Tuscaloosa Academy nabs Bessemer Academy head football coach

Tuscaloosa, AL – Tuscaloosa Academy has snagged one of the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA)’s most successful coaches to take over the Knight football program.  PrepsNet has learned that longtime Bessemer Academy head coach Josh Wright will be Tuscaloosa Academy’s 17th leader on the gridiron.  

The Knights are looking for some stability on the sidelines.  Wright will be Tuscaloosa’s fourth head coach in the past four seasons.  Todd Bradford and John Copeland spent one season apiece at the helm of the AISA-AAA program following former head coach Robert Johnson’s successful eight year stint at the west Alabama private school. 

Wright has spent the past 13 seasons roaming the Norton Field sidelines, where he lead the Rebels to a combined 131-37 record including eight region titles, 12 playoff births, a 59-10 mark in region play and a four AISA state championships.  

The Jacksonville State alum lead the Rebels to 10 plus wins in eight of his 13 seasons in Bessemer.  

Wright will take over a Tuscaloosa Academy squad who closed out 2020 winless on the field.  The Knights officially posted a 3-7 record with three wins coming courtesy of COVID related forfeits. 

Wright is expected to close out the school year at Bessemer Academy before making the move 40 miles west to take the reigns of the Knights program.