So, I was going to try to compile a list of potential OC/QB coaches to pursue to replace our current OC/QB coach. That proved to be WAY more effort than I wanted to put into it so instead I'm going to open it up to the board to list who they think we should go after and why.
A couple of ground rules though:
- Be realistic. We probably aren't going to be able to poach an OC from a current top 25 school, nor would we probably be able to poach someone from another P5 school.
- They will still operate as OC AND QB coach. In my short stint trying to compile a list, I realized this is VERY common. Plus it makes it easier as we don't have to shuffle around other coaches.
My pick? Mack Leftwich, who is the current offensive coordinator at Texas State. His coaching history is as follows:
2016: UTEP – Student Assistant & Kirkland High School (El Paso) – Offensive Coordinator/QBs
2017: Lehman High School (TX) – Offensive Coordinator
2018: UIW – Graduate Assistant
2019: UIW – Quarterbacks Coach
2020: UIW – Quarterbacks Coach
2021: UIW – Quarterbacks Coach
2022: UIW – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2023: Texas State - Offensive Coordinator
His bio from the Texas State website sums up why I think he'd be a good choice pretty well:
Working with current Texas State head coach G.J. Kinne at UIW in 2022, Leftwich and the Cardinals averaged 51.5 points a game and more than 580 yards of total offense en route to winning the Southland Conference championship and reaching the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs with the nation’s No. 7 seed.
Leftwich helped tutor FCS All-American quarterback Lindsey Scott, Jr., who set a record for FCS touchdowns and accumulated more than 5,300 total yards of offense. Scott, Jr., who joined UIW after transferring from Nicholls, won the Walter Payton Award, which is considered the FCS Heisman Trophy.
Lindsey Scott, Jr. was also among eight All-Southland performers on the offensive side of the ball under Leftwich.
The record-breaking 2022 season was the fifth season overall for Leftwich at UIW, with the first four being as the quarterbacks coach. He started his career with the Cardinals in 2018 as a graduate assistant. He was a part of the UIW coaching staff for its three Southland Conference titles (2018, 2021, 2022).
Leftwich worked with star quarterbacks Jon Copeland (2018-19), Cameron Ward (2021) and Scott, Jr. (2022), each of whom earned All-America status as Cardinals.
Let's dive a bit deeper into the QBs his bio mentioned:
Jon Copeland:
2019 (Sophomore)
Played and started in all 12 games at quarterback… threw for 3,341, breaking the program record for single season passing yards (which he set in 2018)… also tied the program record with 22 passing touchdowns in a single season… completed 298 passes out of 507 attempts, both of which broke the program records… ranked second in program history with a 58.8 percent completion rate throughout the season… was third in UIW history with a 124.9 pass efficiency rate… averaged 6.6 yards per pass, good for fourth in program history… was second in UIW history with 278.4 yards per game… set the program record for total offensive yards in a single season (3,341) and TDs responsible for (26)… ranked second with 276.2 total offensive yards per game… set the career record for touchdown passes, currently with 44 through his first two years… threw for a season-high 381 yards against Nicholls… tallied 300+ passing yards in six games… threw five TD passes against Texas Southern, which tied a program record for team TD passes in a single game and broke the record for individual touchdown passes in a single game… tallied four TD passes in win against Lamar… completed a season-best 35 passes for 349 yards at SFA.
2018 (Freshman)
Helped lead the Cardinals to their first conference championship in program history, throwing for a league-high and program record 2,984 passing yards and gaining a conference-best 3,061 all-purpose yards (rankings from after UIW’s final contest)… guided UIW to six victories, tying a program record… the six league wins sets a program record for the Cardinals… completed 208 of his 368 pass attempts (56.5 percent) and threw for 22 touchdowns, which ranks third in the conference… threw for 515 yards at Lamar, becoming the only SLC student-athlete to throw for over 500 yards this season… the 515 yards at Lamar topped his previous best of 411, which he recorded in a victory against Southeastern Louisiana the week prior… in all, had five games with 300 or more passing yards… recorded a conference-high 2,504 passing yards through eight league games for an average 313.0 yards per game (second in the league)… also led the conference in total offense through only SLC games (2,577 yards, 322.1 yards per game)… helped UIW lead the league in points (343), total offensive yards (4,933) and passing yards (3,237).
Cameron Ward (transferred to WSU in 2022, started all of 2022 and all of 2023 so far):
WASHINGTON STATE (not as important to my argument since this is after his time with Mack Leftwich, but still interesting)
SOPHOMORE (2022): Enrolled at WSU in January and participated in spring practice...named All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention…named Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Semifinalist (Top offensive player from Texas)…started all 13 games…went 320-of-497 (64.4%) for 3,231 yards and 23 touchdowns…497 pass attempts were ninth-most in WSU single-season history…320 completions were eighth-most in WSU single-season history…64.4 completion percentage was ninth-best in WSU single-season history…threw nine interceptions…rushed 107 times for 58 yards and five touchdowns…had five games with one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown…had four 300-yard games…named to 2022 Maxwell Award Watch List (Most Outstanding Player in College Football), Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List (Top offensive player from Texas) and Preseason All-Pac-12 Fourth Team (Athlon Sports)…in WSU debut, threw three touchdown passes (3, 13, 8) and 228 yards in season-opening win over Idaho…threw for 200 yards including 31-yard touchdown pass in win at No. 19 Wisconsin…named WSU Offensive Player of the Week, threw for 299 yards and four touchdown passes (17, 13, 19, 2) in win over Colorado State…threw for 375 yards and two touchdown passes (15, 1) and had five-yard rushing touchdown against No. 15 Oregon…threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns (17, 37, 1) in win over Cal…threw two touchdown passes (12, 1) at No. 6 USC…threw for 345 yards including nine-yard touchdown at Oregon State…threw for 222 yards with a 29-yard touchdown pass and had a seven-yard touchdown run against No. 14 Utah…threw two touchdown passes (7, 9) and rushed for 15-yard touchdown in win at Stanford…threw for 219 yards and a two-yard touchdown pass in win over Arizona State…named WSU Offensive Player of the Week, had a four-yard touchdown pass and 17-yard rushing touchdown in win at Arizona, his 59 rush yards were most by a Cougar quarterback since Jeff Tuel rushed for 79 yards in the win at Oregon State in 2010…thew for 322 yards and two touchdowns (34,15), also rushed for 14-yard touchdown in Apple Cup…went 22-of-32 for 137 yards against Fresno State in LA Bowl.
