Evangel University Men's Football

Hepola returned to his alma mater in 2015 before being promoted to head coach as he served as the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator for the Crusaders.   Prior to being named head coach, Hepola has served as an assistant coach at multiple levels in college football including nine at the NCAA Division I level. He spent five seasons in one of the toughest football conferences at the NCAA FCS level holding several positions at Nicholls State in the Southland Conference. Hepola was tabbed the associate head coach prior to returning to Missouri as he was also the special teams coordinator and running backs coach for the Colonels.   During his time in Thibodaux, Louisiana, Hepola was a two-time finalist for the American Football Coaches Associations Assistant Coach of the Year. He coached six all-Southland Conference performers and touted the number one ranked punt returner in the league.   Hepola first moved to Louisiana in 2009 as he served as the Director of Football Operations at Louisiana Monroe before joining the Colonels. After his brief stint in Monroe, Hepola spent six years in Oklahoma, first as an assistant coach at the University of Tulsa and later at East Central University where he was the offensive coordinator for three seasons.   Before starting his college coaching career, Hepola developed roots in southwest Missouri spending time on a number of high school coaching staffs including Logan-Rogersville, Willard and Hillcrest.   He earned his degree in education from Evangel in 1991 and finished his masters in education in 2002 from Drury University. Hepola and his wife Kirstin have one daughter, Courtney, who plays soccer at Evangel, and one son, Chance. Chuck Hepola was named head coach of the Evangel University football program on March 22, 2016.

DeSoto served as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Millsaps, an NCAA-III program, in 2013 and 2014. He was part of their conference championship and 9-1 season two years ago. He spent five years at Mississippi College (NCAA-III) from 2008-12 as a linebackers coach in addition to serving as director of football operations and video coordinator. During his tenure at Mississippi College, DeSoto also had stints as a defensive backs coach, special teams Coordinator and defensive line coach. The team won a conference title in 2009 and advanced two rounds into the NCAA-III national tournament going 9-3 for the season.   DeSoto played collegiately at Louisiana College where he earned four varsity letters. Following his playing career, DeSoto stayed at LC for three more seasons as an assistant coach working as a linebackers coach, a special teams assistant and he was the assistant director of football operations.   The Shreveport, Louisiana native is a product of Evangel Christian Academy where, during his junior year, the team went 15-0, won the Louisiana class 5A state championship and ended the year ranked number one in the nation by USA Today and Fox Sports.  In his four year high school career at Evangel Christian Academy, DeSotos team went 60-0 with four State Championships, along with a National Championship in 1999.   DeSoto has a degree in General Studies from Louisiana College and a Masters degree in Athletic Administration from Mississippi College. Jeremy DeSoto will enter his first year on the Evangel University coaching staff in 2015 and will coach the Crusaders' defensive line.