Eric Gallon, a former teammate of Head Coach Eric Wolford at Kansas State, has been named the Youngstown State football team's running backs coach. Coach Wolford made the announcement on Wednesday.
Gallon most recently served as the head coach at George Jenkins High School in Lakeland, Fla. Gallon was the head coach of the Eagles in 2012 after spending the previous four seasons as the offensive coordinator on the staff. As the head coach last year, GJHS won four games, quite a turnaround following a winless campaign the year prior.
The Lakeland, Fla., native was a standout running back for the Wildcats and Coach Bill Snyder from 1989-92. Gallon was a three-year letterwinner (1989, 1991 and 1992) and served as a team captain his senior season in 1992. In his Wildcat career he rushed for 1,960 yards on 447 carries while totaling 2,476 all-purpose yards. Of note, he had seven 100-plus yard rushing performances in his KSU career, including five as a junior.
As a junior in 1991, he rushed for 1,102 yards on 224 carries to lead the team while scoring nine touchdowns and received second-team All-Big Eight accolades from the coaches and The Associated Press. His 1,102 yards then ranked as the second-highest total in Wildcat history. He caught 21 passes for 247 yards that season to compile 1,349 all-purpose yards, then the fourth-most in school history.
In his senior season, he had 705 yards on 178 attempts. He caught 10 passes for 63 yards and was again tabbed a second-team All-Big Eight pick. During his sophomore campaign in 1989, he caught 27 passes for 219 yards while rushing for 140 yards on 39 attempts as a fullback.
Gallon had a brief stint with the New England Patriots following his collegiate career.
Following his playing career, he returned to his home state where he spent time working with at-risk youths before getting involved with coaching at the high-school level.
He was the founder, President and CEO of Global Youth Services, Inc., from 2004-12, which is located in Tampa, Fla. The service is responsible for relationships with the state and local officials regarding the welfare of youth, management and implementation of policies and procedures.
Prior to starting his own company, Gallon spent 11 years with Correctional Services Corporation. He was a Vice President of Operations in the Juvenile Division after serving as a program and regional director for the organization. He worked in Bartow and Sarasota, Fla., while employed by CSC.
A graduate of Kathleen High School in Lakeland, he earned his bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from Kansas State in 1999. He was a standout basketball and football player as a prep student-athlete.
Follow Coach Gallon on Twitter @ericgallon
