Rockey Felker (born February 1, 1953) is a former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, head football coach, and retired as director of player personnel for

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

, in

Starkville, Mississippi Starkville is a city in, and the county seat of, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi State University is a land-grant institution and is located partially in Starkville but primarily in an adjacent unincorporated area desig ...

after the 2017 season. After serving three different stints and working for four different head coaches at Mississippi State, Felker is considered one of the school's native sons.

Playing career

Felker played

at Mississippi State from 1972 to 1974 under coaches

Charley Shira Charles N. Shira (September 23, 1926 – January 2, 1976) was an American college football coach and athletic director. He served as head coach of Mississippi State University from 1967 to 1972 and compiled a combined record of 16–45–2. Shira r ...

and

Bob Tyler Bob Tyler (born July 4, 1932) is a former American football coach. He coached in the high school and collegiate ranks. A native of Water Valley, Mississippi, Tyler was a star athlete at Water Valley High School before entering military service. ...

after a five-sport career at Haywood High School,

Brownsville, Tennessee Brownsville is a city in and the county seat of Haywood County, Tennessee, Haywood County, Tennessee, United States, located in the western Its population as of the 2010 census was 10,292, with a decrease to 9,788 at the 2020 census. The city is n ...

. Helping lead Mississippi State to a 9–3 season and a win over

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the 1974

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

, Felker continues rank in the program's top ten in multiple passing categories including: passing yardage (#9), pass completions (#10, 207), yards per attempt (#8, 6.98), passing efficiency (#7, 112.65), and touchdown passes (#7, 23). He is also ranked nine in total offense with 3,776 yards and seventh in total touchdowns accounted for with 35 (12 rushing and 23 passing). Felker was named the SEC Player of the Year in 1974 by The Nashville Banner.

Coaching career

After serving as an assistant coach for three years at his alma mater, Felker served in several assistant coach capacities in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, including

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

, and the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. After almost 10 years away from Starkville, Felker was called home to lead his alma mater, which was coming off four straight losing seasons. At 33, Felker was the youngest coach in the country. Felker started the 1986 season with a bang. By late October, the Bulldogs were 6–1, and needed only one more win to secure a bowl appearance. However, they suffered four consecutive blowout losses to

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

and Ole Miss, during which they scored a total of nine points. This left the Bulldogs at 6–5. Still, Felker was the first Mississippi State coach in 30 years to start his career with a winning record. However, the rough end to 1986 proved to be a harbinger for the remainder of Felker's tenure. He suffered four losing seasons (4–7, 1–10, 5–6, 5–6) between 1987 and 1990, and only won a total of five games in

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

play. The 1988 season is the second-worst on-field record in modern Bulldogs history. He was fired at the end of the 1990 season and replaced by

Jackie Sherrill Jackie Wayne Sherrill (born November 28, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Washington State University (1976), the University of Pittsburgh (1977–1981), Texas A&M University (1982–1988), a ...

. Since leaving his position as head coach, Felker has enjoyed a successful tenure as an assistant coach. After coaching at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

, and the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, Felker returned home at the request of Sherrill and remained a staple of the Mississippi State staff under

Sylvester Croom Sylvester Croom Jr. (born September 25, 1954) is a retired American football coach. He was the head coach at Mississippi State University from 2004 to 2008, and the first African American head football coach in the Southeastern Conference. His ...

and

Dan Mullen Dan Mullen (born April 27, 1972) is a former college football player and coach, and current television analyst with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and ESPN. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from ...

. In 2017, Felker retired.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felker, Rockey 1953 births Living people American football quarterbacks Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Memphis Tigers football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches People from Jackson, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee