MOULTRIE — New Georgia Southern coach Tyson Summers, a former Tift County High player, has raided southwest Georgia for three members of his staff: Colquitt County defensive coordinator Jeremy Rowell, Valdosta High head coach Rance Gillespie and Valdosta State head coach David Dean.

Gillespie and Dean will be the Eagles’ co-offensive coordinators while Rowell will coach the safeties.

Dean has been the head coach at Valdosta State for nine seasons and is the school’s winningest coach with a record of 79-27. He led the Blazers to national championships in 2007 and 2012.

Gillespie will be returning to Statesboro where he served as the offensive coordinator under Chris Hatcher for three years before taking over at Valdosta.

The Wildcats were 49-20 during Gillespie’s six seasons in Valdosta.

He had won two state championships and played for another at Peach County before his three seasons at Georgia Southern.

Gillespie has a record of 119-51 in 14 seasons as a head coach.

Both Dean and Gillespie are known for using pass-oriented offenses, but Georgia Southern has been successful running a shotgun triple option.

Summers, who is in his first season as a head coach, made it plain he planned to continue running the gun option, but did say, “What we’ve got to do is be able to throw the ball.”

Rowell is returning to the college game after serving on the Colquitt County staff the last three seasons.

A former quarterback and assistant coach at Troy, Rowell was the defensive coordinator for the Trojans for eight seasons before coming to Moultrie.

He coached the Packers safeties his first two seasons, but after Tracy Buckhannon left after the 2014 season, Rowell took over as defensive coordinator.

As the Packers went 15-0 for a second straight season, Rowell also ran the special teams and was the Packers academics supervisor.

“And he handled all three of them extremely well,” Packers coach Rush Propst said. “I’m extremely indebted to him.

“I love him like a brother. He’s one of the most loyal people I’ve ever been a round. And he’s a great husband and father.”

Propst said he very nearly missed the opportunity to hire Rowell in the spring of 2013, but was able to get him on board while knowing he would likely return to the college ranks at some point.

All the Packers did during Rowell’s three-year tenure was go 41-3 and win two state championships.

Before this past season, many people believed that it would be difficult for the 2015 Packers defense to be better than the one that led the 2014 team to the school’s first state championship in 20 years.

But the team exceeded expectations, playing as well or better than the previous year’s team, despite having lost Bull Barge, Quintin Hampton, T.J. Smith, Ricky Dunbar, Alex Williams, Tomarcio Reese, Taif Smith and others.

“A lot of that had to do with Jeremy Rowell,” Propst said. “What we have done the last three years has a lot to do with him.”

Rowell led a staff that included new defensive line coach Courtney Sanders, outside linebackers coach Bubba Walker, also new to the staff, inside linebackers coach Granger Shook and cornerbacks coach Dextra Polite.

Rowell ran the same defense that Buckhannon ran the previous two seasons, but adapted to his style and personnel.

The defensive staff had few full-time starters back, but was able to build around returning starters Landon Scott and Dee Walker to construct a cohesive unit that finished the season with a state championship game performance in which it allowed just one first-quarter touchdown and two first-half field goals in the 30-13 victory over 14-0 Roswell in the Georgia Dome.

Propst said he has not decided on a successor to Rowell, although Walker was the defensive coordinator at Valdosta State before joining the Packers staff before last season.

Propst said he would he would hold a staff meeting next week.