POPLARVILLE – Tucker Peavey, sporting a community collegebackground in coaching and recruiting, is the new head footballcoach at Pearl River Community College. He is a Brookhavennative.

During the regular January board meeting, the 16-member PearlRiver College Board of Trustees put its stamp of approval on thehiring of the 39-year-old Peavey.

Peavey, a 1986 graduate of the University of SouthernMississippi, was one of five candidates interviewed by PRCC’s10-member selection committee last weekend.

“Getting back to Mississippi to coach was something I wanted todo with my career,” said Peavey. “I am very excited about thisopportunity. I am looking forward to the challenge.”

Peavey replaces Scott Maxfield, who resigned his position ashead football coach last month after one season to accept a headcoaching position at Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas.

Maxfield guided the 2001 Wildcats to a 7-2 overall record, theschool’s first winning season since 1995. The 2001 Wildcatsfinished third in the MACJC South Division with a 4-2 record, justmissing the state playoffs.

“I want to commend the members of the search committee for theirthoroughness in this selection process,” said Lewis. “Theyinterviewed each candidate extensively before making theirrecommendation to me.”

Peavey was one of 22 junior and senior college assistants, andhigh school coaches, in and outside of Mississippi, who applied forthe job.

“This is a very important position because the football programis one of the most high-profile parts of this institution,” saidLewis. “Coach Peavey comes to us highly recommended. We lookforward to having him get started.”

Peavey comes to Pearl River from the University of Louisiana atLafayette where he was the offensive line coach. Prior to histhree-year stay at ULL he was assistant head coach and offensiveline coach at the University of Louisiana-Monroe. During his stayin Monroe, the school achieved several landmark wins over Kentucky,Mississippi State and Hawaii.

A Brookhaven native, Peavey began his full-time coaching careerat Petal High School under both Rush McKay and Pat Davis beforegoing to LSU in 1988-90 as a graduate assistant coach under MikeArcher where he worked exclusively with the offensive line.

He later became offensive coordinator at Itawamba CommunityCollege for one year under Mike Eaton. Following a brief stint asoffensive coordinator at Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, La.,he joined the staff at Louisiana-Monroe.

Peavey’s first taste of coaching came at Southern Miss, where heserved as a student assistant in 1983 and 1984 before earning hisB.S. in 1986. Prior to that, he played both football and baseballat Copiah-Lincoln Community College for two years, after alsoplaying both sports as a prep standout at Brookhaven HighSchool.

He and his wife Leah Anne are the parents of two children,daughter Lauren, 19, and son Nicholas, 9.