Cordell Upshaw joins Northwest football staff
Credit: nwccrangers.com
April 2, 2025 – Northwest Mississippi Community College has hired Cordell Upshaw as the defensive line coach for the Rangers’ football program.
Upshaw joins Northwest after a one-year stint at Northeast Mississippi Community College in the same role. His coaching experience dates back to 2009, with stops at various NCAA Division II and Division III programs.
“I am extremely excited for this opportunity,” Upshaw said. “From being in this profession for some years and being on the recruiting trail, I have always seen Northwest as a place that has had success year after year, so I am definitely excited to be a part of this program and this coaching staff.”
In his lone season at Northeast, Upshaw helped the Tigers’ defense rank 12th in the nation for scoring with three touchdowns. NEMCC also finished with eight fumble recoveries, ranking within the NJCAA’s Top 20.
Prior to his stint with the Tigers, Upshaw also served as the defensive line coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 2023. While there, he helped the Bulldogs break a nine-year drought without a defensive all-conference selection, as defensive lineman R.J. Powell received All-Great American Conference honors. Powell placed fourth among all defenders with 15.5 tackles-for-loss, while also totaling 78 tackles and seven sacks.
Upshaw also briefly served on the staff of Calvin University during the spring of 2023 before arriving at SWOSU. Prior to arriving at Calvin, he spent a five-year stint at the University of North Alabama (2018-22), helping the Lions’ program transition from NCAA Division II to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level.
While at UNA, Upshaw coached 2021 All-Big South Conference defensive lineman Wallace Cowins, Jr., who totaled 49 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, four quarterback hurries, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a pass breakup. One year later, Micah Bland and Kam’ron Green received preseason recognition from Phil Steele’s College Football Preview. Bland finished the 2022 season with the most tackles among the Lions’ linemen (54), while Green registered a team-high four sacks.
In Upshaw’s first season at North Alabama, the Lions compiled a 7-3 overall record, holding their opponents to just 24.3 points per game, including 17 points or less in three of their final four contests.
Prior to his arrival with the Lions, Upshaw concluded the third of three separate stints at Southern Arkansas University, his alma mater. He began his coaching career with the Muleriders as a graduate assistant in 2009, and he later served as SAU from 2012-14 and again during the 2017 season, both times as the program’s defensive line coach.
In 2017, Upshaw coached a Southern Arkansas defense that led the conference in sacks and tackles for loss, while coaching four All-Great American Conference selections and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. That season, the Muleriders posted a 7-4 record and the team’s defense finished with 91 TFLs, 33.5 sacks and 28 quarterback hurries.
His second stint at SAU (2012-14) coincided with the Muleriders’ return to prominence, as the program won 19 games during that three-year span. including three straight Battle of the Timberlands rivalry wins against the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM).
In 2012, Southern Arkansas went 8-3 and accepted an invitation to the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl against McMurry University. That same season, the Muleriders secured a pair of road shutouts against East Central University (Okla.) and Texas College, while only allowing 91.4 rushing yards per game, which ranked sixth best in the nation and No. 1 in the GAC.
Upshaw coached a pair of All-GAC performers in Brandon Rashad and Tahare Ray, who led a defensive line that racked up 47 TFLs and 17.5 sacks. SAU rose to as high as No. 10 in the NCAA’s Super Region Three rankings.
Between his second and third stints at Southern Arkansas, Upshaw coached at William Jewell College in Missouri from 2015-16. During his stint with the Cardinals, he coached Second Team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection Aaron Neier, who accumulated 6.5 sacks during Upshaw’s initial season.
Prior to the start of his second stint at SAU, Upshaw served as the defensive line coach for one season at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas.
Before stepping into coaching as a graduate assistant with the Muleriders, Upshaw was a four-year letterwinner as a linebacker and defensive end at Southern Arkansas (2004-08). During his senior year, the program was ranked 18th nationally in rushing defense, with only 96.8 yards allowed per contest.
Upshaw received his B.S. in Human Performance in 2009 and his M.S. in Kinesiology in 2011, both from SAU. He is a native of Leesville, La, where he was a three-year letterman linebacker at Leesville High School. He earned several honors while playing for the Wampus Cats, including Defensive Player of the Year for West Central Louisiana, as well as MVP, All-State and All-District accolades.
