Less than two months away from trying to repeat as conference champions, UT-Martin has its football staff back at full-strength.
Veteran coach Jerry Partridge, who won nearly 150 games as an NCAA Division II head coach, has joined the staff of veteran Skyhawks' head man Jason Simpson.
Partridge will coach both safeties and serve as assistant head coach, FootballScoop has learned. He already has started with the UTM program.
In addition to a record-setting run atop the MIssouri Western State program, Partridge also has experience in the ever-tough Big Sky Conference, where Partridge was a top assistant at Northern Arizona.
His previous stops include stints at Murray State and Austin Peay, among other Football Championship Subdivision programs, and Partridge also was a graduate assistant on Lou Holtz's Notre Dame staff in 1988 -- the Fighting Irish's last national championship team.
Partridge initiated his career at the University of Missouri.
Under Simpson, UTM is seeking to build upon the most successful two-year stretch in school history. The Skyhawks open their 2023 season at two-time defending national champion Georgia before a trio of non-conference games leads them into Big South-Ohio Valley Conference play starting with Eddie George's Tennessee State team Sept. 30.