Jeremy Atwell enters his second season with Northeastern State Football program as Special Teams Coordinator and Safties coach, while the 2025 campaign marks his first as Assistant Head Coach.
In his first season at NSU, Atwell coached kicker Troy Nguyen to the most successful season in Tahlequah at the position in over a decade. Nguyen would score 57 points, the most for a kicker since 2011, while knocking down seven field goals with a season long of 49 yards. Atwell coached the punting unit to their highest average yardage total (41.3) of Northeastern State's NCAA era. Atwell additionally helped in coaching a defense that allowed 6.36 fewer points per game and 70 fewer points overall, as well as achieving their first shutout victory since 2011 with a 48-0 triumph over Lincoln (Ca.) on Oct. 26. He helped develop a pass defense that surrendered 741 yards and 24 fewer first downs through the air.
Atwell came to Tahlequah in the winter of 2024 after spending the 2023 season as Northwestern State’s linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Albany State where he built a defense that led the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in pass efficiency defense and was second in the league in scoring defense in conference games, allowing just 7.4 points per game, and in third-down defense, al- lowing a 31.1-percent conversion rate. Under Atwell, the Rams were a top-10 unit nationally in scoring defense (14.9 points per game) and produced four All-SI- AC selections.
Before his one season at Albany State, Atwell was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico Highlands for two seasons.
Atwell’s 2021 defense ranked third nationally in Division II in interceptions, leading the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. It also led the RMAC in total turnovers forced, ranking 11th nationally in that category as the Cowboys posted their most wins (6) since 2012. That defense, which ranked fourth in the RMAC in third-down defense, produced three All-RMAC selections.
Atwell’s two seasons at New Mexico Highlands came after six years coaching at Louisiana high schools.
During the 2019 season, Atwell was the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Terrebonne High School, coordinating an offense that averaged 33.5 points per game and committed just five turnovers.
Atwell’s Thibodaux team featured four FBS prospects — three of whom signed with Power Five programs.
Atwell spent five seasons as the head coach at Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma, taking the Terriers to the state playoffs each season.
Before his high school excursion, Atwell spent nine seasons on staff at Nicholls as the Colonels’ assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. While with Nicholls, Atwell produced a remarkable turnaround on defense — lifting the Colonels upward in five major statistical categories in two seasons.
Under Atwell’s tutelage, the Colonels were the least-penalized defense in the Southland and ranked in the top four in third-down conversion percentage, pass defense, and total defense while creating 22 total turnovers.
Atwell’s time at Nicholls produced 21 All-Southland honorees, three All-Americans, and a pair of NFL Draft picks — Lardarius Webb (Baltimore) and Kareem Moore (Washington).
From 2002-05, Atwell was the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Thibodaux High School, helping the Tigers break a 10-year playoff drought in 2003. In his four seasons on staff, Atwell helped Thibodaux post a 22-21 record while coaching 26 all-district and three all-state selections.
Atwell’s college coaching career also included a season as the defensive ends coach at Nicholls (2001) and a year as an assistant defensive backs coach at Southeast Missouri State where Atwell was a two-year letterman who earned first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors as an inside linebacker.
A team captain, Atwell led the Redhawks in tackles, tackles for loss, fumble recoveries, and forced fumbles. He was the runner-up for the OVC Defensive Player of the Year honor after leading the conference in tackles for loss.
A 2000 graduate of Southeast Missouri State, Atwell earned his master’s degree in human performance and sport from New Mexico Highlands.
Atwell and his wife, Cindy, have two sons, Christian and Cameron, and a daughter, Callie.
