Ringgold Football - Assistant Coaches

Houston White

Defensive Coordinator

Coach White will be starting his 29th year coaching and teaching, and his 9th at Ringgold High School.
Coach White graduated from East Ridge High School and went on to play defensive back at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He began his career as the defensive backs coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has been a head coach at the high school level at Notre Dame High School and Hixson High School. Coach White also spent 6 years as an offensive and defensive coordinator in Dallas, Texas. Coach White teaches economics here at Ringgold High School. He has three children, Kyle, LuLu, and Bo.hwhite.rhs@catoosa.k12.ga.us

Mark Davis

Assistant Head Coach l Defensive Line

Starting his 30th year of coaching at both the High School and College level. He has been at Ringgold since 2007. Was the Defensive Coordinator from 2007-2016. Coach Davis has coached the Defensive Line for the last three years. Other coaching stops include LFO High School from 1998-2006, while being the Head Football Coach in 2005 and 2006. Other stops include 4 years at Tusculum College and 3 years at Greenwood & Northwestern High Schools in South Carolina. A three-year letterman, he graduated from Wofford College and earned a Master's degree from Tusculum College.
Additionally, he holds an Education Specialist Degree from Lincoln Memorial University. Teaches Social Studies at Ringgold. Coach Davis has a daughter, Kaylee, at RHS, and his wife, Lisa, works at the Catoosa County Board of Education Office.

Drew Smythe

Running Backs

The 2025 season will be Coach Smythe’s 11th year coaching football and his 2nd at Ringgold High School. Coach Smythe coached at Murray County High School for six years. He coached the offensive line, wide receivers, and defensive line while at Murray County. He coached basketball and track this past year at Ringgold High School. Coach Smythe is originally from LaGrange, GA, and graduated from LaGrange High School in 2007. Coach Smythe played for the 2005 team that made it to the semi-finals and the 2006 team that won the region championship. Coach Smythe graduated from Jacksonville State University in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Social Science Education. Coach Smythe is married to Katie Smythe and has two children: Charlee and Brooks. Coach Smythe is excited to be a Ringgold Tiger!

Matt Burgess

Defensive Assistant

Coach Matthew Burgess’s 10+ years of experience throughout the state of Georgia at both high school and middle school levels come from coaching defense, offense, and special teams. For the Tigers, he will be assisting with the Defensive Line and Linebackers. Coach Burgess teaches at Ringgold High School. Before graduating from Ringgold High School in 2002, he lettered for three years in football & track and was a member of the 2001 Times Free Press All-North Georgia Football Team.

Coach Burgess was a collegiate letterman in football at Georgia Southern University from 2002 to 2005. As an Eagle, he was a two-time Southern Conference Champion (2002 & 2004) and earned his degree in General Studies with a minor in Coaching. At GSU, he also met his match, which led to a perfectly imperfect life with Samantha, raising three awesome kids: Ross, Will, and Ella.

Tony Coode

Linebackers

The 2024 football season will be Coach Tony Coode’s 25th season of coaching football. It will be Coach Coode’s 13th year coaching and teaching here at Ringgold High School. Coode spent the previous 11 years coaching at the collegiate level. Coode’s college experience includes coaching stints at Lenoir-Rhyne University (2001-2003), Sewanee: The University of the South (2004, 2007-2008), the University of Tennessee (2005-2006), and UT-Chattanooga (2009-2011).
While at Ringgold, Coode has coached linebackers, defensive line, running backs, and special teams. In 2020, Coode will coach the linebackers and help with special teams. In the classroom, Coach Coode teaches Health, PE, and Weight Training.
Coode is originally from Nashville TN and attended Father Ryan High School. He attended UTC from 1996-2000. He was a linebacker on the football team at UTC, lettering in 1998, ’99, and ’00. Coode graduated from UTC with a degree in Sports Administration in 2000. He also holds a Master’s degree from the University of Tennessee (2011) and an Education Specialist degree from Valdosta State University (2015). Coode is married to the former Becky Malec and they have three children, Parker, Caroline, and Andrew.

