?? ZACH KITTLEY CAREER EXPERIENCE He earned his masters degree in interdisciplinary studies from the university in 2016. It was fun going to his track meets, being around his college athletes, Kittley said. The quarterback will now throw off of the flat defenders movement: If executed correctly, snag should be impossible to defend with zone coverage. The 30-yr-old Lubbock native spent three seasons as a GA & asst QB coach under Kliff Kingsbury. Losing Briles is tough, but the right hire can definitely soften the blow. Zach Kittleys electric offense this past season at Western Kentucky put the normally below-the-radar Hilltoppers program onto the national scene. Who Is Ariel Frenkel on The Bachelor? Heres a look at seven candidates that could be on Arkansas radar as the next offensive coordinator. 2 in scoring offense (43.1) and No. As should come as no surprise, sources told FootballScoop on Tuesday that McGuire is targeting coaches with Big 12 and/or Texas ties to run his Red Raider offense and defense. The read for the quarterback is simple-throw off of the cornerbacks movement and make him wrong. Kittley is the son of Wes Kittley, Texas Techs longtime Director of Track and Field who led the Red Raiders to a national title at the 2019 NCAA Mens Outdoor Championships. Kittleys offense at Western Kentucky averaged a whopping 44 points per game in 2021. He is incredibly sharp and is definitely one of the brightest young minds in the game, Kingsbury said in a statement. Zach Kittley represents one of the top, young offensive minds in college football, and Led by transfers Bailey Zappe and Jerreth Sterns, WKU finished the season averaging 44 points and 536 yards per game, second behind only Ohio State in total offense. Kittley could tell immediately that Kingsbury was going to lead the Red Raiders to success. WKU stood out as an early candidate. One of the great young minds in the game, Kittley helped coach NFL MVP and Super Bowl Champion Patrick Mahomes for three years at Texas Tech, and most recently turned Houston Baptist into WKU (8-5) is scheduled to play the Appalachian State Mountaineers in the Boca Raton Bowl on Saturday, December 18 at 10 A.M. CT inside FAU Stadium. 114)Passing offense: 164.3 ypg (No. Don Williams I had been at Texas Tech for five years now and I really felt like I had come into my own as a coach and I was confident in myself that it may be time for me to move on, Kittley said. Mahomes, who was also second in the school record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (22), is one of three quarterbacks in FBS history to record 5,000 yards of total offense twice in a career, joining fellow Red Raider signal caller Graham Harrell (2007-08) and Houstons Case Keenum (2008-09, 2011). Kittleys pass heavy offensive philosophy is firmly rooted in the air raid, stemming from his time as a student assistant and GA under Kliff Kingsbury. Kittley transferred to Texas Tech from Abilene Christian and immediately set his sights on coaching football. Kittley accepted the position at Houston Baptist and set to work revitalizing the Huskies offense. The Red Raiders have hired former Western Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Zach Kittley as their new offensive coordinator. Kittley was outspoken about Zappe as a Heisman Trophy contender, though he didn't get much play in the national conversation. DeRuyter and Tech's offensive coordinator Zach Kittley both spoke on March 31 after Tech's Pro Day & Margaret Talkington Leadership Academy, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging. Tyler Shough is back from injury and is a perfect scheme fit for Kittleys air raid offense. Our kids came to play, I think it really opened a lot of eyes across the country [to say] wow, these guys are legit and can really get it done.. The read for the quarterback is simple-throw off of the cornerbacks movement and make him wrong. Maybe there could be some hard feelings about returning to Fayetteville after 2019, but nonetheless his name is bound to be mentioned for the position. 19 in the country in total offense, No. Kittley, despite being a young coach, already has years of experience under his belt working with and developing NFL-caliber talent as well as running some of the most high-octane offenses in the country on his way to the Hill. Like Sam Pittman, Grimes has an offensive line coach background while also having experience orchestrating some of the most high-octane offenses in college football the last few seasons. Change). @KliffKingsbury #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/TxJpjm4l2n. He would bring an offense to Columbia the program has never seen, but much of the fanbase has been requesting for several years. Zach Kittley finished up his first season with Western Kentucky on Saturday as the WKU Hilltoppers defeated Appalachian State 59-38. Kliff Kingsbury got hired as the head coach and I said hey, this is a guy that I would love to learn from. WKU is doing it all behind a pass-heavy offense that is throwing the ball over 68 percent of the time. The Y and Z were essentially exchanging positions from where they were on the stick play. There is where the real learning happened. A native of Lubbock, Kittley originally attended Abilene Christian to play basketball before transferring back to Texas Tech to complete his bachelors in history in 2014. Steve Sarkisian is an elite offensive mind who will have tons of weapons to work with for 2022. The gamble paid off. We like to say that everybody in this offense eats. