New Beginnings

As the Elite Football League Kicks off, Josh Chandyo has purchased the Knoxville Franchise. Knoxville will the NFL Affiliate to the Tennessee Titans.

Chandyo is currently the owner of 5 other football franchises. He currently has never won't a championship but is a very active owner making sure he does everything he can for his franchises.

"I'm exited. This new league is showing that it should be an excellent league to be a part of. I will do whatever it takes to make this franchise something that the Fans of the Titans as well as the Knoxville fateful are proud to cheer for." - Owner Josh Chandyo

With the owner introduced, let's meet the coaching staff:

The Coaching Staff

Head Coach: David Hicks
Hicks was an All-American stand out Quarterback at Texas when he was younger. He suffered a career ending shoulder injury that left him devastated. Football was all he knew, and that was taken away from him. His Quarterback coach at Texas took him under his wing and showed Hicks what the possibilities could be as a coach. Something clicked and here we are. Hicks was named as the 1st ever Head Coach here in Knoxville. He’s a Pass Focused coach, and runs a 3-4 defense.

Offensive Coordinator: Israel Perry
You know there’s always that one coach that you just see and think man that guys like the dad I never had. That is exactly what you get with Coach Perry. He is the definition of a player’s coach. Perry was strongly considered to be the Head Coach here at Knoxville but Hicks just edged him out. Perry has been seen on the sidelines of the Texas Tech campus for most of his coaching career. He served as their TE coach most recently.

Defensive Coordinator: Roy Zamarripa
Coach Zapa, as the players have adapted, comes to Knoxville from the University of Tennessee Tech. He served as the TTU’s Linebackers coach for the last 5 years. Coach Zapa was in a deadly car accident his senior year of college. His best friend was killed and Coach Zapa was in a coma for about a year. The car they were in was hit by a drunk driver as they came back from a concert. He had a promising career playing defensive tackle but the accident kept him out of the game for too long. He’s a great motivator, as the accident taught him a lot about himself. Players have been warned that if he sees you drinking and you get anyway here the driver seat you are going to get a chewing that you will never forget.

Quarterbacks: David Eldred
Coach Eldred comes to Knoxville after serving the last 14 years as the Head Football Coach of the nationally ranked High School Oscar Smith Tigers from Chesapeake, Virginia. During those 14 years, Oscar Smith was the winningest 6-A program in the state of Virginia with a record of 164 wins and only 20 losses. Coach Elred led his team to 12 consecutive District Championships, 6 Region Championships, 2 State Championships and 2 State Runners Up. Coach Morgan has 23 years of experience.

Backfield: Wendell Corbitt
Named the Backfield Coach, Wendell Corbitt comes to Knoxville from Lexington, Kentucky. Coach Corbitt was the offensive coordinator at Lexington Christian Academy for the last 15 years. A recent coaching change at LCA had Corbitt looking elsewhere for a new job. He did apply to become the Head Coach there at LCA however the school decided to go younger.

Offensive Line: Guadalupe Sheppard
Coach Sheppard gets his 1st shot to coach in the USA. Guadalupe a Mexico native made the move to the States about 6 months ago after serving as Head Coach to several youth football camps around Mexico. He's been searching to get his foot in the US for several years however, no organization would give him the opportunity. That changes now that Knoxville has hired him as their O-Line Coach. At 52, he may not get another chance anywhere else.

Recievers: Raymond Wooten
Coach Wooten comes to Knoxville after serving the last 3 years with the Los Angeles Rams. He was also a coach in Detroit. Wooten severed as the team's assistant WR coach. When Jeff Fisher was let go, Wooten was not able to stay on staff. Wooten has always flown under the radar but has coached the likes of Tavon Austin and Calvin Johnson.

Tight Ends: Steven Edwards
Coach Edwards comes to the Knoxville Misfits as a 1st time coach. 5 years ago he was used car salesmen. He decided that he wanted to do something different with is life. He went back to school and got a degree in Sport Management. He put in his resume to coach Hicks when when he found out that he could. The interview just blew Coach Hicks away and Edwards was hired.

Defensive Line: Ruben Pinion
Coach Pinion is getting his 1st chance at a coaching opportunity as well. He served as a defensive consultant at South Carolina State a season ago. He will man the defensive line a position that he played at the college level almost 20 years ago.

Linebackers: Corey Johnson
Coach Johnson comes to Knoxville in way of Bearden High School here in Knoxville. The young coach spent time serving as a Linebackers coach and also was the Head Coach coach of the Rugby Team.

Secondary: Javier Matthews
Coach Javi was named the Secondary Coach. Javi is just starting his coaching career at the the pro level. He does have the experience as coaching though. He's only 38 but has already been coaching for 12 years. He started at the High School level and then got a coaching job at the Junior College level. Most recently serving as the DC at Chattanooga State Tech.

