BRAD SHERROD | HEAD COACH
A coaching veteran for over 30 years, Brad Sherrod starts his second season as the head football coach at Texas Wesleyan University.
Sherrod comes to Texas Wesleyan from UTSA, where he was the Roadrunner's inside linebackers coach for the last three years. Sherrod helped lead UTSA to a 12-2 record in his first year, the most wins, and the best winning percentage (.857) in program history. The Roadrunners won their first conference title with a 49-41 victory over WKU in the 2021 C-USA Championship Game, were nationally ranked (as high as No. 15) for the first time, and made their second straight and third overall bowl appearance when they met San Diego State in the Frisco Bowl.
Under Sherrod's tutelage, inside linebackers Trevor Harmanson and Jamal Ligon collected honorable mention all-conference accolades in 2021. That duo combined to register 120 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, three quarterback hurries and a pair of interceptions.
The Roadrunners emerged as one of the best in the FBS in creating turnovers, with 25 takeaways and ranking 10th in the nation. UTSA also finished the campaign ranked 14th in the country in rushing defense (114.7) and fourth nationally with 14 fumble recoveries. The defense recorded 88 tackles for loss in 2021, including a school-record 33 sacks, with first-team all-conference performer Clarence Hicks setting the pace with a program-record 10.5 sacks.
In his second season at UTSA, Sherrod and the defensive staff helped UTSA to an 11-3 record and a second straight conference title. The Roadrunners were ranked in the top 25 in all three major polls during the year and they capped the campaign in the Cure Bowl, their third consecutive bowl appearance. UTSA's defense ranked in the top three in C-USA in eight different statistical categories, including second with 6.6 tackles for loss per game and third in both total and scoring defense. UTSA set single-season school records for interceptions (15), passes defended (84), tackles (956) and solo stops (530).
Sherrod saw both of his starting inside linebackers recognized by the league. Ligon was a second-team all-conference selection after leading UTSA with 90 total tackles, including 43 solo stops, six tackles for loss, and a sack, to go with four quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, one recovery, and a pass breakup. Trevor Harmanson ranked third on the team with 68 tackles, six TFLs, two hurries, a pair of PBUs, and a forced fumble en route to honorable mention all-conference accolades.
Before his tenure at UTSA Tennessee State, Sherrod came from Tennessee State, where he was the Tigers' safeties coach in 2020, a season postponed to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sherrod spent three seasons as the outside linebackers coach at Wake Forest. There, he tutored Justin Strnad, a 2020 fifth-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos who led all Atlantic Coast Conference linebackers and finished third nationally with three interceptions in 2017.
In his first season with the program, he helped lead the Demon Deacons to a Belk Bowl victory over Texas A&M to cap an 8-5 season. The defense broke the school record for tackles for loss in a season and also recorded 17 tackles for loss against Florida State, the most by a Power 5 Conference team in a single game during the 2017 season.
Sherrod also helped guide Wake Forest to seven wins and a Birmingham Bowl victory over Memphis in 2018. The Demon Deacons posted an 8-4 regular season record and appeared in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl the following year.
Before Wake Forest, Sherrod spent three years at Sam Houston State, where he was on the same staff as Rod Wright. He was co-defensive coordinator for his first two seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2016. The Bearkats went 34-10, earned three FCS playoff berths, won a Southland Conference title, defeated nine top-25 opponents and posted a pair of top-four national finishes during his three-year tenure in Huntsville.
While at Sam Houston, he coached a pair of All-Americans and eight all-conference performers. He mentored P.J. Hall, a current NFL defensive lineman who was a Buck Buchanan finalist, first-team All-American and Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2016. He also tutored Justin Johnson to first-team All-America and all-conference accolades.
In 2016, he helped Sam Houston post a 12-1 record and achieve a No. 1 ranking in the FCS final regular season poll. The Bearkats lost to eventual national champion James Madison in the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs.
Sherrod served as the defensive coordinator at Elon in 2013 after a three-year stint as the linebackers coach at Delaware, where he coached current NFL veteran Paul Worrall, a first-team all-conference performer, the conference's defensive rookie of the year, Jeff Williams, and all-conference linebacker Matt Marcorelle. In his first year with the Blue Hens in 2010, the program went 12-3 and advanced to the FCS title game. That year, the Delaware defense led the FCS in scoring defense (12.1 points per game) and was fifth in total defense (280.7 yards per game).
Sherrod spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons at Western Carolina, coaching running backs and linebackers.
He spent 11 seasons on the staff at his alma mater, Duke, where he tutored the linebackers for nine years from 1997 to 2005, tight ends in 2006, and running backs in his final two campaigns. He tutored several standout players, including Chike Egbuniwe, all-conference linebacker Ryan Fowler, and Ryan Stallmeyer, who all finished their careers in Duke's career top 10 for tackles. He also mentored Mike Brown Tauiliili, who earned freshman All-America honors in 2005 and garnered All-America and first-team all-conference honors after leading the league in tackles as a senior.
Sherrod's coaching career began in 1995 at UMass, where he served as a graduate assistant for the defensive tackles before heading to East Tennessee State as linebackers coach in 1996. He helped lead ETSU to a No. 8 national ranking, a 10-3 record and the second round of the FCS playoffs.
While playing at Duke, Sherrod was a team captain who earned second-team All-ACC and Academic All-ACC honors as a senior in 1993. He led the Blue Devils and ranked fifth in the ACC with 113 tackles. He had 279 career stops from 1990 to 93.
As a prepster, Sherrod was a two-time all-state and honorable mention All-America selection at Monroe (N.C.) High School.
Sherrod earned his bachelor's degree in history from Duke in 1993.
He and his wife, Monique, have a son, Elijah, and a daughter, Angelena.
2024 Highlights
In his debut season, Sherrod guided the Rams to a historic 10–1 overall record, an unblemished 8–0 mark in Sooner Athletic Conference play, and their first-ever SAC championship. The offense flourished under his leadership, pacing the NAIA in scoring and posting dominant average margins exceeding 40 points per game.
The Rams advanced into the second round of the NAIA playoffs before falling to No. 9 Benedictine College in a close 42–33 contest, closing out their standout season. Sherrod’s success in a short timeframe reflects his meticulous attention to fundamentals, strong staff hires, and emphasis on discipline and cohesion across offense, defense, and special teams
Coaching Experience
1995: UMass (graduate assistant/defensive tackles)
1996: East Tennessee State (linebackers)
1997-2005: Duke (linebackers)
2006: Duke (tight ends)
2007: Duke (running backs)
2008-09: Western Carolina (running backs, linebackers)
2010-12: Delaware (assistant head coach/linebackers)
2013: Elon (defensive coordinator)
2014-15: Sam Houston State (co-defensive coordinator/linebackers)
2016: Sam Houston State (defensive coordinator/linebackers)
2017-19: Wake Forest (outside linebackers)
2020: Tennessee State (safeties)
2021-2023: UTSA (linebackers)
2024- present: Texas Wesleyan University (Head Coach)
Playing Experience
1990-93: Duke (linebacker)
Education
Bachelor's degree in history, Duke, 1993
Master's Degree
Sport Management, Western Carolina University, 2022
Hometown
Monroe, N.C.