INCARNATE WORD
SOPHOMORE (2021): Named to FCS All-American Second Team…named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year…Walter Payton Award Finalist, given to the most outstanding offensive player in FCS Football…led UIW to a Southland Conference Championship, a 10-3 overall record and into the second round of the FCS playoffs…in 13 games, completed 384-of-590 (65.1%) passes for 4,648 yards with 47 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions…averaged 357.5 passing yards-per-game…also rushed for one touchdown…recorded 11 games with 300-passing yards including three 400-yard games and a program-record 610…threw multiple-TD in all 13 games…set UIW single-game records with 610 passing yards and seven pass TD in win over Southeastern Louisiana…set Incarnate Word program records for career passing touchdowns (71) and passing yards (6,908)…rated four-star transfer prospect and 10th-best transfer prospect in the country by 247Sports.com.
FRESHMAN (2020): (Spring 2021) Won the 2021 Jerry Rice Award, given to the most outstanding freshman player in FCS Football…set multiple UIW single-game and single-season passing records in just six games…completed 183-of-303 (60.4 %) passes for 2,260 yards with 24 touchdowns and just four interceptions…averaged 376.7 passing yards-per-game…rushed for two touchdowns…threw for a career-high 470 yards and six touchdowns at Nicholls…named to the Southland All-Conference first-team.
Lindsey Scott Jr.:
2022 Season: (No written bio, so here are just his stats from that year)
Passing:
ATT: 454, CMP: 322, INT: 8, %: 70.9, YDS: 4686, TD: 60
Rushing:
ATT: 132, YDS: 712, TD: 11, YDS per carry: 5.3
2021 Spring Season (Senior): Started all seven games at quarterback... was a dual threat, accounting for 2,241 yards of offense with a 320.1 yards per game average... threw for 1,684 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging 240.6 yards... had 125 completions on 215 passes for a 58.1 percent clip... threw seven interceptions... led the team in rushing, totaling 557 yards and six touchdowns on 92 carries... averaged 79.6 yards rushing and 6.1 per carry... had five games over 200 yards passing and two 100-yard rushing games... completed 12 of 14 passes for 153 yards in his debut against Lincoln, completing two TD passes. Rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown... played just three quarters in win over Lamar, throwing for 232 yards and three touchdowns with only five incompletions on 21 passes. Rushed for 108 yards and three TDs... was 21-33 for 299 yards and three touchdowns at Northwestern State. Rushed for 91 yards... had 186 yards passing and one touchdown at Sam Houston. Held to 10 yards rushing on 14 carries... went 17 of 21 for 264 yards and five touchdowns against UIW. Also rushed for one TD and 81 yards... rushed for a season-high of 137 yards on 28 carries at McNeese. Threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns... had 261 yards passing and one TD in finale against Southeastern Louisiana. Also rushed for 90 yards and one score and completed one 2-point conversion.
And what about the current QB at Texas State? (I assume he's filling the QB coach role even though it's not listed, as there is no other coach listed as the QBs coach):
TJ Finley:
2023 stats so far through 8 games:
Passing:
ATT: 260, CMP: 177, %: 68.0%, INT: 5, YDS: 2203, TDS: 15
Rushing:
ATT: 43, YDS: 50, TDS: 3
2023 (Redshirt sophomore)
Manning Award Watch List ... Davey O'Brien Award Midseason Watch List ... Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after the week one victory at Baylor ... Also named Manning Award Star of the Week and to the Davey O'Brien Great 8 after week one ... Threw for 298 yards on 22-of-30 passing against the Bears and totaled 316 yards of offense (18 rushing) and 4 TDs (3 passing, 1 rushing) ... Two-time Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week honorable mention (Sept. 5, Sept. 19) ... Enrolled at Texas State in June 2023.
PRIOR TO TEXAS STATE
Over his three years at LSU (2020) and Auburn (2021-22), he started 11 times in 18 games and was 183-of-321 passing with 2,199 yards, 12 TDs and 10 INTs … Also scored 2 rushing TDs … 708 career snaps.
Safe to say, IMO, he can develop QBs.
In his 1 year as OC at UIW in 2022, they put up a cumulative 721 points in 14 games, averaging 51.5 points a game. That year their lowest scoring game was 31 points, and their highest was 73(!!) points. Obviously his offenses can score a lot of points too. Obviously these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, as this was in FCS where the level of talent of teams they played probably varied wildly. HOWEVER, as OC at Texas State this year, that high scoring trend has continued. So far they have scored a cumulative 281 points over 8 games played, averaging 35.1 points per game. Their lowest score so far is 13 points, while their highest score so far is 77. This is in the sun belt conference, so still not the stiffest of competition, but shows that his OC ability doesn't seem to be tied to a specific school or set of players.