Kickers: John Lugo
The youngest coach on the roster at 34. Coach Lugo was an All State Kicker at Halls High School here in Knoxville 16 years ago. He accepted a scholarship to play at Tennessee but got into some legal troubles his sophomore year and was kicked off the team. He would get his life back on track and finish his degree a few years later however would never play football again. As Mentioned above with DC Coach Zapa, Coach Lugo will feed with the lectures of keep things on track when your off the field. Coach Lugos troubles were drug and alcohol induced.

As every new league forms each team participates in an Allocation Draft. What is an Allocation draft? The Draft puts every available player into a pool and each of the 32 teams pick the players in a serpentine style draft. Knoxville drew the 22nd pick in the draft. They would get the 11 pick in the next round. Each round they would alternate between 22 and 11.

Round 1 Pick 22
QB-Mason Rybolt | 6'0" | 215 lbs | 2nd Year | Michigan | VOL: 24
With their 1st pick Knoxville took Rybolt. The Stand out at Michigan was not taken in the NFL draft which led him to the EFL. Last season he spend the year on the New England Patriot Practice Squad. Rybolt was the 9th QB taken in the 1st round. He's got superior Pass Accuracy and Arm Strength. Every category is perfect in the eyes of Knoxville Coaches. He's not a scrambler, so avoiding sacks could be a concern.

Round 2 Pick 11
CB-Hayden Nash | 6'0" | 193 lbs | Rookie | Notre Dame | VOL: 52
Knoxville goes defensive with their 2nd pick. Nash is projected to be a fantastic corner. He's quick and has amazing coverage skills. He's also a great tackler. Rumors were floating around on Draft day that Knoxville wanted a Corner in the 1st but got scared that Rybolt wouldn't be there in the Second. This seems to have worked out for Knoxville as they got Rybolt and Nash.

Round 3 Pick 22
WR-Kasey Peoples | 5'10" | 203 lbs | 2nd Year | South Dakota State | VOL:54
Small school prospect but big game. Peoples has a lot of potential. He's a great route-runner with excellent speed. His hands will need a little work in camp but there is no doubt that he will be a leading receiver in this league. Last season Peoples was on the Titans Practice Squad.

Round 4 Pick 11
SS-Anthony Sams | 6'0" | 206 lbs | Rookie | Mississippi State | VOL: 58
Knoxville goes back to defensive in the 4th. Sure Tackler, Great Speed, above average coverage. With a good camp this will sure up the secondary. Even with a bad camp he could be explosive.

Round 5 Pick 22
WLB-Michael Parramore | 6'0" | 239 lbs | 5th Year | Virginia | VOL: 52
Knoxville gets Parramore out of Virginia in the 5th round. Excellent speed, can play any of the linebacker spots. Knoxville will keep him at the Will. Parramore is also great in coverage.

Round 6 Pick 11
LT-Ron Johnson | 6'3" | 312 lbs | 4th Year | Clemson | VOL: 46
Knoxville get their 1st lineman. Johnson is a big strong hog molly that has great speed. He's a great blocker in both the passing and running games. Another guy that could be played anywhere on the offensive line. Knoxville will play him at LT.

Round 7 Pick 22
RG-Edward Joseph | 6'5" | 322 lbs | 2nd Year | Illinois State | VOL: 36
Knoxville goes O-Line again. Joseph isn't as strong as Johnson and can be least than sub-par in the pass blocking game but has great speed that can help set the corners.

Round 8 Pick 11
CB-Bernard Parenteau | 5'9" | 182 lbs | 3rd Year | Tennessee | VOL: 18
Parenteau played here in Knoxville just 4 seasons ago, he was a stand out but suffered a hip injury that has hampered his professional career. Knoxville will take a chance on him here. He's still quick, and has above average coverage skills. He will slotted as the team's #2 corner.
--- More Coming Soon ---

August 5th - Week 1- Mount Washington Coyotes | WIN 37-15
- Knoxville welcomed the Coyotes to the Metroplex. Knoxville out gained the Coyotes 434 to 210 in total offensive yards. QB-Mason Rybolt only threw 2 incomplete passes and had 3 touchdowns. This was an exciting way to kick off pre-season for Knoxville and Knoxville fans. We caught up with Coach Hicks and he had this to say: "The guys executed the game-plan to perfection. I know it' only pre-season, but when you give guys a plan and they do it how you envision it. It's great, it's an amazing feeling. Now it' only one game though, and really it doesn't count, but us coaches we are happy with this result."

August 12th - Week 2 - at Coos Bay Red Rocks | LOSS 9-22
- The Result this week wasn't as rewarding. Props to the Red Rocks as they seemed to be more prepared for this one than the Misfits. The defensive unit did amass 6 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. We Talked with Coach again: "Again this is Pre-Season, so yeah not going to worry to much. There were some mistakes that we need to correct. But after last week, we will take our slice of humble pie and just keep working. The guys now see how it feels to be on both sides of the fence. We will keep grinding, we will keep adjusting. That's what you do in this game."

August 19th - Week 3 - Perth Wallabies
-Write-Up After Game

August - 26th - Week 4 - at Disney Diamonds
-Write-Up After Game