Thad Mangum joined App State’s staff in the spring of 2023 as defensive quality control assistant who works with the defensive line.  He played and later worked on the staffs at both Wofford and USF before arriving in Boone.

At Wofford, he played in 37 games, with 14 starts on the defensive line. In 2018, he started all 13 games and was named a second-team All-SoCon performer as the team won the league title and reached the second round of the NCAA playoffs. He missed all but one game of 2019 due to injury, then played two seasons at USF, starting 18 of 21 games played. He led USF defensive linemen in tackles in both 2020 with 37 and in 2021 with 34. 

He graduated from Wofford in December of 2019 with a degree in sociology and was named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll. At USF, he earned a master’s degree in entrepreneurship and applied technologies in 2021. In Tampa, he was also a graduate assistant with the strength and conditioning staff.

A native of Greenville, S.C., he was a two-year starter at Christ Church. The team won state championships in both his junior and senior seasons while he earned all-state, all-conference and all-region honors.