The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced its 2024 Coach of the Year winners on Monday. Keiser's
Myles Russ was selected as the AFCA NAIA Coach of the Year.
The award marks the first for Coach Russ in his Keiser career. Russ becomes the second Keiser coach to earn the nation's top honor (Doug Socha - 2023).
Coach Russ joins Indiana's Curt Cignetti (FBS), Stony Brook's Billy Cosh (FCS), Valdosta State's Tremaine Jackson (Division II), Salisbury's Sherman Wood (Division III) as this year's coach of the year recipients.
The winners are selected by a vote of the Active AFCA members at four-year schools in the Association's five divisions. The AFCA has named a Coach of the Year since 1935. The AFCA Coach of the Year award is the oldest and most prestigious of all the Coach of the Year awards and is the only one chosen exclusively by coaches.
Myles Russ, Head Coach – First Season
- Earned the first AFCA NAIA Coach of the Year honor is his career
- Becomes the second Keiser coach to earn the nation's top honor (Doug Socha - 2023)
- Selected as a AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute participant
- Was named the AFCA Region 1 Coach of the Year for the first time in his career
- Named the Sun Conference Coach of the Year for the first time
- Earns program's fifth conference Coach of the Year award
- Has led Keiser to its third straight National Championship Game appearance
- Guided Keiser to its sixth consecutive berth in the NAIA Football Championship Series
- Entered the NAIA Football Championship Series as the No. 1 seed
- Coached 16 All-Sun Conference Honorees, including the SUN Special Teams Player of the Year (Refeno Vangates), the SUN Defensive Player of the Year (Tai Lologo), and the SUN Offensive Lineman of the Year (Jude Guerrier)
- Produced one AFCA All-American (Andrew Burnette)
- Keiser was ranked No. 1 in the NAIA during the entire season
- Guided the Seahawks to the nation's longest winning streak (23 games)
- Has led the Seahawks to 12 win this season, tying the school-record set last year for most wins in a season
- Keiser claimed its third straight Sun Conference title, going a perfect 6-0 in league action this season
- The conference crown was the third Sun Conference title for KU and the program's sixth straight league title (2019, 2020, and 2021 MSC Sun Division Champions)
- With the perfect 6-0 league record, Keiser has now registered five perfect seasons in conference action (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- The Seahawks remain perfect in Sun Conference action all-time (19-0)
- Keiser has won 24 straight games against NAIA teams
- Keiser is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the NAIA (Grand View - 13-0)
- The Seahawks are the only undefeated Florida team remaining this season (including all levels of NCAA)
- Offensively, Keiser has recorded 2674 yards (No. 3 all-time at Keiser) on the ground with 33 rushing touchdowns (No. 3 all-time at Keiser)
- The Seahawk's passing game has tallied 3,044 yards (school record) with 30 passing touchdowns (school record)
- The 5,718 yards of total offense the Seahawks have produced this season is a school record
- Keiser set the school record for total yards with 607 versus Pikeville (Ky.) (11/30)
- Keiser's offense is averaging 40.3 points per game (No. 14 in the NAIA)
- Defensively, the Seahawks are allowing 20.4 points per contest (No. 22 in the NAIA)
The Seahawks will travel to Durham, North Carolina, for the NAIA National Championship Game on Saturday, December 21. Keiser will face the No. 2-ranked Grand View Vikings. Kickoff is set for noon.
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