The Tigers went down South to find a new Defensive Coordinator after Spencer Leno– a Massillon alum and an assistant since the 2018 season– took the Head Coach position for the Perry Panthers. HC Nate Moore has brought on longtime Georgia high school football coach Jeff Kent to head the Black Swarm defense. Kent is Georgia born and raised and is an experienced coach who has worked with multiple excellent programs. He attended Briarwood Academy in Warren County, Georgia, where he played football for four years. Kent then headed to Morehead State (KY) and LaGrange to play college football. After receiving his degree from Georgia Southern University, Kent took his first coaching job. He spent a year at Bulloch Academy in Bulloch County, Georgia, as a WR/DB coach and an offensive coordinator for the Junior Varsity team. The team, which participated in the GISA, won the league’s regional championship. Kent then was hired by Memorial Day School in Savannah, where he served as Special Teams Coordinator, DL coach, and Assistant Defensive Coordinator. The Matadors went 10-3 while giving up only 13 points per game, won the regional championship on the GISA’s A level, and were state runners-up. Coach Kent then moved up to the college level, serving as Georgia Military College’s ILB coach while heading up the strength and conditioning program. The school won the Military Bowl at the NJCAA level with Kent on the staff. He then was hired by Chattanooga University as an offensive assistant, but moved on soon thereafter to Piedmont Academy in Monticello, Georgia, to take his first DC job. After one season with the Cougars (in which his team was regional runners-up) Kent moved to Augusta, Georgia, to work for Curtis Baptist School. He served there as Assistant HC, DC, Strength Coach, and HC of the baseball team. His football team, which participated in South Carolina’s SCISA playoffs, won the regional championship and were state runners-up while compiling a 10-3 record. Kent took a big step up in 2015 when he took a job in the public schools with Georgia AAA team Crisp County. He was once again DC while also holding the positions of Assistant Strength Coach and Linebackers Coach. The Cougars were 3-7 in the 2015 season, but under the leadership of Coach Kent and current Valdosta HC Shelton Felton, they had a banner year with a 13-1 season in 2016. Crisp County ran a 3-4 defense that Kent described to the Moultrie Observer as “agile, mobile, and hostile”. The defense produced players such as defensive end “Big Kat” Bryant, who starred at Auburn and UCF before a professional career in the NFL and USFL. After building Crisp County up, Kent made another huge jump, this time to the AAAAAAA level, the highest in Georgia. Colquitt County was the destination for Kent. The Packers were 11-4 in Kent’s first season with the school; he served as Linebackers Coach. Colquitt lost a close game in the state final to North Gwinnett that season. The next season Kent was promoted to DC. His squad gave up only 6.9 points per game in the regular season and 9 per game overall. The Packers went 14-1, losing a 1-point game in the state final to Milton. Kent then had a short 3-month stint with Valdosta before moving to Cairo HS for the 2019 season. The Syrupmakers went 8-3 that season. Kent spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons with Valdosta. The Wildcats were forced to forfeit all wins from the 2020 season after a recruiting scandal. In 2021 Valdosta began to rebuild under new leadership. Coach Kent then journeyed up north to Tennessee for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He served as DC and ILB Coach at Oakland HS in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Oakland went 14-1 in Kent’s first season at the school, winning the Tennessee D1 Championship 42-6 over Beech HS. The Patriots were 12-3 in the 2023 season, falling to Houston HS in the D1 state final. The 2023 squad gave up only 8.6 points per game in the regular season and 8.8 overall in 15 games. Last season Kent spent the year at Lee County HS in Leesburg, Georgia. The Trojans were 13-1; they fell to Milton in the AAAAA state championship game.
Coach Jeff Kent will have a talented defense to work with this season. From highly recruited players such as LB Ja’Dyn Williams (Indiana, West Virginia) and CB Demari Clemons (Michigan, Penn State), rising stars such as Tra’Yon Williams and Isaac Maxheimer, and new young talent such as Anthony Hoover and Braylon Gamble, Coach Kent will have a bevy of talent to coach this season. Massillon’s defense gave up just 12 points per game last season. Coach Kent will have a shot to lower that number with this year’s squad; the Tigers have the potential to play at the level of the 2023 championship team when they gave up only 7.2 points per game.