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 1. Barbay rides a balanced spread-style offense for the Mountaineers and just finished his first season as play-caller with the nation's No. Zach Kittley finished up his first season with Western Kentucky on Saturday as the WKU Hilltoppers defeated Appalachian State 59-38. WKU jumped from 114th to second nationally in scoring offense (43.1 points per game) and the Hilltoppers rank third or higher after ranking in the triple digits last season in four major offensive categories. Stephen Hamby returns home to coach the unit after making WKU one of the better offensive lines in all of college football. Kittley nearly tripled point production by the end of his three-year tenure at Houston Baptist and was named a member of 247Sports' 30Under30 in the class of 2020. The spot route presents another man beater element to the play with the rub it places on the defender covering the flat route. He encouraged those guys to give me a call.. Longo makes $1 million with the Tar Heels and likely would need a pay bump to be courted away from Chapel Hill. 111)Total offense: 290.3 ypg (No. Subscribe to 247Sports YouTube for the latest college football, basketball and recruiting news including live college commitments. The 31-year-old is currently Texas Techs offensive coordinator and fresh off of his first season at the Power Five level. Hes spent 10 seasons at Wake Forest under Dave Clawson, so it might be difficult to see him leaving now without any solid connections to Sam Pittman. Warren Ruggiero is a name that not a lot of Razorback fans are probably familiar with but could be a solid option as offensive coordinator. Kittley and his wife, Emily, were married in February 2017 and are parents to two boys, Knox and a newborn, Ford. 74 in the country in total offense, No. 2015-17 Texas Tech Graduate Assistant (Assistant Quarterbacks) He was a finalist for the prestigious Manning Award and a semifinalist for both the Davey OBrien and Walter Camp Player of the Year awards. Under Kittleys leadership, Zappe has had a record season as he currently leads the nation in passing yards (5,546) and touchdowns (56). 2 nationally)Passing offense: 434.6 ypg (No. The Gamecocks are coming off back-to-back wins over top 10 opponents for the first time in program history and the offense flourished during those two outings, including a 63-point explosion against Tennessee. The Hilltoppers closed the 2021 campaign as the FBS leader in passing yards per game (433.7) and first downs (384) and ranked second for both scoring offense and total offense and then 13th in red zone offense after scoring in 90.9 percent of their appearances inside the 20. Academic Majors. 80 in third down conversion percentage. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. (Photo: Taylor Estes, Horns247, 247Sports), (Photo: Nelson Chenault, USA TODAY Sports). Offensive minds like Mike Leach, Art Briles and Lincoln Riley are out of the league now but new faces such as Steve Sarkisian, Jeff Lebby and Sonny Dykes all have great offensive resumes of their own. He most likely took this iteration of the play from his time learning under Kingsbury. WebFor Students; Student Employment; WKU Athletics Minority Fellowship; WKU Red Wave; Forms/Requests; Book Big Red; Donation Requests; Site Feedback; For Fans; Alumni Tailgates When given his opportunity, Cupp was a difference maker in his first year in Lubbock. A lot of its predicated on what defense you play each week. Gerry Bohannon is back to lead the offense as the Bears look to repeat as champions. Mahomes closed his Red Raider career ranked third all-time in passing yards (11,252), touchdown passes (93), attempts (1,349) and completions (857) despite foregoing his senior season to enter the NFL Draft. Texas Tech and West Virginia made moves to new offensive coordinators who specialize in the spread passing attack. Kittleys protg quarterback Bailey Zappe is the nations leading passer, despite it being his first season playing at the FBS level. ?? In two years with the Huskies, he worked with current WKU quarterback Bailey Zappe and wide receiver Jerreth Sterns before all three transplanted themselves to Bowling Green this past spring. Scheme and decision-making would not be determined by the head coach like it was then at South Carolina (2018-19) and Beamer would give Marion the ability to do what he wants with his playbook. Ian Boyd 04/15/22. A potential trio of Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and Bijan Robinson would be exciting to watch at the next level. 16 in scoring offense. The two immediately formed a tight connection and Kittley began to feel right at home on the Hill. This has not been the season most expected out of Arkansas and Sam Pittman will have coaching staff decisions to make very soon. Kittley was elated to have his senior quarterback following him on the next step of his coaching journey. One downside is The #2 receiver does a good job of stemming and getting on the defenders toes to break open on the corner: Here against Marshall, they again put the back in tear motion before the snap. If the cornerback is playing off, he will eliminate the corner route in his progression and have an easy read on the Sam, just like on stick. Mahomes, who was also second in the school record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (22), is one of three quarterbacks in FBS history to record 5,000 yards of total offense twice in a career, joining fellow Red Raider signal caller Graham Harrell (2007-08) and Houstons Case Keenum (2008-09, 2011). When the strong safety would begin to cheat down in an effort to eliminate the stick concept (often in the red zone), Y corner was the obvious constraint play because it took advantage of the open void that was now left behind the cornerback: As the safety came down, the Y would run a 4 step corner, giving a slight head fake to the Mike before cutting to an aiming point 1 yard inside the back pylon ( it is better to be too high on the corner route than too flat because it is easier to come back to the ball). Sign up for the Longhorns Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Within the air raid system, snag (or Y corner) developed as the companion play to Y stick. BOWLING GREEN, Ky. WKU Football has announced the hiring of Zach Kittley as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Texas Tech hires Zach Kittley as new offensive coordinator, Its over: Law enforcement officials react to suicide of accused officer killer, Scottsville Police respond to accidents due to strong wind conditions, Project to upgrade lanes at a U.S. 68 intersection in Logan County begins, Nissan recalls