WACO, Texas – Coastal Carolina football assistant coaches Malcolm Dixon and Tony Washington were both selected for the 2022 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced this week.
 
This year's class was chosen from a field of over 200 high-quality applicants.
 
Dixon is in his second season coaching the tight ends at CCU. The group is led by three-time all-conference honoree Isaiah Likely who finished the regular season with 52 catches for 816 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 10 receiving touchdowns lead the Sun Belt, rank 19th nationally overall, and are the most by a tight end in all of FBS. His 816 receiving yards rank fifth in the Sun Belt, most by a tight end, while his 68.0 yards per game also rank fifth in the Sun Belt.
 
A John Mackey Award semifinalist, Likely's 630 receiving yards in conference play were second while his eight touchdowns led the league. His 78.8 yards per game in conference play was second as well, again tops among all tight ends.
 
Washington is in his second season coaching the wide receivers and has a veteran group led by senior Jaivon Heiligh and super senior Kameron Brown. In fact, CCU is one of seven teams in all of FBS with two receivers averaging more than 17.0 yards per catch this season in Heiligh (17.53) and Brown (17.18).

Now a four-time All-Sun Belt honoree with first-team honors as a wide receiver and third-team accolades as a punt returner this season, Heiligh leads the team with 59 catches for 1,034 yards and seven touchdowns this season. With his 1,034 receiving yards to date, he became just the second Chanticleer in program history to have a 1,000-receiving yard season (Jerome Simpson - 2006).
 
His 1,034 yards rank second in the Sun Belt and 30th nationally, while his 86.2 receiving yards per game are second in the SBC and 28th nationally. His seven receiving touchdowns are fourth in the Sun Belt on the year, while his 17.53 yards per catch on the year ranks third overall in the Sun Belt. 
 
In Sun Belt Conference play, Heiligh's 38 catches tied him with teammate Likely for the fourth-most in the SBC, while his 570 receiving yards and 75.13 yards per game were both third overall. His average of 94.17 all-purpose yards per game ranked fifth in the Sun Belt on the season.
 
In the final regular-season game of the year, Heiligh etched his name in the CCU record books, as he became the all-time leading receiver in Coastal Carolina program history with 2,731 yards and the CCU career leader in pass receptions with 184.
 
A three-time Big South All-Conference selection (2016, 2017, and 2019) while at Charleston Southern, Brown emerged as the third option for the Chants' offense in 2021 to earn All-Sun Belt honorable mention accolades.
 
Brown is third on the team with 33 catches, 567 yards, and five touchdowns. He has averaged 47.25 yards per game as well, which is also third on the team behind two of the top three pass catchers in all of the Sun Belt Conference in Heiligh and Likely. Brown's 567 receiving yards are 12th in the SBC while his 17.2 yards per catch average ranks fourth in the Sun Belt on the season.
 
In Sun Belt play only, his 422 receiving yards ranked 10th while his 16.2 yards per catch average was ninth in all of SBC.
 
Overall, Coastal's offense currently ranks sixth in all of FBS in scoring (40.4 ppg), sixth in rushing offense (231.2 ypg), seventh in total offense (493.1 ypg), 26th in red-zone offense (89.1 percent), and 37th in passing offense (261.8 ypg). The CCU offense also leads the nation in third-down conversion percentage (54.1 percent) and is fourth nationally in fourth-down conversion percentage (75.0).
 
The AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute is a prestigious program aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession. Selected participants are invited to attend the one-day institute that features a curriculum of interactive lectures focused on topics specifically tailored to emphasize leadership in the coaching profession, ethics, influential responsibilities, career progression, and family balance.
 
The duo becomes the second and third assistant coaches on head coach Jamey Chadwell's staff to be recognized this season, as co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Newland Isaac was named the 2021 AFCA FBS Assistant Coach of the Year and was a Broyles Award nominee earlier this season.
 
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