Kevin Bannon - Football Coach

Kevin Bannon

Title:
Associate Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator
Email:
kbannon@utm.edu

Kevin Bannon enters his 13th season as an assistant coach at his alma mater UT Martin since joining the staff in 2013. Bannon was elevated to the title of offensive coordinator prior to the 2015 season while retaining his position as offensive line coach - ranking as the longest tenured offensive line coach in the Ohio Valley Conference. He was also given the title of associate head coach prior to the 2024 campaign.

During his tenure at UT Martin, Bannon has overseen the progression and development of All-OVC linemen Robert Burleigh, Drake Carroll, Kenneth Crenshaw, Aries Davis, Matthan Hatchie, Chris Jackson, Lamar Morgan, Gavin Olson, Jackson Roberts, Jarod Russell, Michael Shanahan, Charles Sweeton, Josiah Tingley, Vance Van Every and D'Marius Warren. He has also mentored offensive playmakers Ben Axline, John Bachus III, Colton Dowell, Max Dowling, Sam Franklin, LaDarius Galloway, Keon Howard, Londell Lee, Peyton Logan, Jarod Neal, DJ Nelson, Trevonte Rucker Patrick Smith, DeVonte Tanksley, Zak Wallace, Donnell Williams, Rodney Williams II, Terry Williams, Dresser Winn and Rod Wright.

Bannon has played a key role in all five conference championships in program history with the first coming as a player in 2006 while winning four consecutive league titles as Offensive Coordinator in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

UT Martin’s historic conference run reached four consecutive championships after the Skyhawks wrapped up the 2024 campaign with a 9-5 overall record after a 6-2 mark in the Big South-OVC Football Association led to the program's fourth straight conference championship (2021-24). The Skyhawks defeated a Football Bowl Subdivision member (24-13 at Kennesaw State on Sept. 28) for just the second time in school history as that triumph helped reel off a six-game winning streak. The Skyhawks received an at-large berth into the playoffs, claiming the second postseason victory in the school's FCS Era (since 1992). The nine wins are tied for the fourth-most in the 95-year history of UT Martin football, only following 11 victories in 1988 and 10 wins in the 1967 and 2021 campaigns.

The Skyhawks set school records for total offense (5,249 yards), first downs (255) and rushing touchdowns (28) in 2024. UT Martin also boasted the Big South-OVC's top scoring offense at 31.4 points per outing and best red zone offense at an 87.8 percent conversion rate. When the dust settled, the Skyhawks had six offensive performers earn all-conference honors while Carroll and Van Every both garnered All-American honors.

UT Martin rattled off eight wins during the 2023 season on the way to the program's inaugural Big South-OVC Football Association championship. The offense played a big role in the team's overall success as it ranked seventh nationally in total offense (439.8 yards per game) and eighth in rushing offense (223.0 yards per game) while the line was impressive with its protection - allowing the 12th fewest sacks allowed in FCS.

The 2022 campaign saw the Skyhawks roll through the OVC with the program's first undefeated record at 5-0. UT Martin's offense featured a two-headed rushing attack with Zak Wallace and Sam Franklin combining to rush for 1,688 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns while the passing offense - led by quarterback Dresser Winn - racked up 2,928 yards through the air along with 18 touchdowns. In total, the Skyhawks averaged 442.7 yards and 34.7 points per game.

During the team’s championship run in 2021, the Skyhawks boasted a potent offensive attack. Behind 10 All-OVC selections on offense – including the OVC Offensive Player of the Year Keon Howard, UT Martin finished the season ranked in the top-25 nationally in sacks allowed (1.15, 14th) and rushing offense (207.6, 15th). Additionally, the Skyhawks ranked amongst OVC leaders in rushing offense (207.1, first), sacks against (1.62, first), first downs (19.1, first), scoring offense (30.0 ppg, second), total offense (385.2 ypg, second), third-down conversion percentage (41.2, second) and fourth-down conversion percentage (50.0, second).

In 2020-21, UT Martin's offense ranked as one of the best units in the OVC while ranking amongst league leaders in passing offense (258.9, first), completion percentage (59.6 percent, second) and third down conversion percentage (38.1 percent, second) while scoring 25.0 points per game. The Skyhawks had four players earn All-OVC honors highlighted by Colton Dowell who garnered his second all-conference nod while being joined by first-timers Donnell Williams, Rodney Williams II and Matthan Hatchie. Rodney Williams II also added to his postseason honors by being named an All-American by both STATS Perform and Phil Steele.

