I mean, you look at a guy that came in here and he led his team to the conference championship game. Don Williams (LogOut/ Kittley hopes to run a balanced offense that can tire out defenses using the running game while taking advantage of the deep ball as its deadliest weapon. After Dowell Loggains left, Pittman hired Morgan Turner from Stanford as the new tight ends coach. #WreckEm https://t.co/S8w9ERrcNu, Strong endorsements on our new OC! Zappe only needs four more passing touchdowns to tie Joe Burrows single-season record. 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 orchestrated one of the greatest statistical turnarounds in college football history in his first year leading the Hilltoppers' offense. 3 in yards per play (7.08). 95 in scoring offense, No. BREAKING: WKUs Zach Kittley has been hired as Texas Tech's Offensive Coordinator, per @AaronDickens 2021 QB1 Quinn Ewers visited Texas Tech today pic.twitter.com/2Y3rtLE4li. Austin Reed took over at quarterback and threw for 4,744 yards and 40 touchdowns. We knew if we came in and operate[d] the game plan we would not get blown out by 40 points, Kittley said. Kittley could tell immediately that Kingsbury was going to lead the Red Raiders to success. 58 in red zone offense and No. Kittley and his wife, Emily, were married in February 2017 and are parents to two boys, Knox and a newborn, Ford. I personally got to recruit those three so I developed a relationship with them and their families, and I just felt that the relationship that we had was something that was very important in their decision making.. Tyler Shough hasnt announced whether he is coming back yet but they also have Donovan Smith, Behren Morton, Maverick McIvor, and Parker McNeil at quarterback. Only one tight end, River Helms, is on the roster. Sign up for the Longhorns Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. At Central Michigan,Barbay helped tailback Lew Nichols III lead the nation with 1,848 rushing yards as a redshirt freshman. The 31-year-old is currently Texas Techs offensive coordinator and fresh off of his first season at the Power Five level. 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. The corner route is in and of itself an excellent man beater route, especially considering the potential mismatch with a linebacker or safety on an inside receiver. Zach Kittley is coming back to Lubbock to be the offensive coordinator under Joey McGuire #WreckEm #GunsUp pic.twitter.com/r00VCKW1ox. Hes like, Look, you got the keys to the Ferrari. 120)Yards per play: 4.6 (No. Not great numbers on the surface but is young and has potential. The Chiefs eventually selected Mahomes with the No. Western Kentucky School History. ?? One of the young quarterbacks Kittley mentored was future 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes II. The quarterbacks progression was simply corner, shoot, spot. Kittley helped coach Super Bowl Champion and NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes for three years at Texas Tech. Born and raised in Lubbock, his father, Wes Kittley, serves as Texas Techs Track and Field and Cross County Director. 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. And Im glad I did that because I learned so much from that short experience but it wasnt for me college athletics is very intense, its like a full time job all the time so youd better love what youre doing. 45 in the country in total offense and No. The success of the offense helped Kittley land the offensive coordinator role at Texas Tech under new head coach Joey McGuire. 2018-20 Houston Baptist Offensive Coordinator (Quarterbacks) Wide receiver Quinten Johnson will be one of the best in the Big 12 in 2022. FOX Sports Bruce Feldman then confirmed the news late Sunday night that sources indicated Kittley agreed to the position. DeRuyter and Tech's offensive coordinator Zach Kittley both spoke on March 31 after Tech's Pro Day 2013-14 Texas Tech Student Assistant (Offensive Intern), Im home. Can he fix what has derailed this offense in recent years? The tailback would cheat his alignment out and run a shoot with an aiming point 2-3 yards out of bounds. The younger The offense ranks second behind only Mississippi State (another Air Raid attack) with 50 passes per game and the offensive line has the best pass-blocking grade in the country heading into the bowl season, according to PFF. 71), 2021: Zach Kittley, Western Kentucky2020: Steve Sarkisian, Alabama2019: Joe Brady, LSU2018: Mike Locksley, Alabama2017: Josh Heupel, Missouri2016: Joe Moorhead, Penn State2015: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma2014: Tom Herman, Ohio State2013: Mike Bobo, Georgia. 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. Brenen Thompson will run track and miss spring practice. 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. The spot route presents another man beater element to the play with the rub it places on the defender covering the flat route. Another primary passing play the Hilltoppers used throughout their record breaking 2021 season was the snag concept. A lot of its predicated on what defense you play each week. The Tops rank No. WKU is doing it all behind a pass-heavy offense that is throwing the ball over 68 percent of the time. Running Backs should be heavily involved as well. Dec 4, 2021. Typically this play is designed to defeat split safety coverage, whereby the safety widens to carry the corner from #2, leaving a void in the middle of the field. Tight ends such as Mason Tharpe should see plenty of action, and we havent even discussed the wide receivers. If you include the new strength and conditioning coach, Ben Sowders, then its been a really good offseason for Pittman as far as staff turnover goes. Stick is a short, ball control passing concept that places a horizontal stretch on the flat defender: Against a split coverage team, Mumme and Leach would ensure that stick was a prominent part of the game plan. Zach Barnett. I'm biased clearly, but I don't think there's a more important football player in the whole country than Bailey Zappe is to this football program and this team.". Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams bolting for USC was a massive blow for Oklahoma. After the Birmingham bowl, literally sitting on the bus, wrapping my head around, A, the last second loss we had, but B, what am I going to do. 9 in the conference in 2021. Texas Tech made one of the more underrated moves of the offseason with the hire of offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. Texas Tech Red Raiders offensive coordinator Zach Kittley has been around the program since he was a small boy. ?? Tight ends aren't a big part of the WKU During his time at Texas Tech, he worked with current NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes who went on to become the Leagues Most Valuable Player in 2018 and Super Bowl LIV champion and game MVP a year later. WKU would usually pair snag with double slants on the backside. Kittley was outspoken about Zappe as a Heisman Trophy contender, though he didn't get much play in the national conversation. The Red Raiders annually ranked among the nations top offenses during his three seasons as a graduate assistant as Texas Tech led the country in total offense and passing offense and ranked fifth in scoring during the 2016 campaign. Transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez will boost the Wildcats passing attack which ranked No. When coach Helton reached out to me to gauge my interest, coming here to lead this offense, I had already known how great it was hearing from coach Hamby, Kittley said. Red Raiders go into midseason open week with quarterback again a focal point of conversation Some fans may remember him as the quarterbacks coach for East Mississippi Community College when they were featured on the popular Netflix series, Last Chance U. Trickett isnt as experienced as other names that are likely to be mentioned, but he comes from a football family and played quarterback at Florida State and West Viriginia. The Mountaineers do have many question marks personnel-wise, but Harrells offense will be exciting nonetheless. Zappe, just the sixth quarterback in FBS history to record at least 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns, was named the Conference USA Most Valuable Player as well as the winner of the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award. I have no way of knowing for sure without access to their playbook, but it is possible that this is kind of an option route, where their outside receiver is coached to work back toward the sideline if he doesnt initially get the ball on the slant: Backside slant touchdown throw on a redzone 4th down: Again on 4th down, UTSA is in man free and Zappe works the vertical/out combo to the backside: Here against Marshall, Zappe works a high/low combo on the backside flat defender: Later on in the game they run snag and go, where the outside receiver basically fakes snag and then runs vertical. With familiar faces filling the depth chart and a new set of conference opponents to tackle, WKUs new hire began prepping his offense for the 2021 season. At defensive coordinator, they replaced Barry Odom with up-and-comer Travis Williams and co-coordinator Marcus Woodson. Zach Kittleys electric offense this past season at Western Kentucky put the normally below-the-radar Hilltoppers program onto the national scene. Kittley worked alongside Kingsbury in the development of Patrick Mahomes II as a graduate assistant, tutoring the future NFL MVP into becoming the nations leading passer in 2016 and an eventual top-10 selection by the Kansas City Chiefs. WebZach Kittley, the architect behind one of the nations top offenses this past two years at both Houston Baptist at Western Kentucky, enters his first season on the Texas Tech staff as 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. This is Kittleys second stint on the Texas Tech coaching staff as he previously served in various roles under Kliff Kingsbury from 2013-17, rising from a student assistant to graduate assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach his final three seasons. WKU Football hired Houston Baptist University offensive coordinator Zach Kittley in December of 2020 to reshape the Hilltoppers offense. Kittley got to know the gunslinging quarterback when he took on an assistant quarterbacks coach role over his last three years at Texas Tech. Bijan Robinson (Texas), Deuce Vaughn (Kansas State), Marvin Mims (Oklahoma) and Xavier Worthy (Texas) are just a few of many talented skill players. Zappe is 342-of-483 (70.8%) for 4,170 passing yards, with 42 touchdowns compared to only seven interceptions. 2021 Western Kentucky Offensive Coordinator (Quarterbacks) This is Kittleys second stint on the Texas Tech coaching staff as he previously served in various roles under Kliff Kingsbury from 2013-17, rising from a student assistant to graduate assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach his final three seasons. The Zach Kittley offense spreads the ball, and the offense, around to the point that it is hard for a tight end to collect all-conference numbers. Kittley expressed confidence that his style of air raid offense will be able to thrive in Conference USA, citing the experience he gained when his Huskies faced North 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. 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