Bo Hardegree, who grew up in Jackson, is honored for his accomplishments as a professional and college football coach and his success as a high school and college athlete. A star quarterback and state-champion tennis player at Jackson Central-Merry High School, Hardegree signed a football scholarship with the University of Tennessee in 2003. After graduation in 2007, he was a student assistant coach at UT, a graduate assistant at Duke, and an assistant coach at LSU before going to the pros. Hardegree, 40, began his coaching career in the National Football League in 2014 with the Denver Broncos and has coached with the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans, where he is presently the quarterbacks coach. “I had a great foundation in Jackson, and a lot of good people helped me get to this point in my career,” Hardegree said. “It’s all about opportunities and making sure you are ready for those opportunities when they come along.” The son of Jim and Adair Hardegree, Bo was born in Union City while his father was an assistant football coach at Tennessee Martin. The family moved to Jackson in 1986. Hardegree’s football career began at Tigrett Middle School, where he played quarterback for Coach Randy Franks on an undefeated team. Hardegree played quarterback at North Side High his freshman year and at JCM three years, all under his father, who was head coach at those schools. His senior season at JCM, the 6-foot-5 Hardegree was co-captain and completed 63 percent of his passes, throwing for 23 touchdowns and 1,869 yards. The Cougars were unbeaten in regular-season play and advanced to the state semifinals. Hardegree was first team All-State and All-West State and Region 7-5A’s most valuable player. He had a 21-4 record as a starting quarterback in high school and passed for 3,586 yards and 41 touchdowns. He also had a stellar tennis career in high school, losing only twice in singles in four years. He won the state Class AAA singles championship as a junior and finished second in doubles as a freshman. He was highly ranked in the South by USTA. After his senior football season at Tennessee, he joined UT’s tennis team late and was unbeaten in singles and doubles at the No. 3 position in the regular season. Hardegree was on the All-SEC Academic Team all four years at Tennessee, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and had a 3.9 GPA. He intended to go to medical school and be an orthopedic surgeon, but UT assistant head coach and offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe asked him to try coaching. “I did, and it was like, ‘Wow, I kind of like this,’” Hardegree said. “I think Coach Cutcliffe saw a lot of drive in me. I asked the right questions in meetings and showed that I was always prepared and knew what was going on.” After working as a student assistant for the Vols, he went with Cutcliffe to Duke in 2008 as a graduate assistant coach. He earned his master’s degree in liberal arts at Duke, where he had a 3.85 GPA. “I was still thinking about med school if I decided I didn’t like coaching,” Hardegree said. “But situations and opportunities happened for me, and I knew I wanted to stay in it.” After three seasons at Duke, he joined LSU’s staff under former Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis, who was defensive coordinator for Les Miles at LSU. Hardegree worked with the defense his first year and the offense for two years. He was 29 and decided to interview for an opening with the Denver Broncos, where Peyton Manning was quarterback in 2014. Adam Gase was Denver’s offensive coordinator, and he interviewed Hardegree. “His preparation, work ethic and intelligence were above any other candidate that we interviewed for our quality control coaching position,” Gase said. “That was the start of my relationship with Bo … He represents everything good about the coaching profession.” Hardegree was offered a job to remain at Denver in 2015, when Manning and the Broncos won the Super Bowl. But he chose to be loyal to Gase and followed him to the Chicago Bears for a season and then to Miami, where Gase was named head coach. Hardegree was his quarterbacks coach three years. And when Gase became head coach of the New York Jets, Hardegree joined him as an offensive assistant two seasons. In 2021, Hardegree got a call from the New England Patriots to join Bill Belichick’s staff as quarterbacks coach and work with rookie Mac Jones, who led all rookie QBs in passings yards and touchdowns that season. In 2022, Hardegree was hired as quarterbacks coach for the Las Vegas Raiders. He was suddenly promoted to offensive coordinator in 2023 when the Raiders fired their general manager, head coach and offensive coordinator after a 3-5 start. Hardegree promptly put together a 5-4 record as a play caller and was 3-1 in the division. Highlights included a franchise-record for points scored in a game with a 63-21 win over the Chargers, and a Christmas Day upset of the Chiefs, 20-14, at Kansas City. The Chiefs have not lost at home since that game. In 2024, when good friend Brian Callahan became head coach of the Tennessee Titans, Hardegree agreed to be his quarterbacks coach. “It was a chance to join my home-state team and be around family for a change,” Hardegree said. “We have a lot of work to do, but we’re addressing all of the issues and waiting to see what happens in the April draft.” Hardegree has been married to Lauren Hardegree eight years. She is a radiologist from Miami. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Isabella, and are expecting a baby boy in June. His brother Bill Hardegree, a former USJ and Tennessee Martin quarterback, still resides in the Jackson area practicing law.
A Madison County native, Paula Fuller is honored for her accomplishments as a basketball player and administrator. A 6-foot forward, she was a four-year starter and two-time, Jackson Sun All-West State basketball player at West High School in the Denmark community, graduating in 1979. She started her college career at Jackson State Community College, where she was all-conference, all-region and honorable mention All-America. Fuller finished her playing days at Memphis State, earning All-Metro Conference honors as a senior when the Lady Tigers won the Metro title and made it to the NCAA Sweet 16. Fuller, 63, is the daughter of Bobby and Dorothy Fuller. She has two sons, Bobbye and Damonn Fuller. Damonn is head boys basketball coach at South Side High. Paula grew up on a farm in the Mercer community surrounded by relatives of all ages. Her grandmother had a large front yard, and the cousins wore out the grass playing basketball on a make-shift court. “My uncles used scrap lumber to make backboards, and they nailed them to trees,” Fuller said. “So we had two goals and played full court. We had iron goals, but I don’t remember having nets on the goals. We played so much, I’m sure the nets wore out and weren’t replaced.” From childhood on, Fuller played basketball with and against her cousins and uncles, male and female. She learned to be quick and tough against family competition and developed a passion for the game. She attended Blairs Elementary, an all-black school in the Blairs Chapel community, before integration moved her to previously all-white Mercer Elementary in the fourth grade. It was there that Fuller got to play on her first indoor wooden basketball court. “During PE, they had us playing basketball,” she said. “I grabbed the ball and took off down the court, just like I always did playing the boys in my grandmother’s front yard. The teacher yelled, ‘No, no, no. Girls play half court.’ Well, I was embarrassed and couldn’t understand why we didn’t play like the boys and college and the NBA on TV. But those were the rules for girls back then.” Fuller played 6-player, half-court basketball throughout high school. There were three forwards and three guards on each side of a center line, which they weren’t allowed to cross. Only forwards could shoot the ball. Fuller’s class was the last to use those rules in Tennessee. They were changed to full-court play for girls in the spring of 1979. Fuller played for Coach T. Willie Tyson at West Junior High School and for Coach Sam Greer at West High, where she helped her team win four straight district titles. Her sophomore season the Lady Tigers advanced to the 1977 Class A state tournament, losing to Pickett County, 44-43, in the first round. Fuller scored 15 points. Pickett County went on to win the first of its four consecutive Class A state championships. Fuller was the District 15-A MVP her senior year, averaging 28 points and earning second-team Sports Writers All-State honors. Her dream since childhood was to play college ball at Memphis State, but she chose to postpone that opportunity. “Coach Mary Lou Johns had players like Linda Street at Memphis State, and she told me I probably wouldn’t get much playing time as a freshman,” Fuller said. “I didn’t want to sit the bench, so I stayed home and played for Coach Marvin Williams at Jackson State Community College. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.” Fuller teamed with Bolivar’s Diane Jones, Fayette-Ware’s Helen Malone and Covington’s Debra Grandberry to make history at JSCC. The Lady Generals won the junior college state championship two years and placed third in the national tournament with a 23-1 record as sophomores in 1981. Fuller averaged 10 points and nine rebounds. Fuller, Jones and Grandberry signed with Memphis State. “It was a dream come true,” Fuller said. “And it was so exciting. We had about 85 in my class at West and good fans at Jackson State, but when I got to Memphis State there were so many people. We had big crowds, and I got to travel to cities and countries I would have never gone to otherwise. It was just a great experience.” Fuller averaged 8.4 points, four rebounds and two blocks a game while shooting 83 percent from the free-throw line and 45 percent from the field. She had a career high 21 points and 11 rebounds against Tulane. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing in 1984 and worked for Nielsen Media Research 14 years and Federal Express before returning to Jackson State as a recruiter of students 26 years ago. She oversees JSCC’s recruiting office today. “There aren’t very many things I would change in my life,” Fuller said. “I’ve been super, super blessed.”
