GULF SHORES, Ala. -- Gulf Shores City superintendent Matt Akin announced the hiring of Delta State Sports Hall of Famer Mark Hudspeth to lead the Dolphins football program at press conference on Friday, Jan., 8, 2021.

Gulf Shores High School introduced Hudspeth as its next head football coach after he was officially approved by the Gulf Shores Board of Education on Thursday, Jan., 7, 2021. He replaces Matt Blake at Gulf Shores.

Hudspeth guided Austin Peay to 11 wins in 2019 and was the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year. However, he resigned last summer after just one season, citing personal reasons.

The 52-year-old Hudspeth has not coached on the high school level since 1997. He spent two years at his alma mater, Winston Academy, and went 25-1 there. He led the team to the Mississippi Private School Association Class A titles.

A native of Louisville, Miss., Hudspeth played college football at Delta State from 1987-1991.

He spent time as an assistant at the college level at Central Arkansas (1992-1993, 1998), Nicholls State (1994-1995), Delta State (1999-2000) and Navy (2001) before earning his first college head coaching job at North Alabama. Hudspeth led the Lions from 2002-2008, accumulating a 66-21 record and winning a pair of Gulf South Conference titles. He spent seven years (2011-2017) as head coach at Louisiana, going 29-38.

He spent 2018 as assistant head coach and tight ends coach at Mississippi State before taking the head coaching job at Austin Peay. When he abruptly resigned, he said only that he needed to spend time away from the game with his wife and children.