Felton Huggins Jr. enters his fourth season as head football coach at Kentucky State University in 2026 after leading the Thorobreds to one of the most successful seasons in program history.
In 2025, Huggins was named Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after guiding Kentucky State to a 9-3 overall record, a program-best 7-1 mark in SIAC play and its first NCAA Division II playoff appearance. The nine victories tied the school record set by the 1935 team and marked just the fifth time, among available records dating to 1930, that the Thorobreds won at least eight games in a season.
The playoff berth represented Kentucky State’s first postseason appearance since defeating Livingstone, 30-27, in the 1997 Pioneer Bowl. The Thorobreds had not previously qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs, which began in 1973.
Kentucky State completed the 2025 regular season on an eight-game winning streak, its longest single-season streak since 1977. The run included a 55-0 road victory over Lane in the regular-season finale. It was the program’s first shutout since a 63-0 win over Central State in 2021 and its first shutout against Lane since 1992.
Four Thorobreds earned All-SIAC recognition following the season. Offensive lineman Daniel Bostic, wide receiver Darius Cyprian and defensive back Navy Curry received first-team honors, while wide receiver Jon McCall was named to the second team.
In 2024, Huggins guided Kentucky State to a 5-6 overall record and a 4-4 conference mark. The Thorobreds won five of their final six games, including three consecutive victories over Allen, Central State and Shorter to close the season.
Huggins was named Kentucky State’s head coach on Feb. 16, 2023. In his first season, the Thorobreds finished 3-7 overall and 2-6 in SIAC play. Kentucky State opened the Huggins era with a 34-20 victory over Clark Atlanta in the SIAC Labor Day Kickoff and finished the season with 1,539 receiving yards, the program’s highest total since 2014.
Before arriving at Kentucky State, Huggins served as the wide receivers coach at NCAA Division I McNeese State. He previously worked as the offensive coordinator and inside wide receivers coach at Charleston Southern in 2019.
During his season at Charleston Southern, Huggins helped produce one of the most productive offenses in program history. The Buccaneers accumulated 4,341 total yards, the third-highest single-season total in school history, and averaged 20.1 first downs per game, the second-best mark in program history. Wide receiver Kameron Brown established a school record with 10 receiving touchdowns, while Brown and offensive linemen Zack Evans and Stephen Haralambis earned All-Big South Second Team honors.
Before Charleston Southern, Huggins spent six seasons at LaGrange College, serving in several roles, including associate head coach, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and academic coordinator. The Panthers ranked among the top five in the USA South Athletic Conference in total offense in five of his six seasons and finished second in the conference in 2017 after averaging 408.6 yards per game.
Huggins also developed several record-setting receivers at LaGrange. Griffin Roelle earned All-USA South honors in 2014 after setting a program single-season record with 67 receptions and completing his career as the Panthers’ leader with 126 catches. In 2013, Marsalis Jackson was named the USA South Offensive Rookie of the Year after establishing school records with 902 receiving yards and 12 touchdown receptions.
A former standout wide receiver at Southeastern Louisiana, Huggins started for three seasons and concluded his collegiate career as the program’s leader in receptions with 162 and receiving yards with 2,350. He established school records for receptions in a season with 84, receiving yards in a season with 1,313 and receiving yards in a game with 266. He also tied the program’s single-game record with 13 receptions.
Huggins earned third-team All-America recognition and received all-conference honors during his junior and senior seasons. After completing his collegiate career, he spent time professionally with the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.
