Faith and football: former coach Farrington to be honored at Nov. 1 football game
Photo courtesy of NGU athletics
Andrew Copp, Staff Writer
On Nov. 1, former head football coach Jeff Farrington will be honored at halftime for his 12 years leading the North Greenville University football program. Farrington led the Trailblazers to two bowl appearances and led countless players and coaches to be the best they could on the field, in the classroom and in their faith.
The game Farrington is being honored at will be military appreciation night, a tradition that hits close to home for the former coach. His son joined the marine corps after high school, and served 4 ½ years before rejoining the corps recently. Farrington honored his son and all of the other Americans in the military by beginning a tradition of running out of the tunnel with flags of the different military branches.
“We get to do this (play football) because people are out there paying the price for our freedom,” he said.
Farrington coached for 42 years at multiple different levels after playing defensive back for The Citadel. After long stints as an assistant at Furman University and East Tennessee State University, he got his opportunity to be a head coach at NGU and never looked back.
“I loved the school, I love the people, the environment, the small campus, obviously loved being at a school that professed Christ and to be able to look at it as a calling,” he said. “Being able to share the Gospel and shine His light.”
Current football player Bennett Masler had the opportunity to play for Farrington and highlighted his effective, old-school mentality that built a strong, positive culture within the team.
“He definitely made me a more disciplined person, he also made me much more detail oriented when I go about anything,” he said. “I also think he was helpful in strengthening my faith throughout his time coaching.”
Faith is obviously, through interviewing him and through secondhand accounts, a huge part of Farrington’s life. Multiple times throughout interviewing him he brought up his faith, how God had led him to Greenville and how he had been blessed with multiple different things throughout his life and career. Coaching players in the faith was just as big as coaching players in football for him.
“I got to work with many, many players through the years and loved every one of them. Loved having the opportunity to work with them and being able to not only coach them, but pour into them in every area of their life.” Farrington said. “Hopefully we were able to spread the Word and spread the seeds to them and give them an opportunity to know Him and learn some life lessons along the way.”
After stepping down, Farrington is now stepping into a new calling. He has become an executive director at Greer Community Ministries, a non-profit in Greer that provides meals on wheels, a food pantry, a senior fellowship and other services to serve their community.
He is grateful for everyone who keeps the school running, from coaches, to administrators, Sandy in the dining hall, the guys doing maintenance, to the faculty for their support throughout the years. Farrington looks forward to being able to attend the Nov. 1 game and getting an opportunity to see and support the players and coaches that he spent so much time pouring into. He is thankful for his time at NGU and loved every minute of it.