Jake Overbey, a Jackson native, is honored for his accomplishments as a college and high school baseball player and for his stellar football career at University School of Jackson. The son of Michael and Regina Overbey, he was a three-year starter at quarterback at USJ and the first Jackson player to win the TSSAA Mr. Football honor twice (2009, 2010). He was a finalist three times. “It was a great honor to be nominated as a sophomore and to win Mr. Football my junior and senior year, but I certainly could not have done it alone,” Overbey said. “Football is a team game, and it takes a mixture of great people to win football games. “From the linemen protecting me, to the receivers getting open and catching passes, to the coaches getting us prepared with a game plan, it takes more than just an individual to win football games. I am grateful to have won Mr. Football, but much more grateful to be on a winning team with my teammates enjoying a win on a Friday night.” At USJ, Overbey passed for 8,408 yards and 103 touchdowns and ran for 21 TDs. In 2009 he had 44 TD passes, which ranks sixth for a single season in the TSSAA records. In three seasons as the starting quarterback, he led USJ to a 29-6 record and a state runner-up trophy. He completed 62 percent of his career passes. Overbey, 32, played for Mickey Marley, who was the head football coach at USJ from 1989 to 2015 and is now the USJ Football Alumni Coordinator. “It was my honor and privilege to have had the opportunity to coach Jake Overbey,” said Marley, a 2012 Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame inductee. “Jake was one of the best football players I’ve ever coached. As a quarterback, Jake had an innate ability to make big plays happen. Jake was an outstanding teammate and could ‘rally the troops’ when necessary. Not only was Jake a great player and teammate, he was, and is, a greater person on and off the field.” Overbey’s talents were not limited to the football field. He was a three-year starter at shortstop at USJ and was named all-state, all-region and all-district in baseball in 2011. His senior season he batted .400 with 10 home runs, 28 doubles, and 54 RBI while scoring 56 runs. The winner of the Most Valuable Player award in the West Tennessee All-Star game, Overbey traveled throughout the nation playing with the Memphis-based Elite Dulin’s Dodgers. Asked if he favored baseball or football, he said, “That is a tough one to answer. I played baseball from a very early age through college. There were a lot of games and memories that I made along the way. For instance, playing shortstop at Ole Miss while my brother (Preston) was playing second base was an all-time highlight. “Football was completely different though. It’s hard to beat the intensity and the emotions that you get playing football. Football seemed to come more naturally to me, and I love the strategy of reading and exploiting defenses. The positions I played in both sports were leadership positions, and I always enjoyed that responsibility. I would say it is a tie. I just love to compete. Now, golf is my challenge.” Overbey was a 10th round draft selection by the Philadelphia Phillies in Major League Baseball, but he chose to sign a Southeastern Conference scholarship with the University of Mississippi. “I was fortunate to be picked by the Phillies out of high school, but I never expected to have that hard of a decision to make,” Overbey said. “The decision to go play alongside my brother at an SEC baseball powerhouse like Ole Miss was what ultimately made that decision. It was a dream come true for our entire family. Preston and I are so close in age that I started out by playing up in age so I could be on Preston’s team. I did not know how special that was for us until we got to college and were able to continue being teammates in the SEC.” Preston Overbey was inducted into the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. “He made it easier for me,” Jake said. “I was lucky to have a brother like Preston who I could watch go through all the things someone has to do to become a D1 athlete. From the recruiting process, also being drafted, the training, the grades, etcetera. I was able to watch and learn from him, and it gave me a sense of being one step ahead because I felt like I had already gone through it. “He helped me in a lot of ways, and all I had to do was watch and wait for my turn. I owe much of my sports success to Preston because we always competed to be the best we could be and not worry about competing against others, and by watching his hard work ethic and discipline.” Overbey left Ole Miss, returned to the football field and lettered when he transferred to Tennessee Martin for one season. But in 2014 he transferred to the University of Memphis where he played his last two baseball seasons. “Once I was eligible to play baseball at the Division I level again, I finished my career and earned my bachelor’s degree at the University of Memphis,” he said. Overbey and his wife Hillary have a 3-year-old daughter, Elaine. He is a financial advisor with Voya Financial in Jackson.
