Southwest Baptist University Men's Football

Clardy will be entering his second season (2016-17) as the Head Football Coach and his 10th season overall on the Bearcats Football coaching staff. In 2015, Coach Clardy led the Bearcats to a 4-6 record (3-5 GLVC) which was good for a 7th place finish in the conference.  He guided 14 players to All-GLVC awards including two 1st teamers in Antion McBee and Bubba Jenkins.  He also helped QB Trent Edwards earn the GLVC Freshman of the Year award. In addition, McBee was also named a D2CCA and D2Football.com 2nd Team All-American at defensive back. As a team, SBU was second in the GLVC in scoring offense and third in total offense under Clardy's leadership.  In 2014, Clardy coached his first All-American athlete at the wide receiver position in Nathan Mourik. Mourik had a record-setting year, claiming the GLVC single-season record for receiving yards, and also numerous SBU single-season records. Since taking over the wide receivers coaching position, Clardy has had four different receivers earn All-MIAA or All-GLVC honors. In 2013, Clardy was promoted to Assistant Head Coach/ Wide Receivers coach and helped lead Derwyn Lauderdale to an 1000+ yard receiving season. From 2011-2012, Clardy was the Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks coach at SBU producing two all-MIAA players and one Division II Senior Bowl selection. As the Quarterbacks coach from 2008-10, Robert assisted in producing one of the most prolific offenses in Division II football. SBU's offense broke several NCAA records while Clardy was coaching quarterback Steve Gachette.  Gachette rewrote the SBU record books while breaking four Division II records and finishing his career 7th all-time among all NCAA divisions in total offense with 15,235 yards. In 2008, Robert graduated from Southwest Baptist with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation. During his time as a student he played quarterback for the Bearcats football team.  He led the team in total passing and offensive yards for three consecutive seasons and led the team in rushing and scoring for two. He ranks in the Top 3 for total offensive yards and pass completion percentage and holds the schools career record for pass completion percentage. Clardy finished his career ranked 7th all-time in the MIAA conference in total offense. Robert Clardy currently resides in Bolivar, Missouri with his wife Krysten (a 2009 SBU graduate and All-MIAA soccer player for the Bearcats), their two daughters, Addyson and Brooklynn, and son Lawson.

Coach Hansen enters his first season (2025-26) at the helm of the SBU football team with 19 years of coaching exprience prior.   Hansen joins Southwest Baptist after leading MidAmerica Nazarene (MNU) for the past five seasons, where he began his college head coaching career. It didn't take him long to make a name for himself as he has led the Pioneers to three straight winning seasons including back-to-back Heart South Conference Championships. Coach Hansen continued to make history with the Pioneers leading them back to the NAIA playoffs for the first time since 2014, ranked as high as #7 in the Nation. He was named the conference coach of the year in 2023 and NAIA Region coach of the year in 2024.   During his time at MNU, Hansen coached numerous All-Americans and Players of the Year. One of his highlights came in 2023 when Defensive Back, Anthony Sao, was signed by the Atlanta Falcons, the first ever NFL signee in school history. In just five seasons, he coached 4 Freshman of the Year, 4 All-Americans, 1 Conference Player of the Year, 2 Offensive Players of the Year, and 77 All-Conference players.   Hansen has coached some the most supreme offenses in the country while at MNU. This past season, his offense averaged 50 points per game and 511 yards per game, #3 in the Nation. In 2021, his offense broke the National passing record in a game when his quarterback threw for 659 yards. The offense has consistently been at the top in the conference in total offense.   Prior to MNU, Hansen was the Assistant Head Coach/Offense Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator at Division II Western New Mexico University. There he coached a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard receiver, and 2019 Lone Star Conference Freshman of the year. He coached his offense to top two in the Lone Star Conference in passing.   The Missouri Native spent his four years in college just 30 minutes south of Bolivar at Evangel University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education. He was a four-year letterman for the team helping them win two Conference Championships. Hansen was named a Don Hansen Gazette Honorable Mention All-American receiver his final season.   His ability to lead the Bearcat football program extends beyond the field with the intentionality to impact his student-athlete's lives. Coach Hansen has a big focus on winning but also focuses on teaching his players to serve. He has been a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes throughout his coaching career. His program's pillars of Faith, Family, Future, and Football are the focuses he instills into each and every athlete that enters his program.   Hansen resides in Bolivar with his wife Joanna, and kids: Bria, Londyn, and Skylar

Immanuel Pride will be entering his first season at Southwest Baptist University, serving as the Run Game Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach. Prior to SBU, Pride spent the past three seasons serving as an assistant coach at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, CA, coaching the offensive line and tight ends. Pride was also the Comets' Recruiting Coordinator all three seasons and was promoted to Co-Offensive Coordinator for the 2023 season. Pride was part of a program turnaround, improving from a 3-27 record over three seasons prior to arriving to a 20-12 record and two bowl game victories from 2021-2023. During his time spent at Contra Costa, Pride has coached eight All-Conference and three All-State players; one of which earned JC All-America honors. During this span, Pride has also developed eight offensive linemen and two tight ends who have moved on to compete at the NCAA Division 1 level.  Prior to coaching, Pride earned his B.S. in Mass Communication in 2020 from Southeast Missouri State University where was an offensive lineman for a Redhawk team that won the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference championship. Pride transferred to SEMO in 2019 from Laney College in Oakland, CA where he was an all-conference center and team captain for the Eagles' 2018 CCCAA championship team. A Union City, CA native, Pride graduated from James Logan High School in 2015 where he was an offensive lineman for the Colts all four years. In addition to earning both a bachelor's and associate degree, Pride also earned his M.A. in Communication Studies online from Arkansas State University in 2023.

