J.R. Sandlin enters his eighth year on John Grass’ staff and will once again coach tight ends and lead the Gamecock recruiting efforts.
His first seven seasons at JSU have seen unprecedented success for the Gamecocks. They are 68-21 and an improbable 47-7 in Ohio Valley Conference play. JSU won an OVC-record five-straight OVC titles from 2014-18 and then won a sixth title in seven years in 2020.
The 2020-21 season saw another succesful one from the tight end position, led by senior Trae Barry. The All-American by multiple outlets was also named the top tight end in the nation by the FCS Athletics Director’s Association. He was the leading receiver for JSU that season, one that saw the Gamecocks earn the No. 4 National Seed in the FCS Playoffs and advance to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.
In 2019, The Gamecocks tight ends were a big part of the top offense in the Ohio Valley Conference, one that gained 419 yards per game, while also leading the OVC and ranking 14th nationally in passing with 296 yards per game.
The 2018 chapter in JSU’s historic run saw as dominant a tight end duo as anyone in the nation. Barry was a First-Team All-OVC pick and a Sophomore All-American from HERO Sports after hauling in 32 passes for 503 yards and a touchdown. Position-mate Landon Rice was also a force, serving as one of the team’s top blockers and also caught 18 passes for 224 yards and a score.
The 2017 season saw Gamecock football reach as high as the No. 2 spot in the major polls for the fourth-straight year and enter the FCA Playoffs as the No. 3 National Seed, the fourth-straight season that JSU has been one of the top three seeds in the postseason. The Gamecocks went 10-2 and put together their fourth-straight perfect record in OVC play.
Sandlin’s Tight Ends unit was the youngest in FCS with three freshmen taking almost every snap at the position while also earning recognition on the national level. The true freshman duo of Dakota Chapman and Trae Barry handled the load at the position and produced. Chapman started every game as a blocking back, while Barry earned Second-Team All-OVC and Freshman All-America honors after hauling in three touchdown catches and over 243 receiving yards.
JSU was unbeaten against FCS foes in the 2016 regular season, and Sandlin’s tight ends helped an offense that led the OVC and ranked 20th nationally in Total Offense. The unit blocked for the top rushing attack in the OVC and the seventh-best rushing offense in the nation, while also helping that same offense score more than 30 points per game for the fourth-straight season.
The 2015 campaign took Gamecock football to new heights. A 13-2 record included a 12-game win streak that was one shy of the school record and also featured over 50 school records. The Gamecocks’ lone losses were to No. 6 Auburn in overtime and to North Dakota State in the FCS title game.
JSU was ranked No. 1 in the polls for the first time in school history and held that ranking for 11 weeks. The Gamecocks went unbeaten again in the OVC to win their second-straight title and was warded the No. 1 national seed in the FCS Playoffs. JSU stood up to that seeding, downing No. 7 Chattanooga in overtime in the second round before routing No. 8 Charleston Southern and No. 7 Sam Houston State in the quarters and semis, respectively.
Sandlin and his tight end corps played a huge part in the most prolific offense in school history in that 2015 season, from hauling in passes to blocking for a record-breaking running game. JSU notched a school-best 3,102 receiving yards during the year, while also rushing for a school-record 4,511 yards.
Sandlin guided the JSU tight ends unit on a record-breaking offense in 2014, one that amassed a school-record 510.8 yards per game that was more than 68 yards per game more than any other offense in school history.
Sandlin’s corps was led by All-Ohio Valley Conference pick Bo Brummel, who caught four touchdown passes to help the Gamecocks to a 10-2 record and a perfect 8-0 record in OVC play for the school’s fourth OVC crown.
Sandlin spent the 2013 season as the recruiting analyst at Notre Dame, where he helped coordinate all of the recruiting efforts, handled special projects and assisted in the social media strategies and execution for the Fighting Irish football program.
Sandlin joined the Notre Dame staff after serving as the director of recruiting at the University of Tennessee, and he was also on the recruiting staff at the University of Alabama.
During his three years at the University of Alabama, the Crimson Tide captured back-to-back FBS National Championships in 2011 and 2012. Alabama also secured the top-ranked recruiting classes in the nation in both 2011 and 2012. He was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the recruiting department for the Crimson Tide.
Sandlin spent the 2009 season as tight ends coach, chief football administrator and director of player personnel at Oxford High School under current JSU head coach John Grass.
Sandlin served as recruiting specialist at UCF in 2008-09. Prior to his stint at UCF, he was offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach, director of player personnel and executive football administrator at American Christian Academy from 2007-08.
Sandlin was a scholarship tight end at University of Central Florida from 2005-07, where he helped the Golden Knights win the 2005 Conference USA Football Championship.
Sandlin graduated from UCF in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in sports and fitness, and earned a master’s degree in sport management from the University of Alabama in 2012.
