AthleticsUpdate Garner Tapped to Lead


NGU Football Program North Greenville University selected Nate Garner as the institution’s new Head Football Coach in January. The former NFL offensive lineman moves to NGU from Limestone University, where he was offensive line coach since 2022. Garner has coached at high school, college, and professional levels since 2018, following a seven-year career with the Miami Dolphins. He will fill the post held by long-time NGU Head Coach Jeff


NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr., said. “He has demonstrated commitment to using his gifts as an athlete, a teammate, and a coach, seeking to honor Christ with the talents he has been given.” “Guiding NGU’s football program is an absolute dream come true,” Garner said. “I’m honored to inspire our players to excel not only on the field, but also in the classroom and in our community, all while glorifying God in everything we do. Together, we’ll foster a culture of integrity and an unwavering pursuit of excellence to honor Him.”


Garner will lead NGU into the first season of Conference Carolinas competition, as the football team completes a move from the Gulf South Conference. The Trailblazers’ 2025 season begins at Delta State University on September 6, with their home opener against conference foe Barton College on September 13. Garner’s


coaching career started in a


North Greenville University welcomed Nate Garner as its new head football coach in January. Pictured left to right are: NGU Athletic Director Will Lowrey, Garner, and NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr.


Farrington, who stepped away from the program in early December after 12 years at the helm.


“We are excited to welcome Coach Garner to NGU and are looking forward to how he will continue a tradition of helping our student-athletes develop skills for excellence in competitive athletics and excellence as transformational leaders,”


volunteer capacity with the New Orleans Saints in 2018. He also worked with the Arkansas football program in 2018 before becoming offensive line coach at Asa College Miami, a junior


college in South Florida. He became offensive line coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL, in the spring of 2020 and spent two years with the nationally recognized program.


He moved to Limestone University in April 2022 and guided the offensive line to help the Saints average 5,292 yards of


total yardage over his three-year tenure. “I’m excited for Coach Garner and his next chapter,” said Limestone Head Coach Jerricho Cotchery. “NGU is getting an awesome man, husband, father, and leader. Nate is someone who is going to invest heavily in his student-athletes. I couldn’t be more thrilled to see my former NFL teammate and fellow staff member receive this opportunity. I am certainly looking forward to watching his team compete.”


Reared in Roland, Arkansas, Garner played for Coach Houston Nutt at the University of Arkansas. He was a three- year letterman as an offensive lineman for the Razorbacks. Arkansas won the SEC West division in his senior year, advancing to the Capital One Bowl. Garner graduated from Arkansas in 2007 with a bachelor of science degree in sociology. Drafted by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft, he joined the Miami Dolphins later that year. He played all five offensive line positions over the course of his seven-year professional career.


Garner will look to continue building on the foundation laid by his predecessor. Farrington compiled a 59-61 overall record at NGU, with a 32-23 home record. He led NGU to the National Christian College Athletic Association Victory Bowl championship in 2014 and the team reached the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2016. Over a three-year span from 2014- 2016, the team compiled a 23-13 mark, going 14-2 at home.


“Jeff Farrington is not only an


outstanding coach – he builds young men into transformational leaders,” said Fant. “He and Traci have been a dynamic duo in our community, encouraging so many folks and helping our student-athletes to be focused both on the field and off. He’s one of the finest men I know, and we are grateful for his leadership and commitment to excellence.”


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