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Head Coach: An Orangeburg native and Bulldog alumnus, Buddy Pough is in his 18th season as THE SC State head coach. He became the Bulldogs' winningest football coach during the 2019 campaign, in which he compiled an 8-3 overall mark and a 6-2 MEAC record to tie for the league title. Pough's teams have won or tied for the MEAC championship seven times during his tenure, the longest of any current MEAC coach.

Bulldogs on offense: Bennett Swygert, was coached by Pough during his playing days as a running back at the University of South Carolina, joined the Bulldog staff in 2018 after seven years as an assistant at Newberry, where he began his collegiate coaching career as the running backs coach in 2011 before being elevated to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2013-2017). 

In his five years as offensive coordinator and QB coach, Newberry made three NCAA playoff appearances and set school records for points (436), total yards (5,462) and single-game total offense (729 yards) in 2016.

 Bulldogs on defenseJonathan Saxon joined the SC State football staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2014, and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2018.


Prior to SC State, Saxon spent two years as a graduate assistant, coaching the defensive line at the University of Louisville. In 2013, he helped coach AAC Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smith, who was a 2014 first-round draft pick for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Second-Team All-AAC honoree Lorenzo Mauldin.

The Bulldogs led the MEAC in pass defense, was second in overall pass defense and interceptions, and finished the 2020 season with the No. 2 ranking in total defense and first in scoring defense.

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