Josh Aldridge, a native of Jackson, is honored for his accomplishments as a collegiate football coach and as a football player at Harding University and Jackson Christian School. The son of Steven and June Aldridge, he was a two-time, all-state defensive end at Jackson Christian and helped the Eagles become the 2006 Class 1A state champions when he was a junior. Jackson Christian is the only Jackson school to have won a football state championship since playoffs began in 1969. Aldridge, 35, earned his bachelor’s degree at Harding University, where he realized he wanted to coach football. "I grew up around a courtroom and always thought I wanted to be a lawyer or work in the judicial or justice system," Aldridge said. "Law school was at the front of my mind, but I quickly figured out just because you're good in school doesn't mean you like it." "I looked around for leaders who impacted people's lives, and my position coach (at Harding), Paul Simmons, was the best leader I had ever seen. I knew that's what I wanted to do and made that plan early in college." Aldridge begins his 13th year as a collegiate coach. After a two-year stay as a defensive assistant at Auburn University under head coach Hugh Freeze, Aldridge is the new defensive coordinator at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. "Josh is extremely knowledgeable, and his work efforts have carried over with him, only increasing with every staff he's been a part of," Freeze said. "Josh has identified himself as a leader with many necessary qualities of determination and hard work ethic. He is passionate about the game of football and about his role in a position of leadership." "In addition to his football coaching abilities, Josh displays outstanding attitude and commitment," Freeze said. "He is committed to the game and the betterment of those around him.” Aldridge followed Freeze to Auburn after coaching four seasons (2019-2022) at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where he served as Freeze’s defensive line coach and defensive coordinator. He was the interim head coach when Liberty played in the 2022 Boca Raton Bowl. In 2021 he was a nominee for the Frank Broyles Award, which is presented annually to the top college assistant football coach. Previously, as the defensive coordinator at Lenoir Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C., he helped lead the Bears to a national No. 1 ranking in turnovers caused and a No. 9 ranking in scoring defense during a 12-win season. At the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga., from 2014 to 2017, he worked as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. West Georgia won the Gulf South Conference championship in 2015. "Recruiting is the same as it's always been,” Aldridge said. “The motivation to get them to your school has just changed. With the transfer portal, it has unfortunately given those who are having to fight through tough times or those who are at the top of the mountain an easy way out to believe the grass is always greener." “I think more than ever, young men need even more leadership to navigate through this current state of college athletics. They're being treated as professionals/adults without necessarily having the maturity or experience to handle it properly." During his time at UWG, the school earned three Division II playoff berths, back-to-back 12-win seasons and two NCAA Playoff Super Region 2 Finals. At Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Ark., Aldridge was the defensive line coach after working as a defensive graduate assistant at Lindenwood in 2013. Aldridge was a four-year starter at Harding University in Searcy, Ark. He was a team captain and twice selected as All-Gulf South Conference. A finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy - recognized as the Heisman Trophy for academics - he ranks fourth all-time at Harding in sacks and tackles for loss and second all-time in blocked kicks. At Jackson Christian, he was the 2006 Region 8-1A Defensive Player of the Year after recording 141 tackles, including nine sacks, during the state championship season. "What I remember most about that year was that we started our season at two (wins) and three (losses) and really had to come together as a team," he said. "During our playoff run, we had our backs against the wall on a fourth down and converted for a touchdown to beat Lake County. After we won that game, we dominated in the semifinals and state championship." Brian Stewart, who coached Aldridge in three sports at JCS, said Josh has the heart you wish every kid who competes would desire to have. "I have never witnessed an individual with more self-discipline and drive than Josh," Stewart said. "Jackson Christian won a state championship because he was the catalyst - a leader, a warrior ... He inspired all around him to be better. Josh was an absolute dominate high school football player who overachieved because of his mentality. Nothing has changed." During his Eagles career, Aldridge made more than 300 tackles. His senior season in 2007 