Mark Hutson enters his first season as tight ends coach for the Silver and Black. Hutson, a 25-year veteran of the college game as both a player and coach, spent the past five seasons as an assistant at Tulane, serving as the interim head coach for the Green Wave in 2011.
Mark Hutson enters his first season as tight ends coach for the Silver and Black. Hutson, a 25-year veteran of the college game as both a player and coach, spent the past five seasons as an assistant at Tulane, serving as the interim head coach for the Green Wave in 2011.
Prior to being named interim head coach in October 2011, Hutson served as offensive line coach for five seasons at Tulane. In 2010, Hutson’s offensive line led the way for Orleans Darkwa, who rushed for a Tulane freshman record 925 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also helped the Wave’s ground game churn up 127.5 yards per game and score 17 touchdowns. Tulane’s aerial game averaged 245.8 yards per game, protected by Hutson’s group, and scored 19 touchdowns.
In 2009, Hutson’s offensive line paved the way for Andre Anderson, a Doak Walker candidate who rushed for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. Behind a Hutson-tutored offensive line, Anderson became the second Tulane running back to surpass 1,000 yards in a single season.
During his first season with the Green Wave, Hutson’s line spring-boarded Matt Forte, who rushed for a school-record 2,127 yards, the seventh-best rushing performance in NCAA history. In addition, three of Hutson’s players received all-conference honors, including honorable mention selections Troy Kropog and Michael Parenton, while Andrew Nierman was named Freshman All-America by The Sporting News.
Hutson came to Tulane from Eastern Illinois, where he spent four seasons and helped EIU to 26 overall victories, two conference titles and consecutive NCAA I-AA playoff appearances. In addition to his role as assistant head coach, he also served as the Panthers’ offensive line coach and offensive coordinator. During the 2006 season, he took over the head coaching duties and guided EIU to a co-Ohio Valley Conference championship and No. 15 national ranking in the final poll. He posted an 8-5 record, including a 7-1 mark in the OVC.
Prior to joining the Panthers, Hutson served as the offensive line coach and student-athlete academic liaison at Tulsa from 2000-02. Hutson entered the coaching profession as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma in 1990. He joined Houston Nutt’s staff at Murray State in 1993, serving as the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator.
Hutson followed Nutt to Boise State for one year as the special teams and tight ends coach, and then to Arkansas for two seasons. At Arkansas, he once again coached tight ends and special teams, winning the Southeastern Conference Special Teams Coach of the Year Award.
A two-time All-America lineman at Oklahoma (1986-87), he was a team captain and a member of the Sooners’ 1985 national-championship team, and made four consecutive Orange Bowl appearances (1985-88). He was named to the Oklahoma All-Century Team and named one of the top 100 players in OU history. A three-time All-Big Eight selection, he capped his career with an appearance in the 1988 Hula Bowl all-star game in Hawaii.
The Dallas Cowboys’ third-round selection in the 1988 NFL Draft, he returned to OU after his playing career and completed his bachelor’s degree in communication in 1990.The Fort Smith, Ark., native has been a part of seven bowl teams, three as a coach and four as a player.
He and his wife, Sherri, have two sons, Ethan, 20, and Dillion, 18.
