Cody Wells joined the Evangel staff before spring practice in 2022 as Co-Offensive Coordinator and will serve as the quarterbacks position coach.
Wells comes to Springfield after six seasons at NCAA FCS-member Jacksonville State where he coached the wide receivers and quarterbacks.
Wells rejoined head coach John Grass and the Gamecocks after one season as the quarterbacks coach at his alma mater of Louisiana at Monroe in 2015. He was a graduate assistant at JSU in 2014, when the Gamecocks rolled to the Ohio Valley Conference title with a perfect 8-0 mark in league play.
In three years over the JSU quarterbacks, Wells has had the First Team All-OVC selection in each after Eli Jenkins claimed the honor in 2016, Bryant Horn in 2017, and Zerrick Cooper in 2018. He played a large role in helping JSU claim three OVC titles and just six OVC losses in four seasons, extending the Gamecocks’ streak of conference titles to an OVC-record five from 2014-18.
In the 2020-21 season, his second in charge of the receivers, saw him lead a new unit that featured a pair of All-OVC performers in Ahmad Edwards and Michael Pettway. Sixteen different players caught at least one pass for the Gamecocks in guiding them to their sixth OVC title in seven years and the No. 4 National Seed in the FCS Playoffs.
Wells’ third season, 2018, was a historic one for the Gamecock quarterbacks unit. Cooper was a Sophomore All-American and had the best passing season in school history. He set new school records with 3,416 yards, 32 touchdown passes and 251 completions. His 290.9 yards of total offense per game were also a new school record. He ranked third nationally in touchdown passes and fourth in passing yards in 2018, while also finishing among the national leaders in passing efficiency (13th– 147.6) and total offense (15th– 290.9).
The 2017 season saw JSU post a 10-2 record and an 8-0 mark in league play. The Gamecocks led the OVC in scoring offense behind the leadership of first-year starting quarterback Bryant Horn. The junior moved to the position from the defensive side and, under Wells’ leadership, grabbed First Team All-OVC honors in his first year as a starting quarterback.
His first season in charge of the JSU signal-callers in 2016 was nothing short of spectacular. He oversaw a unit that featured three-time First Team All-OVC quarterback Eli Jenkins, who was also named the OVC’s Offensive Player of the Year and the OVC’s Male Athlete of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons.
Wells returned to JSU after spending the 2015 campaign as quarterbacks coach of the Warhawks. He led freshman quarterback Garrett Smith to a 2,000-yard passing campaign that also saw him complete over 57 percent of his passes for 17 touchdowns before suffering a late season injury.
Wells began his coaching career in 2013 as an offensive graduate assistant at ULM. That season, he assisted with quarterback Kolton Browning, who threw for 2,179 yards and 21 touchdowns before wrapping up his career with a school-record 81 passing touchdowns and over 10,000 yards. Browning was later invited to the Dallas Cowboys training camp.
Prior to his coaching career, Wells appeared in 47 games during his four seasons with the Warhawks. He finished that career with 1,897 passing yards and 13 touchdown passes while tallying a 118.8 pass efficiency rating.
As a senior, he started at Arkansas State and finished the game 37-of-53 for 357 yards and two touchdowns. During that final season, he completed 64.1 percent of his passes.
Wells was named to the Sun Belt Conference’s Academic Honor Roll each season at ULM. He was also named the recipient of both the ULM President’s Award and the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Scholar-Athlete Award in 2012.
In July of 2017, Wells married the former Allie McComas of Monroe, La. The couple had their first child, Anna Collins, in July of 2018, and welcomed their second child, Cannon Bradley, in September of 2020.
