There are few coaches in Division III with the experience that it takes to lead a program as steeped in tradition as the Emory & Henry College football team. Don Montgomery is one of those few coaches.

Montgomery, now in his eighth season at the help of the Wasps’ football program, is beginning his 36th year of coaching college football, nearly all of which have been on the D-III stage.

Last season, the Wasps unveiled a new offensive scheme that saw sophomore quarterback Kyle Boden put his name in the E&H and ODAC record books. The team finished with a 5-5 record, with four losses coming by a combined 12 points. Twelve Wasps were selected to the All-ODAC Teams including linebacker Devan Sproles, who was named the Lou Wacker ODAC Defensive Player of the Year. Sproles also earned all-state honors and was selected as All-South Region and Honorable Mention All-America by D3football.com.

Two years ago, E&H posted a 5-5 record and saw eight players named to All-ODAC teams. The Wasps were sixth in the nation in attendance with an average of 5,391 fans at each home game.

In 2009, Emory & Henry went 7-3 on the year, finishing fourth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Caleb Jennings received Honorable Mention All-America honors while winning the Lanier Award as the Richmond Touchdown Club’s College Division Offensive Player of the Year. Jennings was also named ODAC Offensive Player of the Year.

The Wasps were 6-4 in 2008, finishing in a four-way tie for first place in the conference, a tie which was broken by Randolph-Macon. E&H posted a 6-4 record in 2006 and saw Marshall Doss selected as the ODAC Defensive Player of the Year and a Honorable Mention All-America pick.

Montgomery and his staff dedicate themselves to inspiring leadership in the long tradition of Emory & Henry football: champions producing champions – on the gridiron, in the classroom, and in life.
Prior to coming to Emory & Henry, Montgomery served his alma mater for 28 years. During his time at Mount Union, Montgomery helped build the Purple Raiders’ football program into a national powerhouse, and Division III’s “Team of the 1990’s,” taking seven of 10 national championships 1993-02 and winning 104 straight regular season games.

He was an offensive line coach, a defensive line coach, an inside linebacker coach and, for his last 19 years, defensive coordinator. As defensive coordinator, his teams led the country in scoring defense and total defense numerous times.

In addition to his duties on the gridiron, Montgomery was the Purple Raiders’ head wrestling coach for 22 seasons (1978-2000). During that time, he coached 34 All-Americans, an individual NCAA Division III National Champion and won nine Ohio Athletic Conference championships, including a record six in a row.

For those achievements, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in March of 2010.

After graduating from Mount Union in 1977, Montgomery served as an assistant coach at Indiana State University while working on his master’s degree.

Among Montgomery’s coaching honors are the 1999 AFCA National Assistant Coach of the Year Award and the Cleveland Touchdown Club’s College Coach Service Award in 2004. Montgomery has also been listed as one of American Football Monthly’s “Hottest Coaches To Watch.”

As a player, Montgomery was an All-Ohio Athletic Conference at offensive guard as a senior. That same season, he was named team co-captain and Offensive Most Valuable Player. His junior year, he received the Jack Thorpe Memorial Football Award.

Montgomery’s wife Theresa, is a P.E. teacher at Meadowview Elementary School. The couple has three daughters and a son and resides in Glade Spring. Ann Marie is a 2002 graduate of Mount Union and is married to Scott Kish. The couple had their first child, Khloe, in May. Joe, a 2006 Mount Union graduate, is entering his sixth season as Head Wrestling Coach and Assistant Football Coach for Muskingum University in Ohio. Katelyn is a 2010 graduate of King College. Kara is a freshman at King, where she is a member of the women’s soccer team.

Rob Grande is entering his eighth season as an Assistant Football Coach at Emory & Henry College and his fourth as Associate Head Coach. Grande is also E&H’s Defensive Coordinator and coaches the defensive backs while coordinating recruiting for the Wasps.

Under Grande’s leadership the E&H defense has proven to be an important part of the team’s succes over the past seasons. Last season, Devan Sproles was chosen as ODAC Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-South Region and Honorable Mention All-America honors. In 2006, linebacker Marshall Doss, now a member of the E&H coaching staff, was selected as the ODAC Defensive Player of the Year and was an All-American as well.

Prior to coming to Emory, Grande served as an assistant coach for his alma mater, Salisbury University, eleven years. While with the Seagulls, Grande coached the linebackers and special teams as well as serving as recruiting coordinator.

Grande was also a high school head coach and math teacher in Maryland for one year.

Grande is a 1992 graduate of Salisbury State College in Maryland where he was a placekicker for the Seagulls. He and his wife, Penny, have three sons, Sean, Nick and Matt.

Josh Wellenhoffer is in his eighth season as an assistant football coach at Emory & Henry College. Wellenhoffer will continue to coach the offensive line coach for the Wasps after previously working with E&H’s defensive front. Wellenhoffer is also in charge of the team’s equipment needs and is the facility coordinator for Brooks Field House.

Wellenhoffer previously served as Facility Coordinator for the John Rutledge King Center and the Robert W. Gibson, III Fitness Center. He was in charge of coodinating maintenance overseeing the operations of both facilities.

Prior to returning to Emory, Wellenhoffer served as the defensive line coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., for the 2004 season.

As a player, Wellenhoffer was a three-year starter for the Wasps on the offensive line, starting at all five positions. He was a member of one ODAC Championship team and one NCAA Playoff team (2000).

Wellenhoffer received a bachelor’s degree from E&H in 2004. In 2006, he earned his master’s degree from Virginia Tech in health promotions.

Wellenhoffer is married to the former Sarah Caldwell (E&H ‘04), and the couple has a son, Spencer. The Wellenhoffers reside in Abingdon.