In 2019, UT Martin's offense ranked second in the OVC in scoring offense, averaging 30.5 points per game. The Skyhawks would boast five players who garnered postseason honors by the OVC highlighted by freshman John Bachus III being named the program's second OVC Freshman of the Year while becoming a finalist for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award. Offensive guard Aries Davis and wide receiver/return specialist Terry Williams was named to the All-OVC first team while Dowell and running back Peyton Logan earned second team honors.

From 2013-17, the Skyhawks formed one of the best offensive lines in the OVC, conceding only 86 sacks in 58 games encompassing while allowing the lowest sacks per dropbacks percentage (4.09 percent) in the league. In that same span, the UT Martin offensive line has helped the Skyhawks average 415.4 yards of total offense and 30.1 points per outing.

In 2016, the Skyhawk offensive line led the league in sacks per dropback percentage at 3.98 percent while boasting three All-OVC honorees on the offensive side of the ball. Offensive guard Robert Burleigh earned a spot on the first team after pacing an offensive unit which ranked 24th nationally and first in the OVC in sacks allowed per game (1.25) while center Kenneth Crenshaw and wide receiver Ben Axline garnered second-team honors.

In 2015, Bannon's offensive line paved the way for one of the nation's top offensive attacks as the team's run game coordinator. The Skyhawks produced three All-OVC members on offense including quarterback Jarod Neal, wide receiver Rod Wright and offensive lineman Jackson Roberts. Neal ranked amongst the nation's top quarterbacks with 3,117 yards and 30 touchdowns while Wright caught 62 passes for 963 yards and 14 touchdowns. Roberts helped anchor an offensive line which ranked first in pass efficiency (139.9) while ranking second in scoring offense (35.5 ppg), passing offense (293.5 ypg) and sacks allowed (0.91).

Bannon served as a mentor for the final two seasons in the career of Skyhawk all-time great Charles Sweeton. A Preseason All-American in 2014, Sweeton conceded only one sack in his final two seasons at left tackle, earning All-OVC accolades in both 2013 and 2014. His success earned him a free agent opportunity with the Kansas City Chiefs in May of 2015.

In his first season at UT Martin (2013), his offensive linemen allowed just 19 sacks - which ranked as the least in the OVC.

Bannon coached as an offensive line graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas, where he coached alongside Bret Bielema for two months in 2013 before returning to UT Martin. He also served two years as an offensive line graduate assistant at Marshall University under head coach Doc Holliday from 2011-12.

Prior to his stint at Marshall, Bannon was a graduate assistant for tight ends (2010) and the offensive line (2009) at UT Martin.

Bannon's coaching career followed a spectacular playing career for the Skyhawks. A two-time all-OVC selection, he appeared in 45 games over his four-year career, starting in 43. He was a key cog on an offense that produced the program's first-ever OVC championship in 2006 and was consistently atop several OVC statistical categories. He also had an impact on the UT Martin record books, as he blocked for all-time UT Martin leading rusher Don Chapman for three seasons. Chapman finished with 5,017 rushing yards, becoming just the 14th Division-I player to rush for 1,000 yards in four straight seasons (2004-07).

In 2008, Bannon graded out at 80 percent and only allowed one sack, earning All-OVC first team honors after being named to the All-OVC preseason team. He served as team captain for a team that went 8-4 and finished one last-second blocked field goal attempt shy of its second OVC crown in three years. Bannon helped block for an offensive unit that ranked first in the OVC in scoring offense, touchdowns and total offense. The scoring offense of 37.33 points per game ranked fourth in the nation.

Bannon started all 11 games during his junior campaign in 2007, earning All-OVC second team accolades. The Skyhawks led the OVC in scoring and total offense, scoring 40-plus points in four games.

The Skyhawks' first-ever OVC championship came in 2006, a year where Bannon started 10 games. Behind Bannon, UT Martin led the league in rushing offense and was nationally-ranked for the first time in the program's Football Championship Subdivision history.

As a true freshman in 2005, Bannon emerged strong to start in six of the last seven games - all against conference opponents. Bannon blocked for quarterback Brady Wahlberg, who graduated as UT Martin's all-time career leader in total offense (7,387 yards).

Before his playing career at UT Martin, Bannon was a two-sport athlete at Wentzville High School in Wentzville, Mo., competing in football and wrestling. He earned all-state and all-metro accolades as a senior and all-district honors as a junior. He was also a three-year All-Gateway Athletic Conference team selection.

Bannon graduated from UT Martin in 2009. He is married to the former Meagan Stricklin of Sharon, Tenn. and the couple has three children, Knox, Kyler and McKinley.