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Erik Kimrey

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Erik Kimrey
Kimrey in 2021
Current position
TitleHead Coach
TeamBaylor School
Biographical details
Born (1979-08-01) August 1, 1979 (age 45)
Columbia, South Carolina
Alma materUniversity of South Carolina
Playing career
1998–2002South Carolina
Position(s)Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2003South Carolina (GA)
2004–2020Hammond School
2021South Carolina (TE)
2022–presentBaylor School

Erik Kimrey (born August 1, 1979) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Prior to his appointment at Baylor, Kimrey served as the tight ends coach at the University of South Carolina, where he was a backup quarterback from 1998–2002. Prior to accepting his first collegiate coaching position at South Carolina, Kimrey was the head football coach at Hammond School from 2003 to 2020, where his teams won 12 state titles in 17 seasons.[1]

Early life

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Kimrey grew up in Columbia, South Carolina[2] and graduated from Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, South Carolina, where his father, Bill, was the head varsity football coach.[3] In his senior year, Kimrey set several state records and was named the state's Offensive Player of the Year.[1]

Playing career

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At the request of then-coach Brad Scott, Kimrey walked on to play quarterback for the South Carolina Gamecocks in 1998 and was named as a backup. After Scott was fired, Kimrey remained on the roster under Lou Holtz for the following three seasons.[4] As a player, Kimrey is best known for coming off the bench to throw a fourth down game-clenching fade route touchdown pass to Jermale Kelly in the final minutes of the 2000 game against Mississippi State after the injury of starting quarterback Phil Petty.[5] The touchdown pass became the central subject of the 2017 documentary about Kimrey, "Erik Kimrey: The Fade."[6][7][8]

Coaching career

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After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics, Kimrey worked as a University of South Carolina football graduate assistant under Holtz for two years[1] before accepting the role of head coach at Hammond School in Columbia, where he remained for 17 seasons. During his time as head coach, Hammond won 12 state titles[9] and had an overall record of 194-20.[10] Kimrey was the youngest and fastest high school football coach in state history to win 100 games,[11] and the only coach in state history to win six consecutive state championships.[12] In addition to coaching, Kimrey taught philosophy of religion and physical education.[12]

South Carolina

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On December 27, 2020, Kimrey joined the University of South Carolina football staff as tight ends coach under head coach Shane Beamer.[1] On February 2, 2022, Beamer announced that Kimrey had left the program. On February 3, 2022, Kimrey was announced as Head Coach of the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Personal life

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Kimrey is married to his high school girlfriend, Erica. Together the couple has three children, Kaitlyn Dean, Karis, and Ty. TY played on the middle school team as a QB.[13] He has three brothers.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Fink, Steve (December 27, 2020). "Beamer Names Seven Assistants to Football Coaching Staff". Gamecocks Online. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Kendall, Josh (December 16, 2019). "The Athletic". For Hammond School coach Erik Kimrey, transforming South Carolina’s recruits starts with Carl Jung and death. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  3. ^ Clark, Chris (December 4, 2017). "Kimrey retires as Calhoun County head football coach". The Times and Democrat. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  4. ^ Breiner, Ben (January 4, 2021). "A son of Columbia, Erik Kimrey ready for big step forward in long Gamecocks journey". The State Newspaper. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  5. ^ McLemore, Dwayne (September 8, 2016). "'The Fade' will long be remembered in Gamecocks lore". The State Newspaper. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  6. ^ Gillespie, Bob (November 2, 2017). "How The Fade changed his life, but it didn't change Erik Kimrey". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  7. ^ Farner, Keith (2017). "New documentary set to air about memorable play from South Carolina". Saturday Down South. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  8. ^ "Erik Kimrey: The Fade on IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  9. ^ Bezjak, Lou (December 23, 2020). "Erik Kimrey leaving Hammond to join Beamer's South Carolina staff, sources say". The State Newspaper. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  10. ^ Mack, Chandler (December 28, 2020). "Erik Kimrey is excited to be back at Carolina". News 19 WLTX. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  11. ^ Boynton, Eric (December 27, 2020). "South Carolina announces new football assistant coaches as Shane Beamer's staff takes shape". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Gillespie, Mike (December 29, 2020). "Erik Kimrey returns to alma mater, hoping to restore prominence at USC". ABC Columbia. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Del Bianco, John (December 27, 2020). "Kimrey: 'Thank you Hammond'". The Big Spur - 247 Sports. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
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