Northeastern State University Athletics

Noah Sutherland enters his third season on the Northeastern State football staff as its Offensive Line Coach, while he enters his second season as Run Game Coordinator and his first as Associate Head Coach.

The 2025 season marked Sutherland's first in his role as Run Game Coordinator. The campaign would become one of the program's most successful on the ground, as the RiverHawks averaged 5.3 yards per carry, their highest total since 2001, in addition to collecting 156.3 rushing yards per game, the highest since 2013. The team's 33 rushing touchdowns were its most in a season since 1999 and surpassed its combined total of 31 rushing scores over the previous 40 games, dating back to Oct. 2021.

Ramon McKinney Jr. became the program's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2012, leading the team as a true sophomore with 1,093 rushing yards on 164 carries (6.7 yards per carry) and 15 rushing touchdowns. McKinney's rushing yardage total was NSU's highest in a single season since 1999, while his yards-per-carry average and rushing touchdown total were the most since 2001 and 1999, respectively, and each finished third in program single-season history.

Up front, true freshman center Justus Gilliam made history as the first true freshman to start 12 games on the offensive line in recorded program history. Cayson Badley and Jayden Flores joined Gilliam with starts in all 12 games, making the trio the first NSU offensive linemen since 1999 to appear in at least 12 games during a season. The offensive line also demonstrated significant growth by allowing just 15 sacks, half of the previous season's total despite playing one additional game.

One of the season's highlights occurred on Sept. 20, when the RiverHawks rushed for eight touchdowns against Westgate Christian, tying the program's single-game record. The team's 366 rushing yards narrowly missed the program's top 10 single-game totals, while five different players recorded at least 54 rushing yards and a touchdown in the dominant 70-12 victory.

In Sutherland's first season in 2024, the rushing attack saw significant improvement, with the offensive front paving the way for the gain of 558 additional yards from the previous season, improving by 0.7 yards per attempt. The team added 40.8 more rushing yards per game, and scoring 11 more touchdowns than the previous season. The offensive line also helped NSU to their highest single-game rushing touchdown total since 2001 when the RiverHawks landed six scores on the ground against Lincoln (Ca.) on Oct. 26. 

Coach Sutherland came to Tahlequah in Jan. 2024 from Cal Lutheran where he had two stints with the Kingsmen.  He coached two offensive linemen to Second Team All-Conference selections and the offense was second in the conference for rushing touchdowns. As the tight end coach, Sutherland helped a Kingsmen tight end lead the conference in touchdowns at the position. 

In between his time at Cal Lutheran, Sutherland spent time at Northern Arizona University where he was the Offensive Assistant and coached the offensive line. He coached three All-Big Sky selections. In 2019, the offense was first in the Football Championship Series (FCS), fifth in total offense, 10th in scoring offense, and 23rd in sacks allowed. 

Before Sutherland got into coaching, he played football at UCLA from 2003-07. He started 23 games at offensive tackle and guard and also saw playing time at defensive tackle and tight end.

He was a member of the Leadership Council during his junior and senior seasons. 

Sutherland continued his athletic career with the Oakland Raiders and went to the Rookie Camp Tryout as an offensive tackle in 2008. 

In 2007, he graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in History. In 2020, he added a Master's of Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona.