2022 may be a rebuilding year in Ames. 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. Zach was helping me with the track team as a freshman in college when one day he said to me, Dad, I want to coach Football. 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. 1:47. 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. I started doing my research, coach [Vic] Shealy was awesome to me and called me down for an interview me and my wife, we prayed about it, and we felt like it was the right move for us at the time I would never ever take back my time and that decision that I made.. 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. During the game, we saw his quarterback Bailey Zappe, who followed him from Houston Baptist, set not one but two FBS single-season records. Sports Editor Jake Moore can be reached at [emailprotected] Follow him on Twitter @Charles_JMoore. WKU Football hired Houston Baptist University offensive coordinator Zach Kittley in December of 2020 to reshape the Hilltoppers offense. Multiple reports surfaced late Sunday night saying that Kittley was officially joining newly-anointed Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuires Red Raider coaching staff. Zach was helping me with the track team as a freshman in college when one day he said to me, Dad, I want to coach Football. 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. West Virginia will look like a much different team on offense next season. The Chiefs eventually selected Mahomes with the No. Heres a look at seven candidates that could be on Arkansas radar as the next offensive coordinator. The success of the offense helped Kittley land the offensive coordinator role at Texas Tech under new head coach Joey McGuire. SOURCE: WKU OC Zach Kittley has agreed to become Texas Tech's new OC. 21-ranked rushing offense and 26th-best total offense in terms of production. 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. @JoeyMcGuireTTU My dad was never one that tried to force us into coaching, I got two older brothers, ones an oil guy, ones in a fertilizer business out there in west Texas. That opportunity came knocking immediately after Kittleys squad fell to South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 23, 2017. For example, within two high zone structures, the defense can cheat the mike over to cover the spot. The two reunite at Oklahoma with the help of wide receiver Marvin Mims. The next play-caller will have notable personnel to work with in 2023 and beyond. 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. Myles Price has always found a way to stand out. 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. University Website. Two receivers have surpassed 1,299 yards, with Jerreth Sterns leading the team with 1,718 yards and 14 touchdowns on 137 catches. He developed a quarterback with only one FBS scholarship offer into a household name at WKU. Subscribe to 247Sports YouTube for the latest college football, basketball and recruiting news including live college commitments. He took over as co-offensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic after Kendal Briles left for Houston in 2018. He followed a year later by leading the Chiefs to a win in Super Bowl LIV, becoming the youngest quarterback in NFL history to be named Super Bowl MVP in the process. ?? 15 in total offense last season and looking to be even better in 2023. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Design a site like this with WordPress.com, Bill Walsh, the Stick Concept, and the Constraint Theory of Offense, Air Coryell and how Lincoln Riley compliments stick with the drive concept, Run and Shoot Part 1: History and Secrecy, Run and Shoot Part 2: Mouse Davis and the Switch Concept. That being said, his Illini offense left a lot to be desired this season. Western Kentucky traded in a clunker for a Ferrari and its new offensive coordinator didn't need Kittley accepted the position at Houston Baptist and set to work revitalizing the Huskies offense. Kittley is the youngest coach to be named 247Sports' Offensive Coordinator of the YearKittley's quick rebuild at Western Kentucky was possible because of the transfer portal as four of his players at FCS Houston Baptist quarterback Bailey Zappe and three receivers followed him to the Conference USA school last offseason. Zappe led the nation with 35 passing touchdowns in 2019 and ranked second in passing yards per game for a Huskies offense that was third nationally in passing offense with 334.3 yards per game through the air. WebThe Hilltoppers had 16 big plays, and three of them went for touchdowns. Name, Image and Likeness opportunity would be lucrative in Lubbock. WebWKU Athletics DEI Council. He runs a similar offensive scheme to Kendall Briles the slow mesh version of the RPO which focuses on tempo and passing slightly more than the traditional RPO scheme. I was a young guy at the time, I was a student coach, so I was still 21-22 years old at that time, Kittley said. Here is a way too early prediction of the best offenses in the Big 12 for the 2022 season: Quarterback Jalon Daniels looked good after taking over at the end of the 2021 season. I was sitting on the airplane at this point after the bowl game, I checked my email and I had an email from the head football coach at HBU just reaching out for interest in possibly becoming the offensive coordinator, Kittley continued. He valued his basketball experience but knew he wanted to pursue a different path. That was a telltale time I knew he was destined to be a coach.. Kittley helped coach Super Bowl Champion and NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes for three years at Texas Tech. zach kittley offense playbook As this was happening, the Z would run a lazy slant/snag route (he was coached to fake a fade against a rolled corner) and take the Ys place on the stick. Here's some of the possibilities we're hearing attached to South Carolina's vacancy. 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. His two older brothers were good athletes and he was too, but he always seemed to ask me more questions about training or the profession than his brothers. Mahomes led the Big 12 in passing yards in 2015 (5,052) and led the NCAA as a whole in 2016 (5,052) while working with Kittley. Oklahoma and Texas Tech square off in Lubbock on Nov. 26, OUs last game of the regular season. 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. Zappe is one of only six quarterbacks in college football history to throw for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a season, and could break two single-season FBS records in the bowl game. 2013-14 Texas Tech Student Assistant (Offensive Intern), Im home. Here Marshall rolls to cover 3, and Zappe ends up throwing an incompletion trying to hit the snag and go up the seam: Special thanks to @_MoveTheChains_ and @CoachT_Robinson for sharing their research with me on WKUs offense. 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.. 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. The younger & Margaret Talkington Leadership Academy, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging. The Y and Z were essentially exchanging positions from where they were on the stick play. 19 in the country in total offense, No. It was a wild three years for us at HBU, Kittley said. New Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley will make close to $2.2 million over the life of a three-year deal he signed last week. High schools were starting to run spread offenses and Zach just understood where to tell his teammates where to line up. Offense has always been a signature for the Red Raiders, dating back to the days of Mike Leach. Please. 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. When given his opportunity, Cupp was a difference maker in his first year in Lubbock. One of the youngest potential candidates is Clint Trickett, the 31-year-old offensive coordinator from Marshall. Wide receiver Jerreth Sterns led the nation in receptions (137) and receiving yards (1,718) while catching 14 touchdowns. , Kittleys air raid attack was the third-most explosive offense in college football. Zappes favorite weapons, wide receivers Jerreth and Josh Sterns and Ben Ratzlaff, combined for 1,256 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 89 receptions. Zach Kittleys electric offense this past season at Western Kentucky put the normally below-the-radar Hilltoppers program onto the national scene. https://razorbackswire.usatoday.com/lists/arkansas-football-seven-candidates-to-replace-kendal-briles-as-offensive-coordinator-barry-lunney-jr-zach-kittley-warren-ruggeriero-jeff-grimes-dowell-loggains-clint-trickett-dan-mullen/, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles has officially decided to jump ship to TCU, After Dowell Loggains left, Pittman hired Morgan Turner from Stanford as the new tight ends coach, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Just as it started to look like Sam Pittmans coaching staff was in place for the 2023 season, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles has officially decided to jump ship to TCU. By Wesley Ross Zach Kittleys electric offense this past season at Western Kentucky put the normally below-the-radar Hilltoppers program onto the national scene. As this was happening, the Z would run a lazy slant/snag route (he was coached to fake a fade against a rolled corner) and take the Ys place on the stick. The Heisman Trophy also goes to who's the most important player to the team. Zach Barnett. We knew if we came in and operate[d] the game plan we would not get blown out by 40 points, Kittley said. The hire marks a homecoming for Kittley whos roots are firmly established in the Texas Panhandle. 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. 125 in red zone defense. 3)10-plus yards pass completions: 223 (No. 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. 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 The 31-year-old is currently Texas Techs offensive coordinator and fresh off of his first season at the Power Five level. Running backs remain an afterthought. One of the young quarterbacks Kittley mentored was future 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes II. I love that place, Kittley said. Kevin Barbay, Appalachian State OC (Photo: Will Turner, 247Sports) Barbay rides a balanced spread-style offense for the Mountaineers and just finished his first season as play-caller with the nation's No. 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. 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. Sterns, who was also a senior graduate transfer from Houston Baptist, led the nation in receptions (150), TD receptions (17), and receiving yards (1,902). 9. WKU would usually pair snag with double slants on the backside. The Hilltoppers wont be passing the ball on every snap, however. Zappe completed 30-of-49 passes for 567 yards with four touchdowns, the most passing yards ever for an FCS player against an FBS defense. 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. What he's been able to do with the Tar Heels under Mack Brown with quarterbacks Sam Howell and Drake Maye is really impressive when you consider how dreadful North Carolina's defense has been the past few seasons. Now the defense has a numbers advantage to the snag side: This is why the complimentary passing concept placed to the backside is so important-it must take advantage of this overreaction by the defense. USF recently fired head coach Jeff Scott, which means his top-end assistants are being courted by other programs as we speak. https://longhornswire.usatoday.com/lists/big-12-football-best-offenses-rankings-texas-longhorns-oklahoma-sooners-baylor-2022/, Big 12 conference will also have new quarterbacks leading their offense in 2022, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Zappe completed 141 of 215 of his passes for a completion percentage of 65.6%, throwing for 1,833 yards, 15 touchdowns and only one interception. 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