Booneville, Miss. - Doug Saylor is moving over 1,000 miles closer to home to accept his first major football coaching position at the collegiate level.
Saylor has been selected as the new offensive coordinator at Northeast Mississippi Community College, which finished ranked among the top 10 teams in the country by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) one year ago.
"I love the fact that he's a high energy, motivated guy," said Northeast headman Greg Davis. "We're very similar philosophy wise and that's one of the reasons that I like this hire. He's really pumped up and excited about being here and getting to work.
"He's a guy that I think has a good handle on everything. I'm excited about this opportunity. He knows exactly what it takes to be a winner and be successful. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do."
Saylor comes to the City of Hospitality after a one-year stint at Colorado State University. He also spent multiple seasons learning the game under highly distinguished coach Mark Richt at the University of Georgia.
"I'm excited to coach big time talent and help develop them and get them to the next level," Saylor said. "It's about the players, not my X's and O's. We've got to put them in the best possible situation to be successful.
"I'm a very high octane kind of person. I'm confident in what I have and what I can do. I have conviction in what I believe in and hopefully that turns into points on the board and some winning football. It's going to be a fun process and I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Saylor was an offensive graduate assistant during his lone campaign at the Fort Collins, Colo., based school. His focus included instructing the Rams' wide receivers and on red zone offensive procedures.
His implementations and schematics helped Colorado State finish fourth in the nation in red zone offense with a 94.3 percent success rate. The Rams scored 50 times last season from inside the 20-yard-line.
Colorado State placed third in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) and 28th in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with 35.3 points per game during the 2016 season.
Saylor's wideouts accumulated an average of 244.7 yards each contest, which was second best in the MWC behind only Boise State (Idaho) University. Michael Gallup topped that group and was named All-MWC for his efforts.
Gallup blossomed under the tutelage of Saylor and led the MWC in touchdown receptions with 14. He was also second in the conference in catches with 76 and yards at 1,272.
Saylor also instructed Olabisi Johnson, who set a new all-time Colorado State record for receiving yards in a single matchup with 265 on just seven grabs versus the University of Idaho in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The Rams went 7-6 last year with Saylor on their staff. It was their fourth straight winning season and culminated in their postseason appearance on the famed blue turf of Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho.
Saylor burst into the coaching ranks as a student assistant from 2007-11 at Georgia. He trained and worked with six National Football League (NFL) draft picks during that time, including first round selections A.J. Green, Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford.
The Newnan, Ga., native was promoted to quality control coach for the 2012 campaign. Saylor aided the Bulldogs in capturing a Southeastern Conference (SEC) Eastern Division championship and consensus top five final national ranking.
Saylor completed his tenure at Georgia as an offensive graduate assistant from 2013-14 with an emphasis on quarterbacks and skill positions. The Bulldogs went a combined 18-8 during that stretch with berths to the Belk Bowl and Gator Bowl.
He again had multiple players advance to the professional level in this role at Georgia, including wideouts Malcolm Mitchell (New England Patriots), Chris Conley (Kansas City Chiefs) and Tavarres King (Denver Broncos).
Saylor served as the interim quarterbacks coach for the Bulldogs during the 2014 Belk Bowl. His signal callers combined for 14 completions and 200 yards to lead Georgia to a 37-14 victory over the University of Louisville (Ky.).
He also had a hand in the development of current Bulldog running backs and future NFL prospects Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Saylor was involved in the recruitment of Georgia's present starting quarterback Jacob Eason as well.
Saylor has also coached in the prep ranks after serving as offensive coordinator at Tiftarea (Ga.) Academy in 2015. His crew averaged 20.4 points per game as a member of the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA).
He was a quarterback himself at his alma mater of East Coweta (Ga.) High School. Saylor has completed a Bachelor's degree in sports management from Georgia.