Through the air, the Chippewas averaged 265.4 passing yards a game. Ive known about Western Kentucky football for a long time, this is a brand thats known across the country, Kittley said. He was able to attend his fathers track meets and develop an understanding of how connections between players and coaches were made and how to help guide young athletes. I knew absolutely nothing about Houston Baptist, to be honest with you, other than we practiced in their facility when we played down in the Houston Bowl in 2015. Zach Kittley finished up his first season with Western Kentucky on Saturday as the WKU Hilltoppers defeated Appalachian State 59-38. It was an emotional deal for me. If he bails to cover the corner route, throw to the flat (cover 4 rules): The exception to this would obviously be if the outside linebacker flies out fast enough to adequately cover the flat. 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. While he was a key recruiter for some of Arkansas biggest prospects over the last few seasons, Loggains hasnt been an offensive coordinator since 2020 when he was in the NFL with the New York Jets. Last season, Ruggieros Demon Deacon offense finished No. Offense has always been a signature for the Red Raiders, dating back to the days of Mike Leach. Congratulations from Kittleys former co-workers, Kliff Kingsbury and Patrick Mahomes, began to roll in once he officially took on the position. @Davis_Webb5 Their combined success helped the Hilltoppers flip a 1-4 start to a seven-game win streak to end the regular season en-route to a C-USA East Division Title. I don't think there's any better person out there than Bailey Zappe. 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. In fact, there's a chance the 35-year-old could be leading a team in the NFL as early as next season. 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. 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. The tailback would cheat his alignment out and run a shoot with an aiming point 2-3 yards out of bounds. 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. ?? One downside is that he hasnt been anything less than a head coach since 2008, so getting him to slide back into a coordinator role might be a tough sell. The hire marks a homecoming for Kittley whos roots are firmly established in the Texas Panhandle. Considering the potential return of offensive playmakers Spencer Rattler, Jaheim Bell and Antwane Wells among others for a program inside the top 25, Beamer is expected to swing for the fences with this search for a new play-caller. Hes like, Look, you got the keys to the Ferrari. Once Kittley took the job in Bowling Green, however, he had to say goodbye to what he had helped build down in Houston. When I left [HBU], there was a little inkling in me thinking that he would leave, he had an SEC offer and a Big 12 offer. WKU running snag in the red zone for a score, This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. At Central Michigan,Barbay helped tailback Lew Nichols III lead the nation with 1,848 rushing yards as a redshirt freshman. 19 in the country in total offense, No. Despite having much concern about his, income Kittley hasnt provided any details yet. 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. LUBBOCK, Texas Zach Kittley, the architect behind one of the nations top offenses this season at Western Kentucky, has been named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Tech, head coach Joey McGuire announced Monday evening. 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). Only Baylor and Oklahoma State return their established starter from a year ago. Despite attending Abilene Christian University to pursue a career playing basketball, Kittley had to be honest with himself and admit there were things he loved more than hooping. Zach Kittley is coming back to Lubbock to be the offensive coordinator under Joey McGuire #WreckEm #GunsUp pic.twitter.com/r00VCKW1ox. The SEC considers only having one annual conference rival for each team. In this case, the under coverage gets distorted as the flat defender expands with the pre-snap motion and jumps the swing, allowing the spot to settle in the open void between the flat and hook defenders: The same play with the same result against Old Dominion: Hitting the spot route in the red zone out of a compressed set, shared by @_MoveTheChains_: WKU running snag in the red zone for a score pic.twitter.com/q9je5HN4HN. His first season at Baylor in 2021, he completely turned around the Bears offense and helped them to a Big 12 championship and win over Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. Kittley was previously at Western Kentucky where they finished No. Alumni Association. Trickett previously served as OC at FAU and spent the past three seasons on staff at West Virginia. 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. WebKittley just completed his first season at Western Kentucky after previously serving as the offensive coordinator at Houston Baptist from 2018-20. The read for the quarterback is simple-throw off of the cornerbacks movement and make him wrong. 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. Change). 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. By ?? Just dont wreck it. Its kind of a thing where were out on the field no matter what down or distance it is, I have the full range of the offense to check in or out of any play that I want. Without him out there, people didnt know where to line up. 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. 2022 may be a rebuilding year in Ames. Zappe, who followed Kittley from Houston Baptist, put up video game-like numbers at quarterback, setting the NCAA all-time single season record for both touchdowns (62) and passing yards (5,967). Sign up for the Longhorns Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. WKU would usually pair snag with double slants on the backside. I love that place, Kittley said. 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. The connections to Arkansas go without saying. Under Lunney, Illinois ranked behind Arkansas in almost every major offensive category in 2022. 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.. However, the weakness of triangle concepts like snag are brought to bear when the defense responds by over rotating to the triangle side. 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. He has a quarterback battle on his hands between Max Duggan and Chandler Morris, two guys that have flashed potential in the past. Zappe broke BJ Symons record for most passing yards in a season and Joe Burrows mark of 60 passing touchdowns. 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. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. (Photo: Taylor Estes, Horns247, 247Sports), (Photo: Nelson Chenault, USA TODAY Sports). Kittley had joined a program that was bringing in future Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, one of the most promising young minds the NFL has seen in recent memory. In that case, the spot route runner should be open as he settles into the window between the flat and hook defender: If the cornerback jumps the flat, throw to the corner (cover 2 rules): Against cover 3, the cornerback should bail to his deep third and cancel out the corner, leaving the apexed flat defender in the precarious position of covering both the spot and the flat. LUBBOCK, Texas Zach Kittley, the architect behind one of the nation's top offenses this season at Western Kentucky, has been named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Tech, head coach Joey McGuire announced Monday evening. One of the young quarterbacks Kittley mentored was future 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes II. South Carolina football and coach Shane Beamer will soon be on the hunt for a new offensive coordinator following the departure of Marcus Satterfield to Nebraska, a move that's expected to be finalized this week. Outside of the quarterback position, the Big 12 returns some of the most electric players in the country. Stephen Hamby returns home to coach the unit after making WKU one of the better offensive lines in all of college football. The former Mississippi State and Florida head coach has an abundance of SEC experience and is one of top offensive minds in college football. 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. Here out of empty Zappe initially checks the snag side, then looks back side and hits the slant return. There is where the real learning happened. Texas Tech and West Virginia made moves to new offensive coordinators who specialize in the spread passing attack. Marshall finished No. 93 in red zone offense and No. The Hilltoppers averaged 527.5 yards per game (second-best) and 7.07 yards per play (third-best). The Chiefs eventually selected Mahomes with the No. Quarterbacks, Kittley believed, could and should change some calls at the line of scrimmage. I knew absolutely nothing about Houston Baptist, to be honest with you, other than we practiced in their facility when we played down in the Houston Bowl in 2015. He most likely took this iteration of the play from his time learning under Kingsbury. 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. In that case, the spot route runner should be open as he settles into the window between the flat and hook defender: If the cornerback jumps the flat, throw to the corner (cover 2 rules): Against cover 3, the cornerback should bail to his deep third and cancel out the corner, leaving the apexed flat defender in the precarious position of covering both the spot and the flat. Youre probably thinking that it would favor Texas Tech by quite a bit, but you would be wrong. Mahomes is one of two NFL Draft selections to tutor under Kittley as Western Kentucky gunslinger Bailey Zappe heard his name called in the fourth round this past May by the New England Patriots. 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. Kittley was hired by Western Kentucky after three seasons in a similar role at Houston Baptist where he, similarly, built one of the nations top offenses at the FCS level. The next play-caller will have notable personnel to work with in 2023 and beyond. I just didnt love the game of basketball enough I always loved football, the Xs and Os aspect of it.. #WreckEm https://t.co/S8w9ERrcNu, Strong endorsements on our new OC! "I told coach [Zach] Kittley, he will never in his career have a room like he has, that we have three guys that can go win football games," McGuire said Thursday at Big 12 Media Days. Mahomes is one of two NFL Draft selections to tutor under Kittley as Western Kentucky gunslinger Bailey Zappe heard his name called in the fourth round this past May by the New England Patriots. Zappe, who followed Kittley from Houston Baptist, put up video game-like numbers at quarterback, setting the NCAA all-time single season record for both touchdowns (62) and passing yards (5,967). "Zach Kittley represents one of the top, young offensive minds in college football, and Like Trickett, Zach Kittley is another one of the top up-and-coming offensive coaches in the country. 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. WKU fans will get to see Kittleys offense in action firsthand on Sept. 2 when the Hilltoppers open their season at home against UT Martin. The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. 58 in red zone offense and No. 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. Snags versatility is also evidenced by its structural answers to defeating man coverage. Kansas State returns one of the most electric players in college football, Deuce Vaughn. Transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez will boost the Wildcats passing attack which ranked No. Arkansas was No. Most recently, Mullen was on the call for ESPN during Arkansas 55-53 Liberty Bowl win over Kansas. Zach Kittley finished up his first season with Western Kentucky on Saturday as the WKU Hilltoppers defeated Appalachian State 59-38. The majority of the Big 12 conference will also have new quarterbacks leading their offense in 2022. Wide receiver Quinten Johnson will be one of the best in the Big 12 in 2022. 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. Sterns has also been successful this season, catching 137 passes for 1,718 yards and 17 touchdowns. 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