SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist head coach Chris Jensen announced the addition of Deeandre Ervin and Joshua Mendenhall to the Bison's defensive staff on Tuesday.
Ervin will serve as the safeties coach, and Mendenhall will coach the defensive line.
Ervin comes to Shawnee after a two-year stint at Grand Junction High School in Grand Junction, Colo., where he was the defensive backs and special teams coach.
Additionally, he was the defensive coordinator for junior varsity football and head coach of the junior varsity girls basketball team.
"Accepting the job at Oklahoma Baptist was an easy decision for me," Ervin said. "I chose to go where I would be celebrated, not tolerated, and where God called me to be. Everything I need is here."
Before beginning his coaching career, Ervin was an all-conference performer at Arkansas Tech and Colorado Mesa from 2017-2021. As a Wonder Boy, Ervin logged 77 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, seven pass deflections, and 6.5 tackles-for-loss in 31 games of action.
Ervin earned All-GAC honorable mention honors with 42 tackles (30 solo), 5.0 TFL, an interception, and six pass deflections in 2019. He was also voted team captain and the squad's special teams most valuable player as a freshman.
Then, he transferred to CMU, where he garnered another all-conference (RMAC) nod after finishing fourth on the team in tackles (44) in 2021. In two seasons with the Mavericks, Ervin compiled 64 tackles, 6.5 TFL, one interception, and eight pass breakups.
Ervin completed a Bachelor's degree in Professional Studies – Interdisciplinary Studies at Arkansas Tech in 2019 before receiving a degree in Early Childhood Education at Colorado Mesa. A native of Daphne, Ala., Ervin is a 2013 graduate of Fairhope High School.
Mendenhall's experience includes six years of coaching high school football and another three years at the Division I level. His most recent stop was at New Caney High School, where he served as the varsity offensive line coach and video coordinator during the 2023 season.
Prior to that, he spent one year as the varsity defensive line coach and special teams coordinator at Prestonwood Christian Academy after a three-year stint at Oklahoma State University (2019-2022).
"We are so humbled and grateful to be a part of the Bison Family and to be back in Oklahoma," Mendenhall said. "Shawnee feels like home. I am looking forward to the opportunity to coach these outstanding young men alongside this staff. Go Bison!"
Mendenhall was a defensive graduate assistant for three seasons with the Cowboys before being named a special teams analyst in the spring of 2022. At OSU, he coached nine NFL players, including defensive lineman and 2023 fourth-round draft pick Tyler Lacy (Jacksonville Jaguars).
From 2015-19, Mendenhall was the varsity quarterback coach and junior varsity offensive coordinator at Mead High School in Colorado, where his instruction aided back-to-back conference titles for the Mavericks in 2018 and 2019.
After starting his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, Longmont Christian High School, in 2008, Mendenhall was elevated to head coach for the 2014 season.
Mendenhall received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Oklahoma State in 2021.
Mendenhall is accompanied by his wife, Dainele.