Colby Holtcamp

Wide Receivers

The 2023 Season will be Coach Holtcamp's 18th season at Ringgold High School and 28th overall. He has spent time at his alma mater, Whitwell High, Ridgeland High, Bradley Central, and now at Ringgold High. Coach Holtcamp has coached all positions on both sides of the ball and has been an offensive and defensive coordinator throughout his coaching career.
Coach Holtcamp teaches Special Education at RHS and is married to Brandy Starks Holtcamp. They have two sons, Braxton & Cason.

Chris Davis

Cornerbacks, Special Teams.

The 2024 Football Season will be Coach Chris Davis’ 10th season of coaching football. He spent the first 4 years working and coaching football at Ringgold Middle School. Coach Davis spent 3 years as a head wrestling coach at Ringgold Middle School, after serving the first 5 years as an assistant. He has also served as an assistant and head soccer coach at RMS and RHS.

This will be his 6th year coaching at Ringgold High School, where he has coached running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, and now in his 4th year coaching defensive backs. Coach Davis will begin the 2021 football season as Special Teams Coordinator. In the classroom, Coach Davis teaches 1st and 2nd grade special education at Ringgold Primary School.

Coach Davis was born and raised in Ringgold, Georgia, where he attended Ringgold High School. He attended UTC from 2015 to 2019, where he earned his degree in Early Childhood Education/Special Education. He is married to Courtney Davis. They have one daughter, Kaylin.

Ashley DeWitt

Offensive Line

Coach Ashley DeWitt enters his 35th year in coaching and his first year at Ringgold High School as the offensive line coach. A graduate of the University of Georgia, DeWitt earned his degree in Health and Physical Education. He later completed a master’s degree in Health and Physical Education from Georgia Southwestern State University and an education specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University.

DeWitt began his coaching career in 1992 at Hawkinsville High School, where he spent three years coaching the offensive line and developing the school’s wrestling program. In 1995, he moved to Macon County High School, coaching the offensive line and serving as head wrestling coach. He was part of the 1996 staff that led Macon County to a State Football Championship.

In 1998, DeWitt joined Central-Macon High School, where he coached the offensive line, assisted in coordinating the offense, and served as head wrestling coach. He moved to Carrollton High School in 2002, where his teams were state football finalists in 2010 and 2013. While at Carrollton, he also contributed to track and field programs that won state championships in 2003, 2005, 2010, 2011, and 2012. In 2015, he founded the girls’ lacrosse program, leading the team to its first playoff appearance in 2017.

DeWitt continued his career at Cass High School in 2018, coaching the offensive line, assisting with offensive coordination, and serving as head middle school wrestling coach. In 2021, he moved to Gilmer County High School, where he coached the offensive line and served as head track coach.

Coach DeWitt is married to the former Suzanne Goolsby of Suwanee, Georgia. They have two daughters, Bethany and Brynn. Bethany and her husband, Garrett, have three children: Rennick, Adeline, and Anna Chastain. Brynn and her husband, Samuel, have one daughter, Hattie.

Tanner Davis

Tight Ends, H-backs, and Slot Receivers

Coach Davis brings valuable experience coaching high school football at both Kennesaw Mountain High School and Ridgeland High School, where he has built a strong reputation as an energetic, relationship-driven coach committed to developing young athletes on and off the field.

His coaching philosophy is rooted in discipline, accountability, and player development, helping athletes grow not just as football players, but as young men.

Coach Davis has primarily coached on the defensive side of the ball and will now be transitioning to the offensive side of the game, where he will work with our Tight Ends, H-backs, and Slot Receivers.

Steve Carpenter

Trainer

A native of Chicago, Illinois. Steve received his Bachelors of Science in Sports Medicine and Athletic Training from The University of Charleston in 1992. He then went on to pursue a Masters of Science in Education with an Emphasis in Athletic Training from Marshall University, where he served as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer from 1992-1994. He also served as interim Athletic Trainer for Men’s Basketball in the Summer of 1994 under Head Coach Billy Donovan. During his career in Athletic Training, he has had experiences in NCAA D1 Athletics, Industrial Rehabilitation as well as Secondary School Outreach. He has served in a position as a Coordinator of Athletic Training Services for Erlanger Sports Medicine since February 2009. He has been the Athletic Trainer for Ringgold HS since August 1999. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with family and has been involved in the sport of Road Cycling on numerous levels that ranged from an Athlete to a Professional Sports Director.

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