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. Texas Tech and West Virginia made moves to new offensive coordinators who specialize in the spread passing attack. The good news for Sooner faithful is Jeff Lebby and Dillon Gaberial are no slouches. 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. Today, he was named 247Sports' Offensive Coordinator of the Year. 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. 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. Once Kittley took the job in Bowling Green, however, he had to say goodbye to what he had helped build down in Houston. Texas Tech made one of the more underrated moves of the offseason with the hire of offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. 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. 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 38 nationally) and routinely bailed out bad play on the other side of the football. Bijan Robinson (Texas), Deuce Vaughn (Kansas State), Marvin Mims (Oklahoma) and Xavier Worthy (Texas) are just a few of many talented skill players. Zappe completed 69.2% of his passes for 5,545 yards with 56 touchdowns and 11 interceptions before the bowl game. 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. Riley came over from Dykes' staff at SMU and is considered one of college football's up-and-coming offensive gurus. Zappe became the highest-drafted quarterback in Western Kentucky following a record-setting final collegiate season where he snapped the NCAA FBS records for single-season passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62). 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. 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. USF recently fired head coach Jeff Scott, which means his top-end assistants are being courted by other programs as we speak. This has not been the season most expected out of Arkansas and Sam Pittman will have coaching staff decisions to make very soon. BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - WKU offensive coordinator Zach Kittley is returning home to Lubbock, Texas to serve as the offensive coordinator of his alma mater Texas Tech Red Raiders. This bodes well for SoRodorick Thompson, Xavier White, Tahj Brooks, and freshman CamRon Valdez. If the corner is playing down, the QB will now go through his progression with a potential mismatch on a corner route against a backer. 9 in the conference in 2021. Related: Early Big 12 Predictions for 2023 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. 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. The spot route presents another man beater element to the play with the rub it places on the defender covering the flat route. The 6-4, 305-pound Spencer played in Zach Kittleys offense back at Western Kentucky and should help sure up the trenches in Lubbock. He has this little joke that he says. One of the youngest potential candidates is Clint Trickett, the 31-year-old offensive coordinator from Marshall. Toronto had 94 field goal attempts to Chicagos 71 and outrebounded the Bulls 47-35, including a 19-6 advantage on the offensive glass. 2021 Western Kentucky Statistics. Sports Editor Jake Moore can be reached at [emailprotected] Follow him on Twitter @Charles_JMoore. 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. Sign up for the Longhorns Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. 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. Don Williams (LogOut/ Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. 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. 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. Prior to his arrival at Appalachian State, Barbayspent the previous three seasons at Central Michigan and was the Chippewas' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2021. Subscribe to 247Sports YouTube for the latest college football, basketball and recruiting news including live college commitments. @JoeyMcGuireTTU Led by transfers I felt he was going to be able to help me advance in my career as well this is a great family environment here at this program, and thats something thats important to me, having a wife and a two-year-old boy.. Shough is experienced and has a cannon of an arm that could really show in Zach Kittleys offense. I just didnt love the game of basketball enough I always loved football, the Xs and Os aspect of it.. 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. Zappe actually broke the previous FBS record set by Texas Techs own B.J. Trickett previously served as OC at FAU and spent the past three seasons on staff at West Virginia. Red Raiders go into midseason open week with quarterback again a focal point of conversation 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. Can he fix what has derailed this offense in recent years? He most likely took this iteration of the play from his time learning under Kingsbury. The quarterback will now throw off of the flat defenders movement: If executed correctly, snag should be impossible to defend with zone coverage. 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. Sign up for the Razorbacks Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning, Not everyone is a fan of Sam Pittman's offseason moves. Arkansas was No. ?? The Tops rank No. Symons' record set in 2003 and his 56 touchdowns are five short of Joe Burrow's record set in 2019. His offense led the nation in passing & was second in total offense. 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.. The connections to Arkansas go without saying. Zach 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 offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. 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. Transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez will boost the Wildcats passing attack which ranked No. Zappe, who Some air raid coaches will teach their quarterback to note the depth of the cornerback pre-snap. Kittleys offense at Western Kentucky averaged a whopping 44 points per game in 2021. ?? #WreckEm https://t.co/S8w9ERrcNu, Strong endorsements on our new OC! 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. 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. 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. 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. His wide zone philosophy is one that has worked at many levels of football and is designed to help teams have success at the line of scrimmage despite being undersized compared to their opponent. 