By MIKE BONTS
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -Former Lenoir-Rhyne head football coach Ian Shields has been named new head coach at JU.
At Lenoir-Rhyne he compiled a 17-6 record, won a conference championship, was named the South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year, and twice had his offense lead the nation in rushing.
This past season, the Bears finished 6-5 (5-5), had six players named All-Conference, and saw All-American offensive lineman Joe Ray named a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Trophy as the top lineman in Division II. Ray also won the Jacobs Trophy as the top lineman in the South Atlantic Conference.
In his first year, the Bears finished with an 11-1 record and were 7-0 in conference play. The Bears also won a fourth straight league title, earned the top seed in Super Region No. 2 for the second straight season and garnered a No. 8 final national ranking in the AFCA NCAA Division II Coaches Poll. During the season, the Bears were ranked as high as third in the country.
Shields joined Lenoir-Rhyne after spending five seasons as the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Army from 2009-13.
A 1994 graduate of Oregon State University and former quarterback for the Beavers, Shields began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Oregon State working with the Beavers' linebackers, tight ends, quarterbacks and running backs, while assisting with OSU's special teams during that three-season stay.