Head Coach Ray Gould
Offensive Line/Offensive Run Game Coordinator
Coach Ray Gould comes to Travelers Rest from Broward County, Florida, where he was the head coach at Coral Springs High School for the 7 years. Coach Gould graduated from Coral Springs and played his college football at the University of Central Florida where he graduated in 1998. After being an assistant coach at Coral Springs for 8 years he became the head coach, taking over a team that had only made the playoffs one time in school history. In his first year, the team finished with a 1-9 record. By his second year, he turned the program into a winner finishing with 7 wins and they followed that season up with another 7 win season and a playoff appearance. He would finish with a winning record in 4 out of his 7 seasons as the head coach. During his time at Coral Springs Coach Gould was known for helping his players get to the next level, having sent over 40 players on to play at the college level. Each year he would host a small college recruiting fair that would bring coaches from 40 different schools onto his campus to give exposure to his athletes and those from other Broward County Schools.
VARSITY COACHES
Coach Jeff Nelson
Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator
Coach Jeff Nelson is a 1990 graduate of TRHS. He went on to play college football at both Lenore-Ryan College and Gardner-Webb University. Coach Nelson coached high school football in South Carolina at JL Mann and TL Hanna. He also coached at North Greenville College, now North Greenville University. Coach Nelson also coached football internationally, coaching the Kiel Hurricanes in Germany. After moving to Virginia, Coach Nelson enjoyed head coaching stints at two high schools. Most recently, he was the head coach for the Bethel Bruins where he compiled a record of 30-15. During his coaching career, Coach Nelson has had the great fortune to coach 56 athletes who have gone on to play college football.
Coach Lawrence Burton
Special Teams Coordinator & Linebackers
The Devildogs are excited to have Coach Burton on our staff! He has proven himself to be talented at teaching skills and scheme. Coach Burton is gifted with a unique combination of both discipline and charisma. He has impressive life experiences that include being deployed in battle in the middle east. He is retired from the Air Force where he specialized in network security, working for a while at Langley Air Force Base. Coach Burton has experience playing college football and coaching at both high schools and Junior College. He has worked at several high schools in Virginia and North and South Carolina as an assistant.
Coach George Harrelson
Offensive LineCoach
George Harrelson is a seasoned coaching veteran and well known and respected in the state of South Carolina. Coach Harrelson has served as a head football coach at both Riverside High School and J.L. Mann High School. During his tenure as the head coach at J.L. Mann Coach Harrelson led the team to 6 winning records, a region championship, and several playoff appearances. Coach Harreslon has served as an assistant coach at Furman University where he coached in the DI-AA National Championship game. He has also served as an offensive and defensive coordinator at TRHS over the years. Coach Harrelson also spent a few years at Blue Ridge High School as the defensive coordinator under Coach David Farnham, helping turn their program around and leading them to the second round of the playoffs.
Coach Robbie Cole
Quarterbacks/Offensive Passing Game Coordinator
Coach Robbie Cole is a Traveler Rest alumni who graduated in 1992 before attending Furman University where he earned a B.A. in History and a Masters in Exercise Science. Coach Cole has 20 years experience coaching high school football in the upstate. During that time he has been both an offensive and defensive coordinator for several different teams. In 2002 as the defensive coordinator at Blue Ridge High School, he helped lead the Tigers to the 3rd round of the playoffs, which still stands as the deepest playoff run in school history. Later as the offensive coordinator at Greenville High School he would help lead the Red Raiders to back-to-back region championships and back-to-back 3rd round playoff appearances. Coach Cole is also a certified strength coach and is serving as TR's Head Strength Coach, a position he has held at several other schools including Greenville High.
Coach Will Ford
Running Backs & Returners
Coach Ford is a Devildog Alumni and one of the best athletes in school history (inducted into the TRHS Hall of Fame this year). He was a standout running back, basketball player, and a state champion track athlete. Coach Ford played college football at SC State where he set every rushing record in the MEAC Conference. After his college career he has enjoyed success in professional football's CFL. Devildog Football is proud of Will Ford's accomplishments and we are excited to have him working with our young men. More to come...
Coach Jerrard Wood
Wide Receivers
Coach Wood played high school football in one of the best programs in state history at Gaffney High. He played college ball at Benedict College and has stayed active as an adult athlete competing in adult leagues. We are pleased to hire an energetic young man of high character who knows what it takes to win at the high school level! And it doesn't hurt that he can still make all the moves and demonstrate everything himself. More to come...
Coach Frankie Davis
Defensive Backs
Frankie Dean Davis, like Coach Wood, is a Gaffney High graduate. He went on to play college football at North Greenville College. In addition to coaching, Coach Davis has dedicated himself to working with youth in his career and personal life. He has served as a Vice President for the S.C. Fatherhood Coalition and was a co-founder of D.I.C.E (Developing Integrity Character Education). We are lucky to have a man like Coach Davis working with our young men! More to come...
Coach Kevin Nelson
Defensive Line
Coach Kevin Nelson is a Devildog Alumnus who played here in the early 90's. He has served our community over the years as a firefighter and as a youth coach for both TRYA and Norwest Little League. More to come...
