Football
- Title:
- Edges
- Email:
- ixm105@shsu.edu
- Phone:
- 936 294-1735
Issac Mooring enters his second season coaching Sam Houston’s edges in 2026 after joining head coach Phil Longo’s staff in February 2025.
Mooring arrived in Huntsville after serving as a defensive analyst at Texas in 2024. He previously spent four seasons coaching the defensive line at HCU from 2020-23, adding camp director responsibilities during his final season.
Before HCU, Mooring coached running backs at Grand Valley State in 2019, helping the group produce 2,382 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. He coached the defensive line at Texas State from 2017-18, guiding a pair of All-Sun Belt Conference selections.
Mooring spent four seasons coaching the defensive line at Gardner-Webb from 2013-16, developing multiple All-Americans and all-conference performers. Among those standouts were O.J. Mau, a three-time FCS All-American, and Shaquille Riddick, who earned All-America recognition and finished fifth in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award in 2013.
Riddick was later selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Mau and Preston Pemasa joined Riddick as first-team All-Big South selections in 2013, giving Gardner-Webb three of the four defensive line spots on the team.
That season, Gardner-Webb ranked fifth nationally in total defense, allowing 296.8 yards per game, and led the Big South in sacks and tackles for loss. In Mooring’s final season, the Bulldogs tied for the conference lead in sacks.
Mooring coached the defensive line at North Greenville in 2012, helping the team record 23 sacks and 76 tackles for loss while winning five of its final six games.
He began his coaching career at North Carolina Wesleyan, working with both the defensive and offensive lines. He helped the Bishops win USA South championships and advance to the NCAA Division III playoffs in 2007 and 2009.
As a player, Mooring was a four-year letterwinner at North Carolina from 2000-03 and started during his junior and senior seasons. He played alongside Julius Peppers and Ryan Sims on the defensive front and was part of the Tar Heels’ 2001 Peach Bowl championship team.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Mooring attended Tarboro High School in Tarboro, N.C. He earned his bachelor’s degree in interpersonal and organizational communications from North Carolina in 2003.
Mooring and his wife, Quanza, have five children: Sydnei, Trey, C.J., Isaiah and Daniel Jeremiah.
