Clifton standing out at Mars Hill
There is no prerequisite that you had to play college football to be able to coach college football.
Prime examples are Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson, Duke’s David Cutcliffe, Kansas’ Charlie Weis, Mississippi’s Hugh Freeze and Washington State’s Mike Leach. None of them played a down in a college football game, and neither did Macon native Tim Clifton, who just began his 22nd season as head coach at Mars Hill in North Carolina.
Clifton was a three-sport star at Stratford in the early 1970s after transferring from Southwest, where he had played for Billy Henderson.
He was the starting quarterback for the Eagles on their 1970 state championship team, a starting point guard on their state title basketball team in 1971, and the starting shortstop on the 1972 baseball team that also won a state crown.
Clifton is still in the Stratford football record book with an interception return for a touchdown of 103 yards. He was named winner of the Dr. John Paul Jones Award as the school’s top senior male athlete in 1972 and was elected to the Stratford athletics hall of fame in 2010.
His .338 high school career batting average at Stratford helped him earn a baseball scholarship to Mercer, where he was a four-year starter at second base for legendary head coach Claude Smith.
Teaching and coaching are the only things he has done for the past 38 years since finishing at Mercer. His resume includes coaching football, basketball, baseball and track at the high school level and football, softball, baseball and track in college.
He said he was greatly influenced by coaches in Macon.
“I had the privilege of playing for and coaching with Billy Henderson for three years,” Clifton said. “He taught me what it would take to be a successful football coach by his work habits and ethics. I was also privileged to play for Bobby Brown at Stratford, who instilled in us teamwork and patience.
“Three other coaches from Stratford -- Bubba Adams, Richard Reid and Grady Smith -- also had a big influence in my life.”
Clifton said the move from Southwest to Stratford was the right decision for him.
“It opened opportunities for me to follow my dreams,” he said. “Coach Brown and Dr. Joe Hill were a great influence in my life both on and off the field.”
Prior to beginning his tenure at Mars Hill, he coached at Clarke Central in Athens with Henderson for three seasons before moving to the college ranks. He was at uth Carolina for two years, VMI and Fayetteville State for two years each and then at Ferrum in Virginia for six years.
He has become Mars Hill’s winningest head football coach and is second all-time in wins in the South Atlantic Conference. His 2011 team won the South Atlantic Conference title and made it to the second round of the Division II playoffs, earning him conference coach of the year honors.
That team also featured Division II player of the year Jonas Randolph, winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II version of the Heisman Trophy.
Clifton and his wife Joy, whom he met at Mercer, celebrate 37 years of marriage this year. They have two children, daughter Myriah and son Cody, who are both graduates of Mars Hill. Joy is very much involved with the school, as well, serving as the chair of the physical education department.
He has no intention of stepping down any time soon.
“I don’t have any plans to retire in the near future,” Clifton said. “We still have too much work to do here.”
Mars Hill opened the 2014 season last week with a 38-26 loss at West Georgia. The first home game is Saturday against Shorter, coached by Phil Jones, who like Clifton is a former Mercer baseball player and who also never played college football.
Contact Bobby Pope at bobbypope628@gmail.com.
This story was originally published September 8, 2014 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Clifton standing out at Mars Hill."