FootballScoop is proud to announce that Andrew Rode (Morningside) the 2021 FootballScoop NAIA Coordinator of the Year, presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
They've got a verified dynasty brewing in Iowa.
For the third time in four years, the Morningside Mustangs are NAIA champions, and for the third time in four years the prior winners of the FootballScoop NAIA Coordinator of the Year have chosen a Morningside coach as the best among them.
This time it's offensive coordinator Andrew Rode, who led the best offense in NAIA and, arguably, all of college football.
Only Morningside averaged 600 yards per game, with almost an extra first down to spare. The Mustangs raced for 8,517 yards (608.4 per game) on 904 plays (9.42 per play) and 103 touchdowns over 14 games.
Morningside led NAIA in passing offense and 10th in rushing offense. Starting quarterback Joe Dolincheck hit 324-of-480 throws (67.5 percent) for 4,783 yards (10.0 per attempt) with 44 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
On the ground, senior Anthony Sims led the charge with 1,653 yards on 7.2 a pop, but as a team the Mustangs averaged 221.9 yards per game on 5.7 per carry.
No team averaged more first downs than Morningside's 31.7 per game, converted more third downs than Morningside's 56 percent, or scored more points than Morningside's 55.6 per game.
The Mustangs topped the 60-point mark five times and the 700-yard mark on three occasions, and did so in the same game once: an 84-7 bludgeoning of Briar Cliff, in which they threw for 332 yards (on 29 attempts) and added 378 yards on the ground, for a total of 710 yards on 74 snaps.
Dolincheck, Sims, and senior offensive lineman Jason Hahlbeck were First Team All-Americans, and wide receiver Reid Jurgensmeier was a Second Team All-American selection. Dolincheck won Player of the Year awards from the NAIA and the Great Plains Athletic Conference and, in addition to the above mentioned, senior offensive lineman Tyler Anderson was a First-Team All-GPAC player, while senior wide receiver Zach Norton, senior tight end Sione Tuifua, and senior Hunter Behrens were Second-Team All-GPAC selections, and senior wide receiver Caleb Schweigart, senior wide receiver Austin Johnson, and junior offensive lineman Mason Willliams netted honorable mention.
Rode joined the Morningside staff in 2020 after five seasons as the offensive coordinator at Concordia (Michigan). He also owns previous coordinator experience at Greenville College.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by AstroTurf are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Gregg Horner [Valley City State], Phil Kleckler [Lindsey Wilson], Matt Myers [Kansas Wesleyan], AJ Parnell [Bethel] and Rode) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Previous winners of the NAIA Coordinator of the Year award are Joe Woodley (Grand View [Iowa], 2013), Ken Fasnacht (Southern Oregon, 2014), Scott Power (Marian [Ind.], 2015), Joey Didier and Eric Wagoner (Saint Francis [Ind.], 2016), Patrick Donley and Trevor Miller (Saint Francis [Ind.], 2017), Lucas Lueders (Morningside [Iowa], 2018), Casey Jacobsen and Nathan Turner (Morningside [Iowa], 2019), and Phil Kleckler (Lindsey Wilson [Ky.], 2020).
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