BOONEVILLE, Miss. - A long time football player and coach at schools across the Magnolia State is bringing his expertise of the defensive line position to Northeast Mississippi Community College.
Trevor Stigers is the newest assistant for the Tigers. He comes to Northeast after helping the University of West Alabama achieve its best regular season in more than five decades last fall.
"We're pleased with this addition because he's somebody that I feel really confident in," said Tigers headman Greg Davis. "We're bringing another person with a quality mindset to our program on the defensive side of the ball. He manages his players and he's a fantastic technician."
Stigers was a three-year letterwinner at Mississippi State University following a sensational career at the prep level. He has spent a majority of his 10 seasons in the coaching profession inside the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC).
The Crawford native received his first full-time job at Hinds Community College in 2018. Stigers also worked for five total years at Southwest Mississippi Community College, including three as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator.
"I've been in love with the game since I was a little kid," Stigers said. "Football's been around for a very long time. There's not a magic dust that I put on (the players). Once those guys come in and we build a trust factor and they believe in what we're doing, it usually takes off."
West Alabama went 9-2 and finished as the Gulf South Conference (GSC) runner-up during Stigers' lone season with the program. The Tigers secured an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs and ended the year at No. 16 in the national poll.
Stigers was instrumental in developing Trevon Lambert into a first-team All-American. The edge rusher led the country at the conclusion of the regular season with 11 sacks and also produced a career-high 14.5 tackles for loss plus 10 quarterback hurries.
His big men were part of an overall defensive unit that ranked ninth in the nation with 13.5 points and 19th with 272 yards allowed per contest prior to the postseason. Stigers instructed first-team All-GSC performers Davonta Jackson and Cody Sigler as well.
Jackson was right behind Lambert with 13.5 tackles for loss along with 3.5 sacks for the Tigers. Sigler registered 36 tackles, six sacks and five quarterback hurries as a senior under the direction of Stigers.
Stigers advanced 17 players to four-year universities during his final three seasons at Southwest, including nine to NCAA Division I institutions. Eight of those standouts moving on were defensive linemen.
Jameer Lewis and Eric Taylor headline that group after signing with the University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State, respectively. They were both all-conference recipients for the Bears during the 2022 campaign.
Martavius Evans was also well decorated while playing for Stigers. He was an all-conference pick and earned MACCC Defensive Player of the Week after racking up 14 tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble in a win by Southwest over East Central Community College.
Stigers' initial d-line room of his coaching career at Hinds delivered four next level prospects, including Jeremiah Doss and Janaz Jordan to the University of Colorado plus Ivin White, Jr., to the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
White, Jr., was recognized as the MACCC South Division most valuable defensive lineman and a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Region 23 selection after posting 12 sacks for the Eagles.
Stigers was a volunteer coach at Jackson State University from 2015-16. He completed an internship with the Philadelphia Eagles organization as well during their 2018 training camp.
"The first expectation you can have for my guys is we're going to play hard," said Stigers. "The next thing is to be hard workers and good human beings. I love guys that love football. Nobody's going to outwork us because we try to outwork ourselves every day."
Stigers suited up for Mississippi State during Sylvester Croom's final season in 2008 and the first three years of the Dan Mullen era. His cumulative statistics include 32 takedowns, 5.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles over 26 appearances for the maroon-and-white.
He had a career-high five tackles in a victory by the Bulldogs over Alcorn State University on October 2, 2010. Stigers was a member of Mississippi State teams that won the Gator Bowl and the Music City Bowl.
Stigers was The Clarion Ledger's Jackson Metro area Player of the Year following his senior campaign at Ridgeland High School. He was a two-time all-state honoree as well after amassing nearly 200 tackles as an upperclassman.
He was rated as the second best defensive end and the No. 14 recruit in the state overall according to Rivals. Stigers recorded six tackles and a sack in the prestigious Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Game.
Stigers obtained a Bachelor's degree from Mississippi State in 2012. He is engaged to Jalisia Roby and has one son, JC.