Fayette, Mo. - Central Methodist Head Football Coach Dave Brown has announced the completion of the 2025 football coaching staff.
In addition to the hiring of Defensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach Jesse Ornelas in January, Coach Brown is also welcoming the following new staff members to the program: Mack Helms (Offensive Line), EJ Valentine (Defensive Line), and Jake Buckallew (Tight Ends).
Additionally, Cal Benson (Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator), Jameson Allen (Defensive Backs), and Eric Greer (Running Backs) return to the staff after each completing their first season in 2024.
Bailey Proctor, Caleb Smith, Jacob Garcia, and David Leach will serve as Defense Assistants for the staff.
To read more about the new hires, please see below.
Mack Helms: Offensive Line
"We're excited to have Mack joining us here at CMU. His extensive experience both at the Division 1 level and in the state of Missouri will immediately impact our program. He comes highly recommended by people at the highest levels of college football. It's great to have him on our staff!"
Helms comes to the Eagles with over 10 years of offensive line coaching experience at the Division I level. He has worked under several well-respected head coaches, including Lincoln Riley (Southern California), Willie Fritz (Houston), Will Heally (East Tennessee State), and Chris Hatcher (Samford).
Coach Helms is also a proven recruiter, having built connections in Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Maryland.
After being out of football in 2024, Helms spent the 2023 season as an offensive line coach at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. While on staff with the Bulldogs, Helms helped elevate an offensive line that allowed the fewest single-season sacks (11) in program history.
He also coached two First-Team GLVC All-Conference selections and assisted an offense that was No. 1 in the GLVC in third-down conversions and red zone scoring.
Helms also has coaching stops at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (2019 & 22), Samford University (2020-21), Tulane University (2016-18), and East Carolina (2013-15).
He completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from East Carolina Greenville in 2014 and earned a master's degree in Homeland Security Studies from Tulane in 2018.
EJ Valentine: Defensive Line
"EJ is someone I've known since our playing days at Central Missouri State. I'm excited that things came together where we finally get to work side by side. With his experience in various roles at the NAIA level, he will help our program progress across the board. On top of that, his ability to recruit and develop players is as good as anyone I've known in the business."
Before his time at CMU, Coach Valentine spent four seasons at North American University in Houston, Texas. While on staff, he served in several roles, including Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Line Coach, and Recruiting Coordinator.
Valentine was the Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Line Coach, and Recruiting Coordinator at Hastings College for five years. He coached several First, Second, and Third-Team All-GPAC selections during that time.
Before Hastings College, Coach Valentine spent two seasons as the Defensive Coordinator at Texas College in Tyler, Texas, where he led five Central States Football All-Conference performers. He also served as Camp Director of The Houston Nike Football Camp.
Valentine was the Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Line coach, and Strength and Conditioning Coach at Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, for four years. While on staff, he sent several student-athletes to the professional ranks in the NFL and CFL.
He was on staff at Westminster College from 2008-10 before getting his coaching start in the high school ranks at Ruskin High School, Northeast High School, Paseo High School and Warrensburg High School.
As a student-athlete, Valentine first played for Kemper Military Junior College in 1997. The team finished 10-2 and was ranked seventh in the NJCAA.
He then went on to play and start at the University of Missouri before moving on to Henderson State in 1999. Valentine played his final two seasons at Central Missouri State in 2000 and 2001.
As a member of CMSU, Valentine was part of a squad that won a school-record 10 games and earned a berth to the Mineral Water Bowl, where they defeated Minnesota-Duluth, 48-17.
Coach Valentine is a native of Houston, Texas, and played arena football professionally from 2002 to 2005. He is a member of the American Football Coaches Association and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.
Jake Buckallew: Tight Ends
"It's great getting to work with Jake again. He was a valuable member of our staff at Missouri Western while he was getting into coaching as an Undergraduate Assistant. He's going to be able to jump right in and know how we do things and help push us through the next steps we will be taking as a program."
Before coming to Fayette, Buckallew taught K-12 in the Florida and Kansas City metro areas for the last three years. He also served as a student assistant for the Missouri Western State University football staff in St. Joseph, Missouri, from 2017 to 2020.
Buckallew graduated from Missouri Western State University in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in Physical Education.
The Eagles kick off the 2025 season against NCAA Division II member Missouri S&T on Saturday, August 30, in Rolla, Missouri. Kick-off is set for 6:00 p.m.
To view the 2025 schedule for Eagle Football, please click here.
To view the coaching staff for Eagle Football, please click here.
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