Youre probably thinking that it would favor Texas Tech by quite a bit, but you would be wrong. The quarterback will now throw off of the flat defenders movement: If executed correctly, snag should be impossible to defend with zone coverage. Western Kentucky co-offensive coordinators Zach Kittley and Bryan Ellis are reportedly leaving for new jobs. Don Williams of the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal and RedRaiderSports.com first broke the news around 10:15 p.m. on Sunday indicating that sources confirmed Kittley was hired by Texas Tech after interviewing for the job earlier in the day. 2021 Western Kentucky Offensive Coordinator (Quarterbacks) 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. 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. 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. One of Steve Sarkisian's aces in the hole on staff, Brennan Marion and his "GoGo" offense with two running backs is exciting if you have the personnel to run it. 45 in the country in total offense and No. High schools were starting to run spread offenses and Zach just understood where to tell his teammates where to line up. Statistically, it's not even close, no one's in the same ballpark as he is. 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 The Chiefs eventually selected Mahomes with the No. But for him, I felt like it was really just the relationship that he and I built where he was going to play had to be perfect for him. Trickett previously served as OC at FAU and spent the past three seasons on staff at West Virginia. 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. 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. Alumni Association. 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). The two reunite at Oklahoma with the help of wide receiver Marvin Mims. 74 in the country in total offense, No. 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.. 2 nationally)Passing offense: 434.6 ypg (No. Should Shough and Colombi decide to move on, the team will be in good hands with the guys already on the roster. The Red Raiders alumni and fanbase is deep and strong. 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. Have confirmed that Zach Kittley has agreed to return to Texas Tech as offensive coordinator. 9 in the conference in 2021. Graham Harrell should dramatically improve the passing game and overall quarterback play. He took over as co-offensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic after Kendal Briles left for Houston in 2018. Be a Hilltopper. 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. One of the youngest potential candidates is Clint Trickett, the 31-year-old offensive coordinator from Marshall. @ZKittley Congrats!! It was a much slower year for the league with many of the best teams in the league (save for Oklahoma State) running slower, more deliberate offenses. The cornerback jumps the shoot, isolating Sterns on the corner route against an outmatched linebacker: Against UTSA they put the back on tear motion, which allows Zappe to identify man coverage when the backer vacates the box to run with him. Here out of empty Zappe initially checks the snag side, then looks back side and hits the slant return. During the game, Mullen helped develop some stud quarterbacks at the college level like Alex Smith, Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott. WKU offensive coordinator Zach Kittley is returning to Lubbock, Texas, to become the next offensive coordinator for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Im really excited for Zach and this opportunity at Western Kentucky. 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. & Margaret Talkington Leadership Academy, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging. 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. 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. First reported by @AaronDickens. The former Mississippi State and Florida head coach has an abundance of SEC experience and is one of top offensive minds in college football. 1), 2020Scoring offense: 19 ppg (No. The tailback would cheat his alignment out and run a shoot with an aiming point 2-3 yards out of bounds. 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. Turner has built quite a resume of tight ends that have gone on to be successful in the NFL and is also regarded as a great recruiter. The Y and Z were essentially exchanging positions from where they were on the stick play. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. 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. 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, 30, has shaken up the sport in short order thanks to his potent variation of the Air Raid offense, which took Houston Baptist by storm in the FCS for three years and lifted the Hilltoppers out of a malaise this fall. 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. His 5,545 yards is 289 yards short from B.J. His father, Texas Tech track & field head coach Wes Kittley, served as Zachs first window into the world of coaching collegiate athletics. The 31-year-old is currently Texas Techs offensive coordinator and fresh off of his first season at the Power Five level. Texas Tech made one of the more underrated moves of the offseason with the hire of offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. Being a staple for the Red Raiders in Lubbock runs in the family.. The read for the quarterback is simple-throw off of the cornerbacks movement and make him wrong. 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. Theres a lot of things that those young men were going through in college that I was going through at the same time I was really able to click with those guys on a personal level, which I think was really instrumental for me as a young guy.. He developed a quarterback with only one FBS scholarship offer into a household name at WKU. , Kittleys air raid attack was the third-most explosive offense in college football. "He calls his offense the Ferrari and he hands me the keys before every game, Zappe told Pro Football Focus recently. However, hes now face with arguably his most important hire to date. Symons that stood nearly 20 years up until Western Kentuckys win in the Boca Raton Bowl. 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. 1. He was a receiver on offense and played safety on defense, Kittleys father said. 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. Promising sophomore Behren Morton will push Shough, but the Red Raiders are in good shape with either at the controls of coordinator Zach Kittley's offense. WebWKU Athletics DEI Council. coach in 2010 and he later served under Dan Mullen as Florida's top assistant. According to 247Sports, Kittleys air raid attack was the third-most explosive offense in college football. J.T. I knew the regiment at football would either make him or break him.. Make no mistake, this is Dykes' scheme, but Riley is the facilitator on offense as a rhythmic play-caller for the unbeaten probable playoff team. FOX Sports Bruce Feldman then confirmed the news late Sunday night that sources indicated Kittley agreed to the position. Kittley could tell immediately that Kingsbury was going to lead the Red Raiders to success. Without him out there, people didnt know where to line up. USF recently fired head coach Jeff Scott, which means his top-end assistants are being courted by other programs as we speak. Arkansas will enter the 2023 season without either coordinator from 2022. Despite having much concern about his, income Kittley hasnt provided any details yet. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 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.. @KliffKingsbury #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/TxJpjm4l2n. 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. Red Raiders go into midseason open week with quarterback again a focal point of conversation 1)Total offense: 528.5 ypg (No. During its shortened 2020 season, Houston Baptist continually frustrated FBS opponents as Zappe, who later transferred to Western Kentucky after Kittleys hire, completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 1,833 yards and 15 touchdowns with only one interception over four games. ?? a move that's expected to be finalized this week, his "GoGo" offense with two running backs is exciting. The quarterbacks progression was simply corner, shoot, spot. Johnson's coaching careerbegan at Utah as the quarterbackscoach in 2010 and he later served under Dan Mullen as Florida's top assistant. At defensive coordinator, they replaced Barry Odom with up-and-comer Travis Williams and co-coordinator Marcus Woodson. 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. zach kittley offense playbook OC Kittley Press Conference 12-15-20 BOWLING GREEN, Ky. WKU Football has announced the hiring of Zach Kittley as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Have confirmed that Zach Kittley has agreed to return to Texas Tech as offensive coordinator. Kittley will have even more talent at his disposal. Oklahoma and Texas Tech square off in Lubbock on Nov. 26, OUs last game of the regular season. However, the weakness of triangle concepts like snag are brought to bear when the defense responds by over rotating to the triangle side. A handful of players must have listened to Shealy, as Bailey Zappe, Ben Ratzlaff and brothers Jerreth and Josh Sterns all transferred to the Hill for the 2021 season. The 2018 season would prove rough for the team, as HBU went 1-10 without a conference victory. Zach Kittley orchestrated one of the greatest statistical turnarounds in college football history in his first year leading the Hilltoppers' offense. The team also added Brady Boyd from the transfer portal that can play inside or out. 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. "You've got a rock star son," McGuire said. The Gamecocks are coming off back-to-back wins over top 10 opponents for the first time in program history and the offense flourished during those two outings, including a 63-point explosion against Tennessee. Ian Boyd 04/15/22. Western Kentucky School History. Myles Price vying to stand out in Zach Kittley's offense for Texas Tech football. 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