Ethan Smith is in his first season (2025-26) as the Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach for SBU football. He comes to the Bearcats after two seasons at Rock Bridge High School. During his three seasons at Rock Bridge, his defense averaged 18.7 PPG, recording 83 takeaways and 22 defensive touchdowns. Smith helped lead the team to back-to-back district champs and two straight quarterfinals appearances. Prior to Rock Bridge HS, he coached at his Alma Mater as a linebackers coach from 2019-2022. Smith Contributed to one of the best ranked defenses in the country with top-5 rankings in total defense and total pass defense during two of his seasons. He recruited nine All-Conference athletes and 3 All-American selections. One of those recruits was a 2x Conference Player of the Year, 2x All-American, and Cliff Harris award finalist. He resides in Bolivar with his wife Cassie and their kids. 

Donovan Newman is in his 1st season (2025-26) as the football Wide Receivers coach. He joins the Bearcats after being the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator for Division III Millsaps College. During his one season at Millsaps, he helped coached two All-Conference Honor awards. Prior to Millsaps, he spent two seasons as an offensive quality control coach at Houston Christian University working with both quarterbacks and wide receivers. He helped lead the program to their first winning season in school history. During college he played quarterback and earned his Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary studies from North American University in 2022.

Kenny Thomason is in his 2nd season as the Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator. In his first season leading the offensive line, he brought the total sacks allowed number down from 22 to 17. The run game improved by a tremendous mark, increasing the rush yards per game by 35 and scoring by 11.2 points per game. He coached two All-GLVC offensive lineman and one All-GLVC running back. During his first season recruiting, he helped sign a recruiting class that included 16 All-State players. He joins Southwest Baptist after two years as the Offensive Line Coach at Missouri Baptist University. While there he helped turn the program around to their first winning season in over 10 years. Thomason was an All-American honorable mention as a player for the McKendree Bearcats, a fellow GLVC member. He played in 45 games at right tackle from 2018-22, starting in all 45. In his final season, he was named a D2Football.com Elite 100 member and a Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award nominee. Coach Thomason resides in Bolivar with his wife Allie and dog Bear. 

Mason Ruzicka enters his first season as the linebackers coach at Southwest Baptist University following previous coaching roles at FCS Campbell University and Division III East Texas Baptist University. This marks Ruzicka’s seventh overall season in college coaching and his first at the Division II level. Most recently, he served as the Defensive Quality Control and Linebackers Coach at Campbell University. Prior to that, he began his coaching career at East Texas Baptist University in 2019 as a graduate assistant. He was promoted to Linebackers Coach in 2020 and later took on responsibilities as Special Teams Coordinator and Recruiting Coordinator in 2023. At ETBU, Ruzicka played a key role in the success of the Tiger defense. In 2022, the unit placed third in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) in total defense and led the nation in tackles for loss (9.2 per game), while also finishing 13th nationally in sacks per game (3.4). In 2023, ETBU’s special teams ranked first in the ASC in kickoff coverage and third in kickoff return. That same year, the defense statistically ranked second in total defense and finished in the top three in several other conference categories. Serving as Recruiting Coordinator, Ruzicka - along with the football staff, signed a record number of student-athletes for ETBU.  At Campbell, Ruzicka helped the Fighting Camels’ defense finish tied for third in interceptions and top 10 in sacks in the CAA Conference during the 2024 season. He coached a talented linebacker group that included Jalen Brooks, George Wilson, and Logan Livermon. Brooks, a former walk-on at the University of North Carolina, posted 118 tackles, setting Campbell’s single-season record and earning All-Conference honors while finishing 13th nationally in tackles. Wilson, a transfer from Florida State, led the team with five sacks and ranked in the top 20 in the conference. Livermon, a former Campbell walk-on who earned a scholarship, was the team’s third-leading tackler and received Academic All-District honors from CSC. A native of Arlington, Texas, Ruzicka earned a B.A. in History with a minor in Disability Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2019. He completed his Master’s in Education with a specialization in Sports Leadership from East Texas Baptist University in 2020. NOTABLE PLAYERS COACHED Jalen Brooks (CU) - All Conference LB 2024, set single-season tackling record at Campbell (118), assisted in getting to Missouri State (FBS) George Wilson (CU) - assisted in elevating to South Carolina (FBS) Logan Livermon (CU) - Academic All District LB 2024 Justice Henson (ETBU) - All-Region LB SP2021, 2x All-Conference SP2021-F2022, Sportsmanship Award 2019, currently playing in Arena Football League (AFL) Joey Johnson (ETBU) - 2x All-Conference F2021-22, assisted in elevating to Lamar University (FCS) Keewan Grismore (ETBU) - Freshman All-American, assisted in elevating to CSU-Pueblo Joey Verret (ETBU) - All-Region 2023, 2x All-Conference LB 2022-23 Azaya Patrick (ETBU) - All-Conference LB Chase Thompson (ETBU) - All-Conference LB SP2021 Anton Clark (ETBU) - All-American LB 2019 Nick Piazza (ETBU) - All-Conference K 2023 Grady Clay (ETBU) - All-American DS 2023 MASON RUZICKA COACHING HISTORY 2025-Present – Southwest Baptist Assistant Coach (Linebackers) 2024-25 – Campbell University Assistant Coach (Defensive Quality Control/Linebackers) 2019-24 – East Texas Baptist University Assistant Coach (Special Teams Coordinator, Linebackers, Recruiting Coordinator)