Hall of Fame
Position: Linebacker
Years: 1993-1996
Place of Birth: Mt. Pleasant, SC
Date of Birth: Oct 20, 1972
Jersey Number: 32
Height: 5-11
Weight: 202
High School: Wando HS (Mt. Pleasant, SC)
Dexter Coakley was a man of many firsts. A three-time First Team All-America, Coakley is the first two-time winner of the Buck Buchanan Award as Football Championship Subdivision's top defender. He was the first three-time Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and the first Hall of Fame inductee for Appalachian State. With 616 career tackles, Coakley ranks second in Southern Conference history. As a freshman, Coakley garnered SoCon Freshman of the Year honors. At the time of his induction, he owned four of his school's top six single-season tackle marks and is also the school's all-time record holder with 350 career solo tackles. Dexter had 37 career double-digit tackle games and seven games with 20 or more stops. Coakley helped the Mountaineers make two appearances in the Division I-AA playoffs and led the squad to the 1995 Southern Conference title. A third round selection of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1997 NFL Draft, Coakley enjoyed a 10-year career with the Cowboys and the St. Louis Rams.
