It's now 84 days until the kickoff of Catamount Football on Thursday, August 29, 2024, against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC
To help pass those long summer days, and hopefully get the
Catamount faithful a little more excited about the upcoming season, and knowledgeable of the team members, we'll continue the football countdown each day until kickoff day.
No player is currently assigned to #84, so we will highlight an assistant coach.
Kyle Dickey
TITLE Assistant Coach / Tight Ends
Kyle Dickey, the former offensive coordinator at Tusculum University, joined the Catamount football offensive coaching staff as the tight ends coach in January 2024.
Dickey joins a Catamount offensive staff that includes first-year coordinator Rylan Wells, who was promoted from the same position group on Bell’s staff. Greg McGruder was also promoted to wide receivers coach after three seasons on staff as a quality control coach.
On staff at his alma mater, Tusculum, since 2019, Dickey worked on the coaching staffs of former head coach – and now WCU’s defensive coordinator, Jerry Odom – and coached alongside former Catamount offensive coordinator Kade Bell who ACC-member Pittsburgh hired in December 2023.
Most recently, Dickey was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tusculum, also carrying the title of interim head coach upon Odom’s departure for Cullowhee. While Dickey was on staff in Greeneville, Tenn., the Pioneers won two South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Mountain Division titles and finished in the top four of the conference in each of his five seasons. Tusculum posted back-to-back winning seasons in 2022 and 2023 with the team’s 8-3 record in 2022 marking the program’s best since 2008. During his tenure, Dickey also mentored 16 All-South Atlantic Conference standouts on offense.
The 2020-21 Tusculum offensive unit generated some outstanding numbers as the Pioneers went 4-1 and claimed the SAC Mountain Division title and posted a thrilling 28-23 win at defending league champion Lenoir-Rhyne as TU won its third SAC Championship. The Pioneers led the league in scoring offense (37.6 ppg), total offense (533.4 yds/gm), and passing offense (394.2 yds/gm).
He took the reins as offensive coordinator in 2021 when Kade Bell joined his father on staff at WCU. In his first season, the Pioneers scored 366 points (33.3 points per game – 2nd in SAC, 38th in NCAA II), representing the fifth-highest season total in program history. The offense was a balanced attack with 21 rushing touchdowns and 21 passing TDs. All told, Tusculum finished the season third in the league in total offense at 400.5 yards per game including 257 passing yards per game – second in the SAC and 31st nationally.
The following season, the Pioneers went 8-3 in 2022 and finished runner-up in the SAC Mountain Division. Tusculum averaged 30.5 points (4th in SAC 50th in NCAA II) and 395.6 yards of total offense per game (2nd in SAC / 49th in NCAA II). Tusculum also finished second in the SAC averaging 235.2 passing yards per contest (39th in NCAA II).
Dickey has experience in Western North Carolina as he earned his coaching start on the sidelines at nearby Brevard High. From 2015-2018 as an assistant coach and the offensive coordinator for the final three years, he helped the Blue Devils to three North Carolina state playoff appearances (2016-2018) including a 2016 conference championship – the program’s first in 10 years.
Leading Brevard’s offense, the Blue Devils posted a 27-13 record that included a regional runner-up finish. His 2016 unit averaged 37.2 points per game while amassing 332.3 yards offensively per contest. Over three seasons, BHS averaged 31 points per game on offense before he returned to Tusculum as the offensive graduate assistant coach in June 2019.
A versatile student-athlete, Dickey played at Tusculum from 2011 to 2014 where he saw action at quarterback, wide receiver, and tight end. He was the first player in program history to record a touchdown pass, catch, and scoring rush in a career. His 61.9 completion percentage remains the fourth-best in Tusculum history.
As a senior in 2014, Dickey led Tusculum to four straight come-from-behind wins to end the season including a 14-10 road win at Wingate. That was followed by a 20-17 overtime win over UNC Pembroke the next week as he completed a 27-yard TD pass on fourth down for the game-winner. In his final collegiate game, Dickey rallied Tusculum from a 12-point deficit with 3:29 left in the contest with two TD passes in a 38-35 win at Mars Hill, earning SAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
A native of McDonough, Ga., just southeast of Atlanta, Dickey played his prep career at Luella High in Locust Grove, Ga., where he garnered All-Region honors while passing for 3,500 yards and 35 touchdowns. He led the 2009 team to its first-ever playoff appearance in program history.
Dickey graduated from Tusculum in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sports science while minoring in coaching. He earned his master's degree at Tusculum in 2020 in organizational training and performance management. While a student-athlete, he was a member of the Tusculum Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.
