Chuck Dunn is entering his second season working with USA’s outside linebackers and assisting with the strength and conditioning program. Other responsibiilties he has with the program include helping with academics as well as coordinating the school’s walk-on program.
In the program’s first season, a trio of players under Dunn’s direction were key contributors to a defensive unit that gave up only 41 total points and 234 yards per contest as the Jaguars went 7-0 in their first-ever year of competition. Clifton Crews tied for fourth on the team with 24 stops, but led the Jags with seven tackles for loss and 3½ sacks (he also scored three touchdowns on interception and fumble returns), while Logan Bennett and Josh Chestang combined to add eight stops behind the line of scrimmage while each posting a double-digit tackle total on the year. Actually, Chestang ended the season second on the squad with three sacks.
He came to South Alabama after spending the previous six seasons as head strength and conditioning coach and linebackers coach at Prattville High School in Prattville, Ala. While with the Lions, Dunn was responsible for the strength and conditioning of 15 varsity sports.
During his six seasons at Prattville with fellow Jaguar assistant coaches Bill Clark and Duwan Walker, the Lions recorded an 83-4 (95.4%) overall record highlighted by capturing back-to-back Alabama High School Athletic Association 6A state titles as well as a No. 2 national ranking in the 2007 USA Today top-25 poll. During those two seasons, the Lions had an unblemished 31-0 record.
Actually, PHS advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the state 6A playoffs in each of his years on the staff, which included making the 2004 title contest.
He began his coaching career at Troy, where he served as a student assistant for three years (1994-96) working with the offensive line coach. The Trojans compiled a 31-7 (81.6%) mark in that span, advancing to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs each of those seasons. Troy finished 8-4 his first year, then improved to 11-1 the next fall — that was the first undefeated regular season in the school’s history. In Dunn’s final season as a student assistant, the Trojans posted a 12-2 overall record, won the Southland Football League championship with a 5-1 mark and advanced to the semifinals of the I-AA playoffs with victories over Florida A&M and Murray State.
Upon his graduation from Troy, Dunn moved just down the road from the Trojan campus to Charles Henderson High School. While at CHHS (1997-99), Dunn served as an assistant coach responsible for the defensive backs.
After three seasons in the prep ranks, Dunn returned to the college profession when he served as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater beginning in 2000. Working with the Trojans under head coach Larry Blakeney, Dunn led the program’s strongside linebackers for two years — the 2001 campaign was the season in which Troy made the jump to the NCAA Division I-A level. His efforts helped the school go 17-6 (73.9%) during that stretch, as the program went 7-0 to claim the SFL title and qualified for the NCAA I-AA playoffs his first year back.
Upon the completion of his graduate assistantship, Dunn joined the Prattville staff and coach Clark in June 2002.
Dunn is a 1997 graduate of Troy, earning his bachelor’s degree in physical education and social work while minoring in sports recreation. He and his wife Wini has a two-year-old son, Gardner.
The Dunn File
Born: Dec. 26, 1971, in Montgomery, Ala.
Education:
Troy ’97, bachelor’s degree in physical education and social work (minor in sports recreation)
Coaching Experience:
Charles Henderson (Ala.) High — assistant coach, 1997-99
Troy — graduate assistant, 2000-01
Prattville (Ala.) High — assistant coach, 2002-07
South Alabama — assistant coach, 2008-
Family: Wife, Wini; One son, Gardner (2)
