6, 1988) 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 currently serves as the cornerbacks coach at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. As a player, he was a four year starter at

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for Auburn, as well as a team captain on their 2010 National Championship team.

High school career

Etheridge attended

Charles Henderson High School Charles Henderson High School is a grades 9- 12 high school located in the city of Troy, Alabama. The namesake of the school, Charles Henderson, was the governor of the state of Alabama from 1915 to 1919. After his death in 1937, Henderso ...

Troy, Alabama Troy is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Alabama, United States. It was formally incorporated on February 4, 1843. Between 1763 and 1783, the area where Troy sits was part of the colony of British West Florida.The Economy of Bri ...

. He initially played basketball and baseball before ultimately deciding to focus on football. Etheridge grew up watching Auburn and

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

football and began to dream of playing for Auburn after watching the programs 2004 team and becoming enamored with the programs sense of "family and tradition". Described as scrawny, Etheridge originally struggled in gaining attention from major programs but received an offer from Auburn after attending a camp ran by the team. On August 14, 2005, he would commit to play college football at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

College career

Etheridge would make an immediate impact at Auburn, starting 12 out of 13 games as a freshman in 2007 and earning Freshman All-American honors with 65 tackles. Etheridge remained a strong contributor for the Tigers as a sophomore, recording 75 tackles and one interception. In his junior season he suffered a neck injury while attempting a tackle in a game against

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

. Following the injury he lacked control over his body and was ultimately diagnosed with torn neck ligaments and a broken vertebrae. The injury threatened to end Etheridge's playing career but he would return to the field for his senior season in 2010 after completing 9 months of physical therapy. In 2010, he was named a team captain, started all 14 games and would have three interceptions on the season including one in the first quarter of the Tigers national championship victory over

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. In 2012, Etheridge was awarded the James Owens Courage Award, which is awarded to an Auburn player who demonstrates "courage in the face of adversity".

Coaching career

Etheridge began his coaching career in 2012 when Bill O'Brien hired him as a graduate assistant at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. He would then serve in the same role for two seasons at

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 ...

before being hired by Western Carolina as a defensive backs and outside linebackers coach. In 2018, Etheridge worked as the defensive back coach at

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Following two seasons as the defensive backs coach at

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Etheridge returned to his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

in 2021. In 2022, following the firing of

Bryan Harsin Bryan Dale Harsin (born November 1, 1976) is an American college football coach. He is the offensive coordinator at California. He was the head coach for the Auburn Tigers from 2021–2022. Prior to coaching at Auburn, he coached the Boise State ...

for

Hugh Freeze Danny Hugh Freeze Jr. (born September 27, 1969) is an American college football coach. Since 2023, he has served as the head coach for Auburn University. A successful high school football coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tenne ...

it was announced that Etheridge would remain on the new staff, making him and running backs coach

Cadillac Williams Carnell Lamar "Cadillac" Williams (born April 21, 1982) is an American professional football coach and former running back who most recently served as the running backs coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He ...

the only coaches retained by Freeze.

References

External links

Auburn profile

Houston profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Carnell 1988 births Living people American football safeties Auburn Tigers football coaches Auburn Tigers football players Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaches Western Carolina Catamounts football coaches Houston Cougars football coaches People from Troy, Alabama Coaches of American football from Alabama Players of American football from Alabama African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen