New football coach brings NFL experience to table

The Dixie State College football program has had four dismal years since making the jump to NCAA Division II, but new head coach Scott Brumfield brings a positive attitude to return the team to glory. Brumfield played for Dixie College in 1988 and 1989 and said he is happy to be at a place so close to his heart. DSC has had Brumfield as its offensive coordinator for the last four years. Before that he was the head coach at Spanish Fork High School from 2000-2005. His family has lived in Spanish Fork the last few years, while he has commuted and lived in St. George. "Dixie College has been a huge part of my life," Brumfield said. "To be able to come back to a school that has helped me achieve a lot of goals and dreams that I have had in my life is a real honor." Interim Athletic Director Maureen Eckroth said one of the factors of hiring Brumfield was his background playing NCAA Division I football and professional football. She said the main factor was Brumfield's love for DSC. "He wants nothing but good things to happen for this school and the athletes," Eckroth said. "He's willing to make sacrifices. It's one thing to have someone who wants the program to do well, but it's another thing to have someone who loves the program as much as he does." Brumfield said it was a commitment for him and his family. He said his family was established in a community and had to make a sacrifice. He also said his boys love football and love being a part of it. On the other hand he said his daughter, who's a cheerleader at Mapleton High School, isn't really excited, but she's excited for him and knows it's something he's wanted. After his time playing for Dixie College in '88 and '89, Brumfield played for BYU and head coach LaVell Edwards. "I grew up in the South, but was always a BYU fan," he said. "My mom played basketball there. To be able to play for LaVell Edwards was an honor." Brumfield then tested out the NFL and in 1994 was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an offensive lineman. "Playing in the NFL was something I always dreamed about," he said. "Your first couple [of] years you're living a dream, but then it becomes more of a job than people realize. When you look back your most memorable times were your high school years and college years when you're playing with buddies." The NFL dream nearly came to an end for Brumfield when he suffered a spinal-cord injury. "It was definitely a trying time with the prognosis not too good at the beginning," Brumfield said. "I was fortunate enough to be able to recover from that and return to playing." He also said individuals have great personal experiences from hard times. He said he is now thankful for that experience, but at the time it was not fun. Brumfield then retired from the NFL and moved back to Spanish Fork. He said coaching was not something he planned on doing when he retired, but it just so happened there was a job opening at Spanish Fork High School. "My experience here, my experience [at Spanish Fork], and my experience in the NFL, it all adds up," he said. "I can take bits and pieces from all the coaches I've played for and create my own style." One of Brumfield's plans is to adapt his style to that of the players he is coaching. "The first thing I learned as a coach at Spanish Fork is you kind of have to fit your philosophies and your styles to the kids that you have," Brumfield said. "As we start getting different athletes, we'll try to do more." Brumfield said when he first became DSC's offensive coordinator he had a playbook 10 inches thick from everything he learned at Spanish Fork and in the NFL, but he eventually cut his playbook down to three pages to fit the style of his team. Eckroth said Brumfield's plans to get the team more involved with the community include working with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and Community Engagement Projects, which both include doing various service projects in the community. Eckroth said Brumfield particularly wants the football team to be involved with the Community Engagement Projects because the football team has one-third of all DSC athletes. "We've got to get the community more involved," Brumfield said. "We have great kids that people would enjoy watching and being around. We've got to put more of an effort to be involved in the community, and in response to that I think the community will support us more."

• Facebook Comments
• Site Comments

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out