Thomas Kearney is in his 13th season on the Bulldog Football staff and is the Assistant Head Coach in charge of the Tight Ends.
C.J. Brown earned his second straight all-GLVC honor with an honorable mention from the tight end position. Brown was second on the team in receptions with 15 for 162 yards and one touchdown. Jake Ellis caught seven passes out of the position but five were for scores giving him 10 for his young career.
In 2017, the Bulldog tight ends were difference makers. Brown was an honorable mention all-GLVC tight end and was primarily used as a extra lineman in Truman’s 1,933 net yards rushing and freshman Ellis caught 20 passes and led the receiving corps with five touchdowns in his first season in the purple and white.
Joey Schenck became a two-time all-GLVC receiver after earned second team honors in 2016. Schenck cracked the Bulldog top 25 in receiving yards with 1291 and is eighth in career receptions with 127. Freshman Drew Slager earned honorable mention all-GLVC after leading the Bulldogs with 39 catches for 625 yards.Â
Dallas Grier became just the 12th Bulldog to earn all-conference honors for four years when he was a first-team selection in 2013 at wide receiver. Grier ended his Truman career third in receiving yards with 2763 and second in receptions with 214.
Two receivers earned all-conference honors in 2011 with Grier picking up his second selection and senior Anthony Brown his first. The tandem combined for nearly 1,500 receiving yards with over 100 catches. Brown had 861 yards, the most by a Bulldog in eight years.
In 2010, Grier was named to the all-conference team after catching 33 passes for 548 yards in 11 games. It was the most by a Truman freshman since 1999.
Prior to moving to the offensive side, Kearney had coached two all-conference defensive backs.
Demetrius Lavant earned second team all-league honors as both a junior and senior for the Bulldogs in 2008 and 2009. Lavant had four interceptions during his Bulldog career with two returned for touchdowns. He capped off a homecoming overtime victory over nationally ranked Nebraska-Omaha with the first defensive score to end a game in MIAA history.
Lavant had 176 tackles with 10.5 for loss in his two seasons under Kearney.
Michael Elliott earned honorable mention all-MIAA honors after recording 101 total tackles and a team-leading three interceptions in 2009. Elliott started 10 games as a true freshman and all 11 in his sophomore season.
Prior to coming to Kirksville, Kearney spent the previous two years as an assistant Head Coach at Iowa Wesleyan College.
While a member of the IWC staff, Kearney coached the defensive backs, was the recruiting coordinator and served as the team’s academic liaison. Five of Kearney’s defensive backs earned all-conference honorable mention awards and one defensive back was named the NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week.
While working on his Master’s degree at Northwest Missouri State, Kearney coached the outside linebackers for the Bearcats. Two of his linebackers earned first-team all-MIAA honors during his time as a graduate assistant.
Kearney earned his Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Peru State College, graduating Magna cum Laude.
At Peru, Kearney served as the program’s recruiting coordinator and coached the running backs, wide receivers and linebackers.
Kearney served in the United States Navy from 1988 to 1993 and was awarded the Navy’s Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award and Cold War Recognition Certificate.
He had two daughters, Breonna and Monique and is married to Megan Wargo-Kearney, assistant volleyball coach at the University of Arkansas.
