JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 11, 2015) – ETSU head football coach Carl Torbush announced Thursday that former Buccaneer standout Mike Rader will be joining the team’s coaching staff as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.

Rader, who is a Johnson City native and played his prep football at Science Hill High School, was a three-year starter at ETSU during a career that spanned from 1998 to 2002. He served as a graduate assistant at ETSU during the 2003 campaign.

He has spent the last three seasons as head coach at Maryville College.

“Mike is a Johnson City native and former ETSU Buc who obviously loves our university if he’s willing to leave a head coaching job to be part of what we are building here,” Torbush said. “He’s an outstanding coach and a great recruiter who is well respected throughout the coaching community. His success and experience as a head coach at Maryville will definitely be an asset to our program.”

Rader said coming home to build a new program at ETSU was something he could not pass up.

“I’m extremely excited to have the opportunity to join the ETSU family,” Rader said. “Upon arriving for my interview it was very clear of the new vision set in place by Dr. Noland and the administration for the campus and community. After sitting down with Coach Torbush and meeting the other coaches it was undeniable the potential and special things that are occurring within the football organization. All this said, I knew I wanted to be a part of something special for my hometown.”

During his inaugural season with the Scots, Maryville posted a 6-4 record and 5-2 mark within the tough USA South Athletic Conference giving Maryville its highest finish in the USAC after eight seasons within the league and the College’s first football title since MC’s Highlanders took back-to-back Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference titles in 1930 and 1931.

His 2012 USA South Co-Champions produced a dozen All-USA South performers and 14 league All-Academic honorees. Coach Rader’s squad won their final three games with a defense that paced the league in four categories. Their offense boasted the league’s top rusher while averaging 211 yards per game on the ground. His creative offense finished the season averaging over 366 yards per challenge.

Under his leadership, the Fighting Scots accomplished additional historic accolades in 2013. MC earned their first eight-win season since the 1978 campaign and only the fourth eight-win season in school history. Their 8-3 overall mark and 6-1 league record earned back-to-back USA South Co-Championships, allowing Maryville’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III post-season championship as the league’s automatic bid.

Rader's 2014 squad finished the year with a 7-3 mark, while going 6-2 within the USA South. Rader led a team that posted 408.2 yards per contest, while averaging 271.5 rushing yards per game — a mark that ranked 10th nationally. The Scots led the USA South in four different rushing categories behind a stout, senior-laden offensive line that ranked 23rd nationally with only one sack per outing. That line led the way for Maryville's third-largest individual rushing effort in school history, as Trenton Shuler had 1,046 yards on 182 carries for 12 touchdowns. Shuler's touchdowns ranked him 36th in the nation.

Rader received his Bachelor of Arts degree from East Tennessee State University in 2002. A three-year starter on the Buccaneer football squad as a student, he earned a football scholarship after an All-State career as a quarterback and receiver at Science Hill High School in Johnson City.

Following graduation, he attained his Master of Arts degree in sports management from ETSU while serving as a graduate assistant for his alma mater. He then worked for one season at Troy University in Troy, Ala., under head coach Larry Blakeney.

Prior to his Maryville stop, Rader was a former assistant football coach at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala. He coordinated the recruiting efforts and assisted the offense for eight seasons at the Division III, church-related, liberal arts school.

In 2004, Rader was selected by Huntingdon Coach Mike Turk to improve results and bring stability to a second-year start up NCAA Division III program. Rader helped the Hawks earn a 52-20 record while receiving “Top 25” votes in five different seasons.

Rader displayed significant experience in building a successful NCAA Division III program. While at Huntingdon, his Hawks developed one of the most prolific offenses in college football. In 2009, Huntingdon was the only offense in the nation (Divisions I, II, or III) to average over 300 yards of passing and 200 yards of rushing per game. As the Hawks’ recruiting coordinator for the past two seasons, Rader’s staff has brought in more than 170 student-athletes to campus after developing strategies for student-athlete searches, visits and on-campus presentations.

Mike, his wife Lindsey, have three sons Max, Eli and Ellis.