WACO, Texas – University of South Alabama assistant football coach Pete Bennett has been selected to take part in the American Football Coaches Association's 2020 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, it was announced by the organization on Monday.

The program aims to identify and develop premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession.  Selected participants are invited to attend the one-day institute that features a curriculum of interactive lectures focused on topics specifically tailored to emphasize leadership in the coaching profession, ethics, influential responsibilities, career progression, and family balance.  In order to be eligible, applicants have to be born on or after Jan. 1, 1985, and must be currently serving as a high school head coach, two-year college full-time assistant or head coach, or NAIA/NCAA (all divisions) full-time assistant or head coach.

The AFCA 2020 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute will take place on Sunday, Jan. 12 at the AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tenn.

Bennett just completed his second season on the Jaguar staff as the program's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.  Under his direction this fall, Kawaan Baker caught 35 passes for 574 yards — a total that ranks 10th on South's season record list — and three scores to be named honorable mention all-Sun Belt Conference for the second year in a row, while Jalen Tolbert recorded 27 receptions for 521 yards and six scores in his first season as a starter.  Not only did Tolbert finish the campaign with the third-highest average per catch in school history after posting 19.30 yards per reception, he set a program record with four touchdowns in the finale as the Jags defeated Arkansas State.

In his first season at USA, Bennett helped Jamarius Way earn second-team all-league honors after catching a school-record 61 balls for 855 yards and eight touchdowns.  Way would go on to participate in National Football League offseason activities with both the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos.

Bennett played both quarterback and wide receiver at North Carolina Wesleyan before going on to earn a degree in sociology from Florida Southern in 2008, and he added a master's degree in sports management in 2011 from Southern Mississippi.  He began his career serving as a student assistant at Webber International during the 2007 season, and has since worked with current South head coach Steve Campbell on his staffs at Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. (2008-13) and Central Arkansas (2014-17).

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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