LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky head football coach Hal Mumme has announced the hiring of four new coaches, including a full-time assistant, two graduate assistants, and a strength coach, along with new or additional duties for two assistant coaches.
Mumme has hired Scott Highsmith as wide receivers coach, Daniel “Sonny” Dykes and Rob Manchester as graduate assistants, and Marc Hill as the strength coach. Mike Fanoga moves into administrative duties as Director of Player Development and assistant coach Claude Bassett will be the Director of Football Operations in addition to his role as recruiting coordinator.
Highsmith has an extensive background in Texas high school coaching, having spent the past 20 years as an assistant coach at five schools. Highsmith’s teams won six district championships and made several trips to the state playoffs.
Highsmith has helped send numerous players into the collegiate ranks. While at Terrell (Tex.) HS, Highsmith coached defensive back Darius Johnson, who went to be an All-Big Eight performer at Oklahoma and currently plays for the Denver Broncos. Mike Kazmeirski, currently a defensive tackle at Texas A&M, played for Highsmith at Bryan (Tex.) HS.
Born in Borger, Tex., Highsmith played football and basketball and ran track at Farmersville (Tex.) HS. He attended the University of Texas at Arlington and was a three-year letterman, playing running back and wide receiver. Highsmith and Hal Mumme first met as roommates during the 1972-73 school year at UTA.
Highsmith transferred to Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Tex., where he finished his bachelor’s degree while working as a student coach. Highsmith coached in junior high school for two years before entering the high school ranks. He coached at R. L. Turner HS in Carrollton, Tex., in 1979-80, Denton (Tex.) HS in 1981, Kilgore (Tex.) HS in 1982-85, Terrell (Tex.) HS in 1986-91, and Bryan (Tex.) HS in 1992-98.
“I’ve known Scott for a long time and have always wanted to have him on the staff,” Mumme said. “Scott brings a lot to the table. He’s coached at some very high profile high school programs and will also help in recruiting Texas. He’s a great teacher, very similar in style to Mike Leach, and when Mike left, the first guy I thought of was Scott.”
“The opportunity to work with Coach Mumme was too good to pass up,” said Highsmith, regarding his decision to leave his Texan roots. “Hal and I always have wanted to coach together but the timing was never right. I had worked (the Kentucky) football camp last summer and fell in love with Lexington. When Hal called me about a job, I was ready to come here.”
Highsmith and his wife, Kathy, have a 16-year-old daughter, Kathryn.
The UK graduate coaches are familiar names to Wildcats fans. Sonny Dykes was a graduate assistant at UK during the 1997 season and Rob Manchester was a four-year letterman for the Wildcats from 1992-95.
Dykes will coach the Wildcats’ special teams and tight ends while continuing work on his master’s degree in kinesiology and health promotions.
Dykes returns to Kentucky from Northeast Louisiana, where he was a full-time assistant and coached the wide receivers in 1998. Under Dykes’ guidance, senior Marty Booker broke all of the school single-season and career receiving records. Booker was named first-team All-Independent and played in the Blue-Gray and East-West Shrine all-star games.
At UK in 1997, Dykes worked with the tight ends, kickers, and punters. He was an assistant coach at Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Tex., in 1995-96. He was a high school football and baseball coach in 1993-94. Dykes, son of Texas Tech head football coach Spike Dykes, is a 1993 graduate of Tech.
“I’ve always been big on staff chemistry, and having known Sonny from his previous time here, we were glad to get him back,” Mumme said. “As special teams coordinator, he’ll handle breakdown of film and be in charge on the sidelines. We’ll continue to coach the special teams the same way, with our offensive coaches handling the offensive special teams and the defensive coaches working with the defensive special teams.”
Manchester returns to Kentucky after two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Tulane University. The Green Wave posted a spotless 12-0 record in 1998, including a Conference USA championship and a win over Brigham Young in the Liberty Bowl. The Green Wave went 7-4 in 1997.
Manchester helped coached the Tulane secondary, which led the nation with 26 pass interceptions in 1997. Cornerback Michael Jordan was a first-team All-CUSA pick in 1997 and 1998. Two Green Wave safeties, Meldon Barnes in 1998 and Corey Jones in 1997, were named to the Freshman All-CUSA team.
Manchester, a native of Paducah, Ky., was a four-year letterman for the Wildcats as a defensive back and special teams stalwart. He worked as an administrative intern for the Wildcats coaching staff in 1996 before entering the coaching ranks. He will continue his studies on his master’s degree in sports administration.
“Rob did a great job at Tulane and he’s a fine addition to the staff,” Mumme said. “He’ll work with (defensive coordinator) Coach (Mike) Major on defense, specifically with the defensive line.”
Marc Hill, UK’s new strength and conditioning coach for football, comes to UK from the University of Arizona. Hill worked at Arizona from 1995-99 as the strength coach for the men’s basketball and baseball teams and assistant strength coach for the football team. He was a graduate assistant strength coach in the 1994-95 school year.
During Hill’s five years, Arizona went to three bowl games. The Wildcats were 12-1 in the 1998 season and finished with a No. 4 national ranking after a win in the Holiday Bowl. Arizona also reached the Insight.com Bowl in 1997 and the Freedom Bowl in 1994. As strength coach for the men’s basketball team, Hill worked with the 1997 national championship team that defeated Kentucky in overtime in the title game.
Hill is a native of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and was an all-state honoree as a football linebacker and baseball outfielder at Mt. Pleasant HS. He stayed in Mt. Pleasant when Hal Mumme recruited him to play linebacker at Iowa Wesleyan College. Hill was a four-year starter at IWC from 1990-93, team captain as a senior, and went to the NAIA national playoffs in 1991. After graduating, he began his coaching career at Arizona.
“Hiring Marc is a good tie-in for us because he knows how we like to do things,” Mumme said. “At Arizona, he worked with Dan Wirth, who was our strength coach at Iowa Wesleyan. Arizona has been one of the strongest teams in the country. Marc is a great addition to our program.”
Mike Fanoga has been an assistant coach with the Wildcats the past two seasons, working with the defensive ends in 1997 and the tight ends in 1998. He moves into an administrative role in the newly-created position of Director of Player Development.
“Mike will be in charge of off-the-field events for our players,” Mumme said. “There are so many good things on our campus and in Lexington and the focus of Mike’s job will be to help our players get more involved with the opportunities available to them.
“Mike did something similar at Iowa Wesleyan when we had recruited some Samoan players on the team. He helped them get more integrated into campus life and was so successful it spread to the rest of the team.”
Claude Bassett, UK assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, will take on additional responsibility as the Director of Football Operations. Bassett, along with Fanoga, will handle many of the administrative duties formerly performed by Jack Fligg, who retired following the 1998 season.
