Marcus Gildersleeve enters his first season on the Norfolk State football coaching staff in 2026 as the Spartans' wide receivers coach, bringing more than 20 years of coaching and playing experience across the collegiate and high school ranks. Throughout his career, Gildersleeve has established a reputation as an outstanding recruiter, teacher, and mentor dedicated to developing student-athletes both on and off the field.
Gildersleeve joins Norfolk State after serving as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Northeast High School (Tenn.) during the 2025 season. He also spent the 2024 campaign coaching quarterbacks at West Creek High School, following an earlier stint with the program in 2016 as running backs and special teams coach.
Prior to returning to the high school ranks, Gildersleeve spent 11 seasons at Austin Peay State University, serving in a variety of roles including offensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator, wide receivers coach, running backs coach, secondary coach, and special teams coordinator. During his tenure with the Governors, he helped develop First Team All-American kick returner Terence Holt, coached one of the top receivers in program history in Lanis Fredrick, and coordinated special teams units that blocked 26 punts. As recruiting coordinator, he managed recruiting efforts throughout Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, and Ohio.
Before Austin Peay, Gildersleeve coached wide receivers and special teams at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he mentored All-American and future NFL Draft pick Ryan Krause while coaching another future NFL player, Chris Denney. His special teams units blocked 12 punts during his tenure. He began his collegiate coaching career at The University of the South (Sewanee), coaching wide receivers and special teams while helping develop two all-conference receivers.
A former standout student-athlete at Virginia Tech, Gildersleeve was a member of four Hokie bowl teams, including the program's appearance in the 1999 BCS National Championship Game following the 1999 season. During his playing career, Virginia Tech also captured victories in the 1995 Sugar Bowl, 1996 Orange Bowl, 1997 Gator Bowl, and 1998 Music City Bowl.
Gildersleeve earned his Bachelor of Science in Family Child Development from Virginia Tech in 2000.