over 800K SUVs; key defect can cut off engine, Second search for missing Caneyville woman yields no new information, WKU selects 18 for 2023-24 Cherry Presidential Scholarship, Hopkinsville man injured in Todd County accident. Have confirmed that Zach Kittley has agreed to return to Texas Tech as offensive coordinator. His offense led the nation in passing & was second in total offense. Lunney had a pretty successful stint at UTSA in the two seasons that followed, which led to him being hired by Bret Bielema at Illinois before the 2022 season. Now that Kittley had proven himself as the leader of an offense, it was time to make the jump to the FBS level. The cornerback jumps the shoot, isolating Sterns on the corner route against an outmatched linebacker: Against UTSA they put the back on tear motion, which allows Zappe to identify man coverage when the backer vacates the box to run with him. Youre probably thinking that it would favor Texas Tech by quite a bit, but you would be wrong. The Tops rank No. Its a tough spot for Pittman and the school to be in, but their track record with coaching hires this offseason has been really solid. Running Backs should be heavily involved as well. WebZach Kittley was named HBUs offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Jan. 10, 2018. I know Zach was a really good hoops player, but Im glad he chose to coach football because the game is better with sharp, young coaches like him in it., Excited for my guy! At 31 years old, he is one of the nation's youngest coordinators and this was his first season coaching on a Power Five staff. I think I was in seventh grade or so, I told [my father] I wanted to be a coach one day, I didnt know what else to coach at the time. He earned his masters degree in interdisciplinary studies from the university in 2016. The Heisman Trophy also goes to who's the most important player to the team. It took Mahomes only two seasons from there to garner NFL MVP honors as he was named the leagues top player in his first year as Kansas Citys starter in 2018. Sources said that current Tech offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie, Western Kentucky offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, and SMU offensive coordinator Garrett Student Life on the Hill. & Margaret Talkington Leadership Academy, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging. Behind the arm of Zappe, Kittley transformed the Western Kentucky into one of the nations most explosive offenses, averaging an impressive 44.2 points per game and 535.3 yards of total offense. The Red Raiders, who averaged more than 30 points per game in each of those three seasons, were also second nationally in total offense and scoring offense in 2015. HBU played just four games and ended the year with a 1-3 record, but more important than what was in the win-loss column were the eye-popping offensive numbers put up by the Huskies receiving corps and quarterback Bailey Zappe. Below are 3 different variations of the snag concept from the Cardinals 2019 playbook: In the clip below, Western Kentucky runs snag in the red zone on a critical 4th down. Tight ends such as Mason Tharpe should see plenty of action, and we havent even discussed the wide receivers. I just didnt love the game of basketball enough I always loved football, the Xs and Os aspect of it.. The Mountaineers do have many question marks personnel-wise, but Harrells offense will be exciting nonetheless. The Red Raiders also made a big move by hiring Zach Kittley as offensive coordinator (well get to that) and is rumored to be considering hiring Ewers high school coach. Both have SEC connections from their time at Auburn and are considered to be elite recruiters. Kittley got to know the gunslinging quarterback when he took on an assistant quarterbacks coach role over his last three years at Texas Tech. I believe when he got to run film study with Baker Mayfield, Davis Webb, and of course Patrick Mahomes he started to blossom. A handful of players must have listened to Shealy, as Bailey Zappe, Ben Ratzlaff and brothers Jerreth and Josh Sterns all transferred to the Hill for the 2021 season. Texas Tech Red Raiders offensive coordinator Zach Kittley has been around the program since he was a small boy. Zappe actually broke the previous FBS record set by Texas Techs own B.J. 9. The quarterback will now throw off of the flat defenders movement: If executed correctly, snag should be impossible to defend with zone coverage. Meet Zach Shallcross Season 27 Contestant. I was 26 but really felt good about it. (LogOut/ #11084 Bowling Green, KY , WKU OC Zach Kittley and the road that led him to the Hill. Thats kinda what makes it work.. It was heavily reported that he was the offensive coordinator in-waiting behind Briles while at Arkansas, but now it seems that ship has sailed with him to Columbia. This can be particularly tough on an inside linebacker, who must make his way through the corner and spot route runner in an effort to try and cover the back out in the flat. His 5,545 yards is 289 yards short from B.J. A deal is not in place at this time, but could be by the end of the weekend. Peyton Hillis spent more than a week in the hospital and was in intensive care and on a ventilator. 90 in scoring offense and No. FOX Sports Bruce Feldman then confirmed the news late Sunday night that sources indicated Kittley agreed to the position. Familiar staples of the system originally made famous by Hal Mumme and Mike Leach were omnipresent in WKUs offense, particularly a heavy dose of 4 verticals and Y stick (although they preferred the Y stick/slot fade variation). Zach Kittleys electric offense this past season at Western Kentucky put the normally below-the-radar Hilltoppers program onto the national scene. I knew the regiment at football would either make him or break him., Sonny was gracious to take him on and Zach went to work and impressed him and the staff, Kittley continued. 45 in the country in total offense and No. 1:47. J.T. The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. 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