The AutoZone Liberty Bowl Football Classic announced, on Oct. 7, the coaches for the 24th annual high school football all-star game, to be played Dec. 12 at Memphis University School.
The Red and Blue teams each consist of one head coach and five assistant coaches from Memphis-area TSSAA high school football teams.
Wooddale coach Aries Nelson will coach the Red team, and Middle College coach LeNorris Staples
will coach the Blue team.Red team assistants
Howard Bush — Fayette-Ware High School
Rashaad Clayton — Memphis Business Academy
Thomas Johnson — Hamilton High School
Phil Massey — Briarcrest Christian School
Cedric Miller — MASE
Nelson and the Cardinals are 3-4 overall and 1-2 in Region
8-3A heading into Week 8. Nelson became Wooddale’s head coach in 2024 and has led the Cardinals to the state playoffs in each of his two seasons.
“The AutoZone Liberty Bowl High School All-Star Game provides a great opportunity to showcase the abundance of talent in the Memphis area,” Nelson said. “It gives the selected senior players one last opportunity to end their high school football careers with a win. It’s a great way to kick off the December events for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.”
Blue team assistants
Fred Copeland — Fairley High School
Larry Fitzgerald — Mitchell High School
Jerome Griffin — Southwind High School
Preston Harris — Overton High School
CJ Marshall — Bolton High School
Staples is in his 11th season as the Bulldogs’ coach. They are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Region 8-1A. Staples has served three times as an assistant coach for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl High School All-Star Game, including in 2025.
“The AutoZone Liberty Bowl High School All-Star Game gives the fans an opportunity to see local talent they may not have seen,” Staples said. “With the great exposure the All-Star Game has created over the past twenty years, there has been an increase in the appreciation and recognition for the amount of excellent overall talent that the Memphis area has at all levels.”
Memphis-area head coaches have until Nov. 5 to submit player nominations for the game. A selection committee composed of coaching analysts will select players based on their “character, on-field achievement and classroom performance.”
Reach The Commercial Appeal's high school writer, Ryan Myers at ryan.myers@commercialappeal.com and on the X platform @RyanMyers_23.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis area high school football coaches named for AutoZone Liberty Bowl Classic
