Travis Pearson is in his second season as the University of South Alabama’s defensive coordinator and secondary coach, and third overall with the program.
Last year the Jaguar defense ranked among the leaders in the Sun Belt Conference throughout the season before ending fourth in both total yards (398.9 pg) and points (26.4 pg) allowed per game, also finishing tied for second with 21 takeaways and second in red zone defense. Two members of his secondary earned all-league honors with Terrell Brigham named second-team all-SBC and Montell Garner an honorable mention selection, as six of USA’s 10 all-conference honorees came from Pearson’s unit.
Brigham became the first Jag defensive back to pace the team in tackles after recording a career-best 113, while Maleki Harris collected second-team all-Sun Belt recognition following a season that saw the senior post a career-high 95 stops — which included nine for loss — while leading the league and standing among the top 10 in the country in both fumbles forced and recovered. Theo Rich was credited with a school season-record eight sacks and 13 tackles behind the line to also be chosen second-team all-SBC, and Jerome McClain and Jesse Kelley earned second-team and honorable mention accolades after finishing with career-high totals in stops as well.
In 2013, he led USA’s inside linebackers while working with a defensive unit that ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference in pass, total and scoring defense. Under his direction, Enrique Williams led the squad with 105 total tackles, ranking fifth in the league and among the top 50 nationally with nearly nine per contest earning honorable mention all-Sun Belt recognition.
Pearson helped Bryson James contribute 34 stops — one shy of equalling his career high — and Desmond LaVelle to chip in with a career-best 27; the latter added two tackles for loss with a sack, as the Jag defense paced the SBC and was among the top 25 in the country in both stops behind the line and sacks.
Pearson was the defensive coordinator at Colquitt County (Ga.) High the two seasons prior to coming to USA, helping the Packers to back-to-back semifinal appearances in the state AAAAA playoffs; the program posted an overall record of 21-7 during that span. In the fall of 2012 CCHS recorded 51 takeaways en route to an 10-4 finish, while in Pearson’s first year on the staff the unit forced 38 turnovers, returning eight of those for scores.
He was the head coach and athletic director at Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery, Ala., during the 2009 and ’10 campaigns, and also has been a head coach at Elmore County (Ala.) High (2002-04) — where he was selected the Metro 4A Coach of the Year by the Montgomery Advertiser after guiding the Panthers to a 12-1 mark and the quarterfinals of the state playoffs his final year — and Central Hayneville (Ala.) High (1998-99). Pearson helped guide the latter to a berth in the state 4A playoffs his second season at the helm of the program.
He was an assistant at Elmore County H.S. for two years prior to becoming the Panthers’ head coach, and was the defensive coordinator for two seasons at Oxford (Ala.) High, where the Yellow Jackets made back-to-back state playoff appearances; after OHS qualified for postseason action at the 5A level in 2005, the school made the playoffs again the following fall in the 6A classification. Pearson was selected to serve as a defensive coordinator in the 2004 Alabama North/South All-Star Game, and worked at football camps conducted by the staff at Auburn for five years.
Pearson served as director of football operations at Iowa State during the 2007 and ’08 seasons as well.
A 1997 graduate of Alabama State with a degree in physical education, he was a three-year letterwinner for the Hornets. He would go on to play eight seasons in the Arena Football League for three teams, and was selected to the league’s 15th Anniversary Team in 2003.
Pearson and his wife Maria have three children: daughter Marissa (14), and sons Travis II (12) and Trevor (10).
The Pearson File
Born: July 25, 1971, in Butler, Ala.
Education:
Alabama State ’97, bachelor’s degree in physical education
Collegiate Playing Experience:
Three years, safety, Alabama State
Coaching Experience:
Central Hayneville (Ala.) High — head coach, 1998-99
Elmore County (Ala.) High — assistant coach, 2000-01; head coach 2002-04
Oxford (Ala.) High — assistant coach, 2005-06
Iowa State — director of football operations, 2007-08
Jefferson Davis (Ala.) High — head coach, 2009-10
Colquitt County (Ga.) High — assistant coach, 2011-12
South Alabama — assistant coach, 2013-
Family: Wife, Maria; One daughter, Marissa (14) and two sons, Travis II (12) and Trevor (10)
