Niblett Named Head Coach For Alabama All-Stars
Hoover High School head football coach Josh Niblett has been named head coach of the Alabama All-Stars for next December’s 23rd Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Football Classic.
The selection was made by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA) in conjunction with the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA).
Alabama holds a 15-7 edge in the series played at Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Alabama won the 2008 game 28-3 Dec. 13 under head coach John Grass of Oxford.
“Josh is a great motivator and has proven himself as a head coach at every level,” said Steve Bailey, Director of the AHSADCA. The AHSADCA conducts the annual all-star game with the management of Ladd-Peebles Stadium serving as the host. “He is one of our state’s up-and-coming young coaches.”
Niblett, 37, said he is very humbled by the selection. “I have coached in the All-Star Game twice. Both times it was a very rewarding experience,” he said. “This is a tremendous opportunity for me. To be selected for this is a major honor in a high school coach’s career. The game is about the kids and the experience. For the coaches, it is an opportunity to coach the very best players in this state. I am so grateful for this experience.”
Niblett guided the Bucs to the 6A finals in 2008, falling 16-13 to Prattville in the Class 6A state finals. Grass, who replaced Niblett as Oxford’s head coach last winter following Niblett’s move to Hoover, had guided led Spain Park to the 6A finals in 2007, also losing to Prattville, 14-0.
Niblett, who began his head-coaching career at Oneonta, led the Redskins to two Class 3A state championship berths. His team lost to Pike County in the 2003 finals, 30-7, but rebounded to beat Winfield in 2004, 28-21. He became just the second coach to direct two different schools to a Super 6 final last December when he got the Bucs to their eighth title game in 10 years during his first season.
He served as offensive coordinator for head coach Joey Jones in the 2006 game won by Alabama, 28-3. He also was an assistant coach on the staff of Willie Carl Martin (Benjamin Russell) in the 2003 game won by Alabama, 24-16.
“We had Andre Smith in the 2005 game and Jamarcus Russell quarterbacked in the 2003 game,” added Niblett. “A lot of the players in this game will also go on to play at the college level and some will even play in the NFL on Sunday.”
Huffman’s Smith, an Alabama Crimson Tide offensive tackle, won the Outland Trophy this season as the nation’s best college lineman. Russell, former LSU quarterback now with the Oakland Raiders, was the first player taken in the NFL draft in 2007.
Niblett has compiled an 80-33 career record including a 13-2 slate at Hoover in 2008.
He comes from a family of coaches. His dad John had a 256-135-0 career coaching record at several stops, including Josh’s alma mater, Demopolis Academy. His brother Tad is also on the Hoover staff. Josh Niblett also served as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State before taking over at Oneonta in 2001.
ALABAMA-MISSISSIPPI GAME-BY-GAME HISTORY
(Series record: Alabama 14 wins, Mississippi 6)
2008: Alabama 28, Mississippi 3
2007 (December): Mississippi 26, Alabama 7.
2007 (June): Alabama 51, Mississippi 14.
2006: Alabama 24, Mississippi 3
2005: Mississippi 21, Alabama 18
2004: Alabama 24, Mississippi 22
2003: Alabama 24, Mississippi 16
2002: Alabama 29, Mississippi 17
2001: Alabama 33, Mississippi 14
2000: Alabama 16, Mississippi 9
1999: Alabama 28, Mississippi 24
1998: Mississippi 9, Alabama 0
1997: Alabama 10, Mississippi 6
1996: Alabama 17, Mississippi 14
1995: Mississippi 37, Alabama 9
1994: Mississippi 24, Alabama 10
1993: Mississippi 17, Alabama 6
1992: Mississippi 17, Alabama 14
1991: Alabama 15, Mississippi 13
1990: Alabama 24, Mississippi 14 (OT)
1989: Alabama 24, Mississippi 21 (4 OT)
1988: Alabama 24, Mississippi 21 (3 OT)