BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The Rotenberry brothers have united once again to pass along their knowledge and passion for the game of football at Northeast Mississippi Community College.

Turner Rotenberry is the Tigers' new running backs and tight ends coach. He rejoins his twin Cole Rotenberry, who serves Northeast as its wide receivers instructor.

"He's a young man that we feel really excited about," said Tigers head coach Greg Davis. "He's very conscientious and very hard working. He's moving from the defensive side of the ball to the offensive side, but I think that's only going to help his knowledge of the game moving forward."

The Rotenberrys have followed the exact same path both as players and as coaches with the exception of last year when Cole came to Northeast and Turner remained at Coahoma Community College as a graduate assistant.

Rotenberry was in charge of the safeties during his pair of seasons in the delta. He was a standout defensive back himself at both Mississippi College and Northwest Mississippi Community College.

"Not everybody can say they've coached with their twin brother," Rotenberry said. "Being with Cole has helped me see how we can get better on the offensive side of the ball. I think it's great and I can't wait to get started.

"I come from a defensive mindset. So I can help our guys understand why the defense lines up this way and how to attack it. I'm going to come in every day giving my best to the players and the coaches."

Rotenberry was part of a big turnaround during his tenure at Coahoma. The Tigers finished with a winning record for the first time in 11 years during his inaugural campaign on their staff.

Coahoma carried that good fortune into the first half of the ensuing 2021 campaign. The Tigers rose to as high as No. 14 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I rankings after starting the season with four victories in five games.

Rotenberry instructed Marlon Windham, who was selected as the most valuable defensive back in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) North Division last season after accounting for 49 tackles and three interceptions. 

Three of his former Coahoma student-athletes signed with four-year institutions, including Kasimir Absolu to the University of West Florida, Jordan Montgomery to Mississippi Valley State University and Windham to Delta State University.

The Batesville native won multiple awards during his playing career. Rotenberry was a Preseason All-Gulf South Conference (GSC) recipient going into his senior campaign at Mississippi College.

Rotenberry obtained that accolade after leading the GSC as a junior with 182 interception return yards. He picked off four passes that year, including an 87-yard pick-six during his debut with the Choctaws against Clark Atlanta (Ga.) University.

He added another interception return for a touchdown just seconds before halftime during Mississippi College's triumph over archrival Delta State in the 2019 Heritage Bell Classic. 

Rotenberry earned a starting nod in all 20 appearances with the Choctaws. He was named to Mississippi College's all-decade team after accumulating 95 tackles and six interceptions over two seasons.

The South Panola High School graduate received All-MACCC second-team honors following his final year at Northwest. He had the second most tackles for the Rangers with 79 along with four picks.

Rotenberry was recognized as both the MACCC and NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week after posting 10 takedowns, two tackles for loss and a 41-yard pick-six for Northwest in its MACCC semifinal win over Hinds Community College.

It was the start of three consecutive double-digit tackling performances in the postseason for Rotenberry. He concluded his sophomore campaign by racking up a career-high 15 stops versus Iowa Western Community College in the 2017 Graphic Edge Bowl.

His overall statistics between Mississippi College and Northwest include 205 takedowns, 8.5 tackles for loss, 16 pass break ups, 13 interceptions, six touchdowns and three forced fumbles.

"I've had a lot of coaches impact my life in a positive way," said Rotenberry. "I'm just glad I can hopefully do it for our guys as well. Any time you can help young guys develop a different mindset is great."