Mark Frederick is entering his first season on the bluff as and will serve as the Offensive Coordinator / Running Backs Coach.
Frederick previously served as the Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator for Prairie View A&M. He oversaw an offense that was instrumental in earning the 2021 and 2023 SWAC Western Division Championship titles.
During his time with the Panthers, he helped develop former RB Dawonya Tucker post back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, the first by a Panther football player since 2014. Tucker also had back-to-back 200-yard rushing games, including a season-high 245 yards at Sam Houston. Tucker also achieved a school and career-high mark of 263 yards against Grambling State (9/28/19) in his final season as a Panther.
Additionally, he oversaw the continued development of H-back Jordan Jones, who blossomed into an All-SWAC performer with 497 yards receiving and four scores before landing with the Green Bay Packers.
He spent 2017 in his second stint at Southern, serving as wide receivers coach. Last season, freshman Jamar Washington led the Jaguars in receptions while ranking second in both receiving yards and touchdown receptions.
At Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2016, Frederick tutored one of the conference's top-receiving duos in Willie Young and Cody Swain. They both finished in the top 5 in the conference in Receiving Yards and Receptions per game. Young was voted to the All-Conference team while compiling 70 receptions for nearly 1,000 yards.
Before arriving at Pine Bluff, Frederick was the Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach at Lincoln University in Missouri for 5 years. Under Frederick's watch at Lincoln, the Blue Tiger's offense emerged as one of the best in school history, breaking numerous offensive records over the years. His system, known as the "Gumbo O" offense, resulted in one of the most prolific passing attacks in program history. In 2015, his offense set records for most completions in a season (242), and most passing yards in a season (2,842). During the 2014 season, his offense broke 11 more records. Khiry Draine ended the best season ever for a Lincoln receiver, as he caught 60 passes for 1,011 yards. Draine, who became Lincoln's first-ever 1,000-yard receiver, also broke the single-season record for receiving yards, which previously stood as Corderious Gregory's 791 in 2011. Morris Henderson broke two single-game records with his six touchdown performance in Lincoln's win over Quincy. All six of Henderson's scores came on the ground, setting what was at the time a new GLVC record. Between the '13 and ‘14 seasons, the Lincoln football team almost completely rewrote its offensive record book, with nearly 30 game, season or career marks falling. Despite playing in a highly competitive MIAA, a league that boasts 2013 national champion Northwest Missouri, the Blue Tigers broke or tied 18 records that season.
In addition to breaking several team records, a number of Lincoln's offensive skill players flourished under Frederick's leadership. In 2011, Frederick's first year as offensive coordinator, Corderious Gregory broke LU's single game (13) and season (71) records for receptions as well as the single season mark for receiving yards (791). Just one season later, Maurice Woodard nearly match those records, hauling in 11 passes in one game while finishing the season with 65 receptions for 705 yards. Even more notable was the elevation of the quarterback position, as, last season, Jacob Morris set records for most completions in a game (26), longest pass completion in a game (97 yards), and most completions in a season (169). Morris threw for 1,718 yards and had 2,108 yards of total offense, the second-most by a Lincoln player in a season in both categories.
Frederick's success wasn't limited just to the passing game. In 2012, Lincoln broke a single-season record with 3,734 yards of total offense, breaking the previous standard of 3,523 which was set way back in 1957. Lincoln quarterbacks completed 223 passes in 436 attempts for 2,410 yards, breaking single-season records in all three categories that had stood for over 30 years. Running back Morris Henderson compiled over 1,200 all-purpose yards, the Blue Tigers ran 830 plays from scrimmage, another team single-season record. In 2011, the Lincoln offense was so effective that it led the MIAA in time of possession and finished fifth in the nation in that stat.
Frederick began his coaching career at Southern University. He was the running backs/special teams coach from 2006-2009 and the assistant defensive line coach in 2010. As the running backs coach, Frederick helped mold two all-conference backs Darren Coates and Brian Threat, and two honorable mention backs Kendall Addison and Kendrick Smith. He also groomed two all-conference punters and one All-American kicker in Breck Ackley and Josh Duran. As the assistant defensive line coach, Frederick helped coach one of the top defensive linemen in the conference Jordan Miller who led the conference with 11 sacks in 2010.
A native of Woodville Mississippi, Frederick played his prep football at Wilkinson County High School before coming to Southern where he was a member of the Jags football team for four years and was a member of the 2003 SWAC/HBCU National Championship Team.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation in 2006 and a Master's Degree from the University of Missouri in Education in 2016. Frederick is married to Rocelyn Frederick and has four kids - Laila, Shekira, Mark Jr, and baby Carson.
