Sports Editor Jake Moore can be reached at [emailprotected] Follow him on Twitter @Charles_JMoore. It was a wild three years for us at HBU, Kittley said. 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). 2015-17 Texas Tech Graduate Assistant (Assistant Quarterbacks) At defensive coordinator, they replaced Barry Odom with up-and-comer Travis Williams and co-coordinator Marcus Woodson. 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. Steve Sarkisian is an elite offensive mind who will have tons of weapons to work with for 2022. Johnson's coaching careerbegan at Utah as the quarterbackscoach in 2010 and he later served under Dan Mullen as Florida's top assistant. Kittleys version of the play is similar but puts the #2 receiver on a deeper 10 yard corner. 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. 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. It was an emotional deal for me. Zappe, who Houston Baptist was Kittleys first full-time coaching position after his time on the Texas Tech staff. That opportunity came knocking immediately after Kittleys squad fell to South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 23, 2017. The connections to Arkansas go without saying. Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, quarterback Bailey Zappe, and wide receiver Jerreth Sterns all made the move to Bowling Green. I was 14 years old at the time, but I just knew I wanted to coach one day this is the path that I knew I was going to take at a younger age., I have three boys and I knew pretty early when they grew up that he was going to be my coach, Kittleys father said. Last year we got to play, at HBU with FCS players, we got to play North Texas and La Tech. 10 overall selection, making him the highest-picked quarterback in program history and the seventh Red Raider all-time to be chosen in the opening round. Kittley was a late add to Texas Tech's first-year staff under Joey McGuireafter the Red Raiders first went after Sonnie Cumbie. Under Lunney, Illinois ranked behind Arkansas in almost every major offensive category 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. The top-three receivers are all back. 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 Red Raiders bring back former right-hand man to Kliff Kingsbury Hambys praise of WKU seemed to have a strong effect on Kittley. Zach Kittley was introduced as WKUs new offensive coordinator on Dec. 14, 2020 following the end of the regular season. 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! Typically this would be double slants to fill the open void left by the Mike, or some sort of dig/pivot or levels concept designed to place a high/low stretch on the flat defender. The Red Raiders held on to win 35-33, but Kittley was able to leave Lubbock with his head held high. Sterns, who played at Houston Baptist, leads the nation with an incredible 1,014 yards after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus. The read for the quarterback is simple-throw off of the cornerbacks movement and make him wrong. @JoeyMcGuireTTU Spencer Sanders is back for his senior season after leading the Pokes to an 11-2 season in 2021. Now Tech has the nation's best offensive coordinator of 2021. One statistic that didnt make the cut was time of possession. Western Kentucky defeated Appalachian State, 59-38, in Saturday's Boca Raton Bowl. Zach Kittley left. ?? The Hilltoppers averaged 527.5 yards per game (second-best) and 7.07 yards per play (third-best). 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. Zappe is 342-of-483 (70.8%) for 4,170 passing yards, with 42 touchdowns compared to only seven interceptions. Currently, Texas Tech has a plethora of quarterbacks and offensive weapons. According to 247Sports, Kittleys air raid attack was the third-most explosive offense in college football. 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. 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. During the game, we saw his quarterback Bailey Zappe, who followed him from Houston Baptist, set not one but two FBS single-season records. That was obvious early at Texas Tech and he did a tremendous job for us; I know he had a big impact on Patrick Mahomes and was critical to his development. Multiple reports surfaced late Sunday night saying that Kittley was officially joining newly-anointed Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuires Red Raider coaching staff. Wide receiver Quinten Johnson will be one of the best in the Big 12 in 2022. That process led him to Western Kentucky offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, who made an incredible jump from 115th to 2nd nationally in scoring in his first season calling the offensive shots, setting all kinds of Schedule & Results. Kliff Kingsbury got hired as the head coach and I said hey, this is a guy that I would love to learn from. WKU running snag in the red zone for a score, This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. The success of the offense helped Kittley land the offensive coordinator role at Texas Tech under new head coach Joey McGuire. WebWKU Athletics DEI Council. @JoeyMcGuireTTU Kittleys offense at Western Kentucky averaged a whopping 44 points per game in 2021. Zach Kittleys electric offense this past season at Western Kentucky put the normally below-the-radar Hilltoppers program onto the national scene. I just didnt love the game of basketball enough I always loved football, the Xs and Os aspect of it.. At Central Michigan,Barbay helped tailback Lew Nichols III lead the nation with 1,848 rushing yards as a redshirt freshman. One of the first names that will probably be mentioned by lot of Razorback fans is former tight ends coach Dowell Loggains. Maybe Ruggiero is looking to do the same. 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. Mullen helped develop some stud quarterbacks at the college level like Alex Smith, Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott. Against 2 high zone structures, whether it be cover 2 or cover 4, the vertical component of the play should play out as the primary feature, with the cornerback being forced to choose between the corner and the flat route. 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. However, Wake Forest star quarterback Sam Hartman did leave for Notre Dame this off-season. 58 in red zone offense and No. The Hilltoppers find themselves near the top of this list after totaling 6,857 yards of total offense, most in the country by a team that played 13 games during the season. & Margaret Talkington Leadership Academy, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging. #11084 Bowling Green, KY , WKU OC Zach Kittley and the road that led him to the Hill. Both have SEC connections from their time at Auburn and are considered to be elite recruiters. Only Baylor and Oklahoma State return their established starter from a year ago. His offense led the nation in passing & was second in total offense. CLAY SERVIN, RICE. That being said, his Illini offense left a lot to be desired this season. 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 were also second nationally in total offense and scoring offense in 2015. 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. Likely he would be the feature receiver who can snag 100 passes in this offense. I was fortunate enough to get my foot in the door there.. 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. 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. Under Kittleys leadership, Zappe has had a record season as he currently leads the nation in passing yards (5,546) and touchdowns (56). Whenever I was still at HBU I was kind of nervous that [Zappe] might go to the NFL on me, Kittley said. (LogOut/ Snag (otherwise known as 8 or Y corner in the air raid) features a corner, spot (also referred to as a snag or lazy slant), and flat route that together place a triangular stretch on the defense: Theoretically, against zone coverage the corner and flat route should place a vertical stretch on the cornerback, while the spot and the flat should horizontally stretch the flat defender. A potential trio of Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and Bijan Robinson would be exciting to watch at the next level. We knew if we came in and operate[d] the game plan we would not get blown out by 40 points, Kittley said. 38 nationally) and routinely bailed out bad play on the other side of the football. Please check your email for a confirmation. FOX Sports Bruce Feldman then confirmed the news late Sunday night that sources indicated Kittley agreed to the position. WKU is doing it all behind a pass-heavy offense that is throwing the ball over 68 percent of the time. His father, Texas Tech track & field head coach Wes Kittley, served as Zachs first window into the world of coaching collegiate athletics. Texas Tech made one of the more underrated moves of the offseason with the hire of offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. 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. 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. He stayed helping Sonny the first year and then Sonny left to take the TCU offensive coordinator job and [Texas Tech head coach] Kliff Kingsbury called me and told me how valuable Zach was to them and [that] he was going to take him as his GA and help with the quarterbacks. 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