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Issue date: 10/29/07 Section: Sports

TSU head football Coach Webster watches a play.( Kenneth Cummings)

From the first glance, Head football Coach James Webster can come off as an intimidating coach, but in reality he's the complete opposite.

By the inspiration of his father and childhood hero Muhammad Ali, Coach Webster began playing the game of football at the early age of five years old.

"I became interested in the game of football because of the contact that it involved," says Head Coach James Webster.
While growing up in Winston-Salem, N.C., Webster attended college at the University of North Carolina, where he began his college football career in 1968. Kali Webster, Webster's only son, also attended UNC and graduated in 2003, after transferring from Duke.

Webster started at the position of linebacker for three consecutive seasons for the UNC Tar Heels. He was a standout defensive player and was named Most Valuable Defensive Player in the 1971 Gator Bowl. He also received the ACC's Brian Piccolo Award and the Frank Porter Graham Award as one of the top 12 seniors at UNC. Webster graduated from UNC in 1972, with a bachelor's degree in Social Studies.

"He's a no-nonsense old school coach with a modern twist," said Athletics Director Teresa Phillips. "He has bettered this football team by being discipline and improving their academics."

Webster, a graduate of UNC, began his coaching career in 1973 at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina. He worked with the junior varsity program under former Head Coach Bill Dooley. Webster also coached linebackers at Dartmouth (1993-95), defensive ends at Wake Forest (1988-93), and defensive backs at Northwestern (1982-84). Webster also served on the coaching staffs at Florida (1974-75), Kansas (1975-78), and Colorado (1978-81).

"My most memorable moment when I first started coaching was when I was the assistant coach for Kansas and we defeated Oklahoma at Oklahoma in 1975," says Webster.

Before Webster returned to serve as the assistant head coach and special team's coordinator at his alma mater, he spent six seasons on the coaching staff at East Carolina. He served as the outside linebacker coach from 1995 to 1998, and was also in charge of the defensive line from 1999 to 2000. Webster was promoted to assistant head coach of the Pirates in 1998.

Webster has also worked with professional football teams. He won a minority coaching fellowship with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1995 and with the St. Louis Rams in 1999.

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