Dexter Coakley HOF



Football
1/8/2026 1:48:00 PM







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BOONE, N.C. — Dexter Coakley, a Hall of Fame linebacker at App State from 1993-96, has been named a finalist for the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.
 
Fans can submit an online vote for Coakley up to the Jan. 30 deadline.
 
A native of Mount Pleasant, S.C., and graduate of Wando High School, Coakley has his No. 32 jersey retired in Boone. He was a three-time first-team All-American and a two-time winner of the Buck Buchanan Award that recognizes the best FCS/I-AA defender in college football.
 
Coakley ranks first in App State history with 616 career tackles, and his 166 tackles as a senior in 1996 were part of a season in which he was named the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the third time.
 
He set or tied six school records during his college career and helped lead the Mountaineers to 32 victories, including an 11-0 regular season in 1995. He’s also still App State’s career leader in solo tackles (350), games with double-figure tackles (37) and 20-tackle games (seven).
 
The Dallas Cowboys selected Coakley in the third round of the NFL Draft in 1997, and he was a two-time All-Pro (1999, 2001). A three-time Pro Bowl selection, he played in the NFL for 10 seasons, spending the final two with the St. Louis Rams.
 
He was inducted into the App State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
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