Marquase Lovings | Arkansas State University

Marquase Lovings begins his first season at Arkansas State in 2022 as the Red Wolves’ associate head coach and running backs coach.

Lovings comes to A-State after most recently spending the 2021 season as the defensive line coach at Nicholls State, but also returns to the sideline as an assistant coach of a Sun Belt Conference program for the second time after previously serving as Louisiana’s running backs coach for six seasons from 2011-16 and defensive line coach for one other in 2017.  He has been part of seven bowl games and two FCS playoff appearances during his coaching career.

Returning to Nicholls State for his second stint as defensive line coach in 2021, he helped the Colonels defense rank No. 2 in the Southland Conference in total defense while posting the program’s fifth consecutive winning season.  He was also a member of the Nicholls State coaching staff in 2018, when the Colonels collected the first of back-to-back conference championships.

Between his two stints at Nicholls State, Loving spent the 2019 and 2020 campaigns at Austin Peay.  He was named interim head coach in the fall of 2020 after serving as associate head coach for the Governors in 2019, when he oversaw the defensive line.  Under his leadership, Austin Peay concluded the 2020 year by winning four of its final five games, including a 34-31 victory over No. 13 Murray State in its season finale.

Austin Peay posted one of the best defensive seasons in program history in 2019, ranking among the FCS’ top 20 in rushing defense (No. 8), total defense (No. 12), scoring defense (No. 15) and third-down defense (No. 16).  Josephus Smith and Shaun Whittinghill each earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors and John Wesley Whiteside was named to the league’s All-Newcomer team.

During Lovings’ seven seasons at Louisiana, including his first six as running backs coach, the Ragin’ Cajuns played in the New Orleans Bowl five times, winning four of those contests.  He was a 2014 nominee for the Broyles Award, which is awarded to the nation’s top assistant coach, and in 2018, he was a recipient of the 35 Under 35 AFCA Coaches Leadership Institute.

Under his direction, former Ragin’ Cajuns running backs Elijah McGuire and Alonzo Harris combined to rush for over 3,800 yards and 48 touchdowns during a two-year span (2013-14) that saw each earn All-Sun Belt honors.  In 2014, McGuire earned Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year honors for the league.  McGuire went on to rush for over 4,300 yards and 42 touchdowns while at Louisiana and was a sixth-round NFL Draft pick by the New York Jets.

During the 2013 season, the duo each combined for over 1,800 yards and 22 rushing touchdowns and each earned First Team All-Sun Belt recognition.  Louisiana finished second in the Sun Belt and 26th nationally in rushing offense with 204.5 yards per game.  In 2011, Lovings helped Harris rush for 700 yards and eight touchdowns to earn the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year award.

Before joining the Ragin’ Cajuns, Loving spent four seasons at Mississippi State (2007-10), first as a defensive quality control coach before taking over as a defensive graduate assistant for his final two seasons.  The Bulldogs had several standout defensive linemen, including Titus Brown and Fletcher Cox.  Brown went on to play with the Cleveland Browns from 2008-12, and Cox went on to become the 12th pick of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.

A graduate and former walk-on tight end at Howard University, Lovings also has high school coaching on his resume with stints at Dunbar High in Washington, D.C., and his alma mater, P.K. Yonge High in Gainesville, Fla.

Lovings earned his masters in sports administration from Mississippi State University in 2008 and is currently pursuing his doctorate in education at Mississippi State.

Lovings and his wife, Krystal, have a son, EJ, and a daughter, Khloe.