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A former Morgan Academy assistant football coach was recently hired at Murray State University.

A well-traveled coach, Matt Wannebo was hired to coach the Racers’ defensive backs.

Former Morgan Academy football coach and athletic director Danny Raines, now at Berry High School, said he enjoyed working with Wannebo. 

“Coach Wannebo is a first-class person,” Raines said. “It was a blessing to have him at Morgan with us. He’s a great coach who genuinely loves and cares for the players. I’m so thankful for our time together. It’s not surprising that he is back on the college level. Murray State will be blessed to have him as we were at Morgan Academy.”

For nearly a decade, Wannebo coached the Jacksonville State Gamecock defensive backs.

A former quarterback from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. (1977-81), Wannebo earned his degree in both education and exercise science and moved on to Auburn University, where he graduated with a master’s degree in motor learning and motor development.

His coaching ventures have included some prominent Division I programs, including Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas and Minnesota. Before joining the Gamecocks in 2000, Wannebo coached the secondary at Auburn. He also coached at Holmes Community and Southwest Mississippi Community College at the Mississippi Junior College level.

Wannebo is a native of Minnesota and a 1977 graduate of Cooper High School.