he led the team in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks. He was Class 2-A All-State, All-West State and the Region 8-2A Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Tony Shutes is honored for his 34 years as a head basketball coach at University School of Jackson (30), Jackson Central-Merry (1) and Jackson Christian (3). In 30 seasons as girls basketball coach at USJ his teams won 22 district championships and seven regional titles. The Lady Bruins played in 20 substate games and 10 state tournaments, advancing to the state semifinals five times and the finals twice. At press time, Shutes had 649 victories as a head girls basketball coach, averaging 19 wins a season. This year’s Jackson Christian team, his third, clinched a second consecutive 20-win season in tournament play. Last year’s 20-win season was the school’s first since 2014. Shutes played basketball at Bells High School in Crockett County, where he was all-district and all-county his senior season in 1978. He tried to play at Jackson State Community College, but a prior knee surgery ended his playing career. “It just wasn’t the same, and I knew I couldn’t pursue a future as a player,” he said. So he focused on becoming a coach. He had to work to pay his way through Union University and couldn’t spend time as a student assistant with the basketball teams. But he hung out with the players at school and read everything he could about great coaches like John Wooden. He was also mentored by one of Union’s legends. “The guy who really took me under his wing was Coach David Blackstock,” Shutes said. “For some reason he felt I could do it, and he helped me get through school and after I graduated.” Shutes worked at K-Mart and the Jackson YMCA, where he coached T-ball, flag football and Saturday morning youth basketball. He was eventually named the YMCA’s Youth Sports Director in 1984, a position he held until 1987. That’s when Jackson’s two private schools, Old Hickory Academy and Episcopal Day School, merged to become USJ, and Shutes was offered a job. He became the elementary school’s physical education teacher, coached middle school girls and boys basketball, started the USJ soccer program, and coached girls and boys golf for five years. “When I took that USJ job in 1987, who would have ever thought I would be there half my life,” Shutes said. He was still taking classes and doing independent study at Union, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in PE and secondary education in 1989. “It was a journey,” he said, laughing. In 1989-90 and 1990-91 Shutes was assistant coach for USJ’s varsity basketball teams. He was named head coach in the fall of 1991 and coached both girls and boys that season. But his second year he asked to just coach girls basketball, which he did until he left in 2021. He taught elementary PE all 30 years at USJ. “In my PE classes I could see that we had some competitive girls who were going to be good basketball players,” Shutes said. “And I just enjoyed coaching girls. Back then I was so young and excited, and I tried to soak up all the knowledge I could. I really studied a lot, watching coaches’ tapes and going to clinics in Memphis with big-name speakers.” In 1994 and 1995 USJ’s girls were eliminated in the substate by Gleason. But in 1996 they won the region in overtime at Harding Academy, which had four girls who played at D-I schools. USJ hosted Lake County in the substate and won, advancing to the state tournament for the first time. Shutes’ USJ teams played in state championship games twice, losing to Trenton Peabody in 2005 and to North Pointe, MS in 2017. He was named district coach of the year numerous times. After leaving USJ, he agreed to start the girls basketball program at the new Jackson-Central Merry. “But during that season, I realized I just didn’t have the time or energy to do what they needed done in building a program,” Shutes said. His focus is taking care of Stephanie, his bride of 14 years, and their son Zavior, who is 11. Stephanie was an All-American and NAIA National Player of the Year in 2005 when Union Coach Mark Campbell won his first national title. Stephanie has a chronic illness, and Shutes wants to be available for her needs. Shutes, 64, thought his coaching days were over. But Jackson Christian approached him about coaching its girls team as a part-time position with no teaching responsibilities. Shutes accepted and led the team to its first state tournament appearance. “When I first started coaching, I was in it for the wins,” Shutes said. “But the older I got, the most gratifying thing was the relationship with players. I finally got on social media, and it’s been great being able to keep up with players and their kids and families. It’s a real blessing.”
Inductees are selected from nominations solicited from the public. Recommendations, including biographical information, records and photographs are to be sent to: Jackson Madison County Sports Hall of Fame PO Box 10085 Jackson, Tennessee 38308 You may also submit nominations online using this form.