VIDEO: Tanner Fleming Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head football coach Ashley Ingram has turned to his previous coaching stop to fill the role of Carson-Newman's offensive line coach.
Ingram has tabbed 35-game starter for the Naval Academy and Marine Corps veteran Tanner Fleming, to coach C-N's offensive line.
"I'm excited that Tanner and his family are joining us at C-N," Ingram said. "He was a great player for us at Navy and I was fortunate to coach him. He'll bring a unique perspective because of his time as a player, a Marine and a coach at NAPS. Our guys are going to love playing for him."
Fleming's previous coaching stops include last year at the Naval Academy Prep School where he was the program's offensive coordinator. He spent his first three years out of the Marine Corps coaching at Ridlands High School in North Carolina, where he was the offensive coordinator, and Cocoa Beach High School in his native Florida, where he was the offensive line coach.
"College coaching has always been a dream of mine," Fleming said. "I went into the real world, and I realized that what I love is college football. Last year, Coach Ingram was the one who brought me to Navy Prep, when he called me here, it was a no-brainer and something in my life that I believe I was determined to do."
Before moving into the Marine Corps, he spent a year as a graduate assistant coach for the Naval Academy working with the Mids' defensive line.
As a player for the Naval Academy, Fleming started 35 games in his final three years with the program.
In 2012, he was an integral part of Navy's offensive unit that finished the year ranked No. 1 nationally in turnovers lost (10), No. 2 in rushing offense (325.4), No. 3 in tackles for loss allowed (3.62), No. 6 in passing yards per completion (15.09), No. 6 in third down conversion (51.1) and 11th in fourth down conversions (67.9). Navy rushed for 366 yards on 67 attempts against Middle Tennessee in the Bell Helicopter Armed Force Bowl, marking the sixth straight game the Mids topped the 300-yard rushing milestone – the first time Navy had pulled that off since 2007.
He was the starting center for Navy QB and future sixth round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens Keenan Reynolds. He helped block for Reynolds to set numerous records. Renyolds broke the NCAA Division I record for most career total touchdowns with 88 and most rushing yards by a quarterback with 4,559. Fleming started 12 of the 13 games Navy played in 2013 when Reynolds scored 31 rushing touchdowns, which are the most by a quarterback in NCAA history for a season and the most by a Navy player (any position) in school history. He helped pave the way for Renyolds to become just the fourth player in NCAA history to rush for 30 or more touchdowns in a season and just the seventh player in NCAA history to score 30 or more touchdowns in a season. Reynolds 1,346 rushing yards in 2013 were the 14th most by a quarterback in NCAA history and rank third at Navy for a season.
In his time as Navy's starting center, the Mids won two Commander-In-Chief's Trophies and two bowl games, while wracking up a 25-14 record that included a 3-0 record against Army and four wins against Power Five teams.
