Feature Story: Etheridge Assumes Command
Harold Etheridge, a veteran coach with more than two decades of experience, is in his fourth season at Georgia State after joining Trent Miles’ coaching staff in 2013 as the offensive line coach and assistant head coach.
Etheridge previously worked with Miles for three seasons at Indiana State (2010-12), helping the Sycamores post three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the 1960s.
Etheridge's offensive line blocked for record-setting quarterback Nick Arbuckle the last two seasons, helping him lead the Sun Belt Conference in passing and rank in the top 15 nationally both years.
In his first season at Georgia State, Etheridge helped develop offensive tackle Ulrick John into a National Football League prospect. John was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. In 2014, center Tim Wynn earned all-conference honors.
At Indiana State, Etheridge served as Miles’ offensive coordinator the last two years at Indiana State and his offensive line coach for three seasons.
In two years as the Sycamores’ offensive coordinator, Etheridge produced one of the nation’s top rushers in running back Shakir Bell. A first-team All-American as a sophomore in 2011, Bell led the nation in rushing with 151.8 yards per game and tied for second in voting for the Walter Payton Award as the top player in the FCS. In 2012, Bell ranked sixth nationally in rushing (134.1 ypg) while earning second-team All-America honors.
Between the 2010 and 2012 seasons, Indiana State had 17 offensive players earn all-conference recognition, including five offensive linemen.
Etheridge joined Miles’ ISU staff in 2010 and made an immediate impact in the program’s remarkable turnaround. The offensive line blocked for a unit that ranked 14th in the nation in scoring with 31.2 points per game for a school-record 351 points and 17th in total offense at 411.8 yards per game, helping the Sycamores post a 6-5 record for their first winning season since 1996.
Before going to ISU, Etheridge spent the previous two years coaching the offensive line at Washington State (2008-09) and one year in the same role at Northern Illinois (2007).
During a three-year stint as the offensive line coach at North Texas (2004-06), Etheridge produced an offensive line that blocked for the nation’s leading rusher in 2004 in Jamario Thomas, who ran for 180.1 yards per game. The Mean Green won the Sun Belt Conference title and earned a berth in the New Orleans Bowl.
Etheridge began his coaching career in the high school ranks, first at Gallup (N.M.) High School (1983-86) and then Ballard (Ky.) High School (1987-88).
From there, he moved to a collegiate position at Kentucky, serving as a graduate assistant working with offensive tackles in 1989-90. He worked under GSU’s first head coach Bill Curry in his second season at UK.
Etheridge then spent the next nine seasons as the offensive line coach at Illinois State, helping the Redbirds earn a spot in the NCAA FCS playoffs in 1998 before winning the Gateway Conference title and reaching the FCS semifinal game in 1999.
In 2000, he moved with head coach Todd Berry to Army and coached the Black Knights’ offensive line for four seasons.
A native of Gallup, N.M., Etheridge was a four-year starting offensive guard for Western New Mexico (1979-82). He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from the school in 1982.
Etheridge, who in 2001 published a book entitled “Coaching the Front Liners,” and his wife, Jeanne, are the parents of twins, Clayton and Eliza.