Shannon Johnson is entering his fourth season as an Assistant Football Coach at Emory & Henry College. Johnson is responsible for coaching the special teams and running backs for E&H.

Prior to Emory & Henry, Johnson was an assistant coach at Christopher Newport University, Hampden-Sydney College and Slippery Rock University. Johnson has also coached at the high school level at Buckingham County High School and his alma mater, Alleghany High School.

A four-year letterwinner at quarterback for the Wasps from 1999 to 2002, Johnson was a member of the most recent ODAC Championship and NCAA Playoff team in 2000. He amassed 6,603 yards of total offense and 44 touchdowns for his career and was twice named an All-ODAC performer.

Johnson still ranks fourth in most passing yards in a game (378 vs. Guilford, 2000) and is fifth in passing yards in a season (2,013 in 2000).

A 2003 graduate of Emory & Henry, Johnson and his wife Cassie have two children, Seraiye and Xavier.

General Franks is entering his fifth season as an Assistant Football Coach at Emory & Henry College. He will serve as defensive line coach for a second year, transitioning from the secondary after the 2010 season.

Last season, Franks saw two of his linemen in Daniel Preston and Keith Taylor named All-ODAC with Preston being selected to the first team. Preston is also a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, an award that recognizes the extra efforts made by college football players and student support staff off the field.

In 2010, Franks assisted Defensive Coordinator Rob Grande in coaching two All-ODAC safties in Rakeem Rutherford and Daniel Woods.

A native of Warrior, Ala., Franks was letterwinner for the Wasps at linebacker from 2004-07.

Franks is a 2008 graduate of Emory & Henry and received a Master of Arts in history from E&H in 2010.

Marshall Doss is entering his second season as an Assistant Football Coach at Emory & Henry College and will coach linebackers for the Wasps.

In his first year at Emory & Henry, Doss saw one of his linebackers in Devan Sproles named ODAC Defensive Player of the Year, a Lanier Award runner-up, First Team All-South Region and an Honorable Mention All-American.

Prior to returning to coach at Emory, Doss served as an assistant coach at Brevard College from 2008 to 2010. While with the Tornados, Doss coached linebacker Stanley Jones, who led the South Athletic Conference in tackles for the 2009 season. Jones was a First-Team All-SAC pick was selected to play in the 2010 All-American Bowl College All-Star game.

Doss got his start in college coaching at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., where he was responsible for the defensive line for the 2007 season.

As a linebacker for the Wasps, Doss was named All-America as a senior in 2006 after being selected as the ODAC and Richmond Touchdown Club College Division Defensive Player of the Year.

Doss received a bachelor’s degree in sports management in 2007. He and his wife, Tori, live in Abingdon.

Josh Nelson is entering his first year as an Assistant Football Coach at Emory & Henry College. This season, Nelson will coach the wide receivers and will coordinate the Wasps' strength and conditioning program. He returns to E&H after spending the previous three years West Virginia University. 

While at WVU, Nelson was a Graduate Assistant instructor and taught classes in the Athletic Coaching Education department. Also during his time at WVU, Nelson was a contracted strength and conditioning coach at several high schools in the Morgantown area and was appointed a student-representative on the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)-Virginia board.

As an undergraduate, Nelson was a four-year letterwinner on the baseball team and a student assistant for the football staff. 

Nelson is a 2009 E&H graduate where he received his undergraduate degree in Health & Physical Education and Masters Degree in Education. He is a current doctoral candidate in Kinesiology at WVU and is certified with the NSCA (CSCS) and with USA-Weightlifting (L1). Nelson resides in Glade Spring.

Mike Snow is entering his second season as an Assistant Football Coach at Emory & Henry College. Snow will move across the ball to work with the nose tackles this season after coaching the tight ends and offensive line last year. He is also heavily involved in the Wasps’ strength and conditioning program.

A 1978 E&H graduate, Snow played tight end for the Wasps under Fred Selfe. An All-ODAC tight end, Snow was named the team’s Most Valuable Offensive Player as a senior. He is still the leading receiver in school history among tight ends and ranks in the top 15 in receptions for all receivers.

Snow is retired from operating an international shipping business in Philadelphia, Pa., after 27 years. The company specialized in the worldwide transport of military and commercial explosives.

Snow has a son son, Gabe, who attends Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania.

Doug Blevins in entering his seven season overall and is in his second season of this stint as an Assistant Football Coach for Emory & Henry College. He will continue working with kickers and punters.

An expert on the art of kicking, Blevins is well-known through the country and has been featured multiple times on television including ESPN and NBC.

He served on the coaching staff of the Miami Dolphins for six seasons. Blevins also has coached many NFL kickers, including future Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri of the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.

Blevins received his bachelor’s degree from the East Tennessee State University in 1988. He resides in his native Abingdon and has son, Roman, and a daughter, Sarah.

David Farris in entering his fifth season as an Assistant Football Coach at Emory & Henry College. Farris will once again assist with the Wasps’ corps of linebackers.

Farris is a co-owner of Farris Funeral Home in Abingdon and serves as an adjunct professor of history at Virginia Highlands Community College.

A 1986 graduate of East Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in business, Farris also holds two master’s degrees from E&H.

Farris and his wife, Sonya, have two daughters, Lindsey and Emily, and two sons, Mark and Caleb. Lindsey recently graduated from ETSU while Emily is a senior at Virginia Tech. The family resides in Abingdon.

Don Inazu is entering his sixth season as an Assistant Coach at Emory & Henry College. He will continue to serve the program as a general assistant, handling general operations, organization and serving as an on-field equipment manager.

The 2007 winner of E&H’s Dave Thomas Twelfth Man Award and the 2009 winner of the Fred Selfe Blue Key Service Award, Inazu is a 1963 graduate of Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., and is retired from careers in education and medical administration.