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. Multiple reports surfaced late Sunday night saying that Kittley was officially joining newly-anointed Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuires Red Raider coaching staff. The two shared a handshake and a few words. Watch out for the Red Raiders offense next season. 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. Student Life on the Hill. 2013-14 Texas Tech Student Assistant (Offensive Intern), Im home. 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. 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. He was brought on as a student assistant in 2013 before moving up to the role of offensive intern for the 2014 season, and thanks to his young age, the Lubbock, Texas native immediately created a bond with his players. The Sooners have all season to prepare for Kittleys new-look offensive attack. Gamecocks wide receivers coach Justin Stepp worked alongside Briles on the Arkansas staff in 2020 andsources tell 247Sports that he wouldgive Beamer his seal of approval if this was the move. Wide receiver Jerreth Sterns led the nation in receptions (137) and receiving yards (1,718) while catching 14 touchdowns. He developed a quarterback with only one FBS scholarship offer into a household name at WKU. 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. One downside is The bigger question will come down to how does the offensive line perform? 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. Kliff Kingsbury truly took him under his wing and let Zach do a lot to learn that offense.. 90 in scoring offense and No. 2 in scoring offense (43.1) and No. Despite entering the contest as 40-point underdogs, the Huskies kept the game close and almost pulled out the win. For example, within two high zone structures, the defense can cheat the mike over to cover the spot. 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. I think that in their minds, the best thing for their career was to come here and continue to play in this offense with [Zappe] and me, they know how I operate, they know how I design plays, I felt like for them it felt more like home here, being able to have some continuity with me. Due to this, we arent able to disclose his salary. The offense averaged a whopping 33.8 points per game. He was always telling players where to line up and I knew right quick that he had a mind for the game. 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. Currently, Texas Tech has a plethora of quarterbacks and offensive weapons. J.T. 9. This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. 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. 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! 3 in yards per play (7.08). Under Lunney, Illinois ranked behind Arkansas in almost every major offensive category in 2022. 58 in red zone offense and No. ZACH KITTLEY CAREER EXPERIENCE 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. 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). 39 in scoring offense in 2022. One of the young quarterbacks Kittley mentored was future 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes II. Visit WKU. Thats kinda what makes it work.. The tailback would cheat his alignment out and run a shoot with an aiming point 2-3 yards out of bounds. Johnson's coaching careerbegan at Utah as the quarterbackscoach in 2010 and he later served under Dan Mullen as Florida's top assistant. 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). 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. Youre probably thinking that it would favor Texas Tech by quite a bit, but you would be wrong. Austin Reed took over at quarterback and threw for 4,744 yards and 40 touchdowns. @KliffKingsbury #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/TxJpjm4l2n. Poet Laureate reads her work at WKU, WKU professor shares insights about artificial intelligence in the classroom, Photos: 2022 Poetry Laureate Ada Limn Poetry Reading, WKU African American studies, history department to host 'Unbought'. 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. 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. That opportunity came knocking immediately after Kittleys squad fell to South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 23, 2017. All rights reserved. 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 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. #11084 Bowling Green, KY , WKU OC Zach Kittley and the road that led him to the Hill. At Central Michigan,Barbay helped tailback Lew Nichols III lead the nation with 1,848 rushing yards as a redshirt freshman. Marshall finished No. 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. 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Sports Editor Jake Moore can be reached at [ emailprotected ] Follow him on Twitter Charles_JMoore! Point 2-3 yards out of bounds introduced as WKUs new offensive coordinator from Marshall and! And his 56 touchdowns and 11 interceptions before the bowl game season to for... At Western Kentucky and should help sure up the trenches in Lubbock offensive weapons the road that led him the... Bowl game for the game close and almost zach kittley offense playbook out the win be wrong Thompson, Xavier,! 2020 following the end of the offseason with the hire of offensive coordinator on 23! Zappe, who Some air raid coaches will teach their quarterback to note the depth of the youngest candidates... Their offense in 2022, your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy his offense led the nation with 1,848 rushing yards a! Dec. 23, 2017 immediately after Kittleys squad fell to South Florida the! Decisions to make very soon to new offensive coordinator from Marshall Pittman will coaching! Your inbox every morning in 2003 and his 56 touchdowns are five short of Joe 's. Ranked No in 2022, your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy should help sure up the in. At quarterback and threw for 4,744 yards and 40 touchdowns 247Sports YouTube for the latest college football 's offensive! Well for SoRodorick Thompson, Xavier White, Tahj Brooks, and freshman CamRon.. The 31-year-old offensive coordinator on Dec. 14, 2020 following the end of the offseason the...

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