SEARCY – Harding University head football coach Ronnie Huckeba announced Monday the hiring of two new assistant coaches. Luke Cullins will join the staff as the wide receivers coach, and Scott Symons will be the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator.
Cullins, a native of Morrillton, Ark., comes to Harding from Riverview High School in Searcy where he served as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator since 2006. Symons, who hails from Mission Viejo, Calif., has been a graduate assistant at Harding for the last two seasons.
Cullins helped Riverview began its program with a junior varsity schedule in 2006 and helped the team become the first public school in Arkansas to earn a playoff berth in its first varsity season in 2008.
From 2001-06, Cullins was the quarterback coach at Harding Academy and helped lead the Wildcats to a state championship in 2002.
Cullins first came to Harding as a walk-on quarterback in 1996 and worked his way into the starting lineup the following season. A three-year starter, Cullins earned 2nd Team All-Lone Star Conference honors in 1999 after passing for 2,468 yards and 22 touchdowns. He ranks third in career passing touchdowns at Harding with 44.
After graduating from Harding in 2000 with a degree in kinesiology, Cullins served one season as a graduate assistant. He earned his master's degree in secondary administration from Harding in 2001.
Cullins is married to the former Shawna Sciba of Mountain Grove, Mo. The couple has two daughters-Claire (7) and Zoe (4).
Last season, Symons coached Harding's secondard and directed senior defensive back Josh Jones to All-America honors and a spot in the Cactus Bowl All-Star Game. Jones, who played rover, led Harding with 94 tackles and eight interceptions.
Prior to coming to Harding, Symons was the linebackers and receivers coach and the junior varsity head coach at Saint Dominic High School in O'Fallon, Mo., for the 2007-08 school year.
Symons, a graduate of Fort Worth Christian School, played outside linebacker at Lindenwood University from 2004-07 and earned his bachelor's degree in history. He was selected to the United States Marine Corps Officer Candidate School and attended in the summer of 2006. He has worked with abused and neglected children as a counselor at Royal Family Kids Camp for the last four years.
Symons married the former Kristen Heineken of Columbia, Ill., on June 28, 2008.
