Associate head football coach Sammy McCorkle will serve as Dartmouth’s acting head coach throughout spring practice, according to a press release from Dartmouth Sports on April 4.
The announcement came following a Zoom webinar that was held on April 4 at 12 p.m. for alumni, parents and Friends of Dartmouth Football regarding updates to the football program’s leadership for the time being and information about the condition of Buddy Teevens, who was injured in a bicycle crash on March 16 in St. Augustine, Florida.
According to Mike Harrity, the Haldeman Family Director of Athletics and Recreation, McCorkle, who has been coaching with Teevens since 2005, is the perfect man for the job.
“[McCorkle] has been an integral part of the staff since Buddy returned to Dartmouth 18 years ago,” Harrity said in the press release. “And he is absolutely the right person to guide the team as Buddy focuses on his recovery.”
Working with the defensive secondary as the special teams coach, McCorkle is “the only coach other than [Teevens] to work with the entire team,” Harrity noted.
The relationships McCorkle has built, Harrity said, will be paramount to the Big Green’s success during spring practice and into the fall.
“[McCorkle] is passionate about Dartmouth and the football program, and he will ensure the work is done to position the team to compete for another Ivy League title in the fall,” Harrity added.
According to the press release, McCorkle will lead spring practice, which begins April 4 and will last four weeks, with a break during the week of April 17.
McCorkle has been with the Big Green program ever since Buddy Teevens returned to the program after coaching stints at Tulane and Stanford. It was prior to the 2014 season that McCorkle was promoted to associate head coach. For him, Teevens is like family.
“Buddy, Kirsten [his wife] and their family know that they are in our thoughts every day,” McCorkle said in the press release. “My wife and I have known Buddy and ‘KT’ since our early 20s — we miss and love them dearly.”
While details of Teevens’ condition have not yet been released, Teevens was not wearing a helmet and failed to yield right of way when the pickup truck hit him, the Valley News reported.
As stated in the press release, McCorkle thanked Harrity and Deputy Athletics Director Richard Whitmore for their continued support before turning his attention to Teevens.
“As the associate head coach for the past nine years, Coach T has given me invaluable insight and opportunities that I will put to good use this spring,” McCorkle said. “This, along with a coaching and support staff that has worked closely together for a long time, gives us the ability to move forward and win the spring.”
