(Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)
New UCF Knights head coach Josh Heupel has wasted no time assembling his new staff. After adding six new staff members on Dec. 11, Heupel added eight more, four assistants and four support-role hires, per an official UCF press release.
Shane Burnham joins the Knights as their D-line coach after two seasons at Rutgers University. He helped the Scarlet Knights to a seven-sack improvement in his first season at Rutgers. Before his short stint with Rutgers, Burnham spent seven seasons with Iowa State University coaching inside linebackers for a season and defensive tackles for the other six. Burnham played four seasons with the South Carolina Gamecocks, two as a starter, graduating in 1998.
Heupel, the former offensive coordinator at the University of Missouri, also hired Jeff Lebby as an offensive assistant. Lebby served as the offensive coordinator at Southeastern University this past season, helping the Fire to a 5-0 conference record and a berth in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics playoffs. He also served in a variety of roles with Baylor University, most notably coaching five Bears running backs to 1,000-yard seasons in five seasons.
Despite his experience with running backs, Lebby won’t be the running-backs coach. Instead, Heupel has chosen Anthony Tucker, who served in the same position with the Maryland Terrapins. In 2016, he helped the Terps rush for 2,594 yards and 26 touchdowns, the first time Maryland has run for more than 2,500 yards since 2003 and the most rushing touchdowns since 2007. Before Maryland, Tucker coached running backs and wide receivers at Arkansas State University. The Red Wolves set school records in points scored and touchdowns, running for 3,007 yards in 2015.
Darrell Wyatt will coach wide receivers next season. He was previously with the Houston Cougars the past two seasons, helping Houston to the No. 17 passing offense in 2016 and the No. 39 passing offense this past season. Wyatt was also an offensive analyst at Oklahoma State University in 2015 and was the co-offensive coordinator and wide-receivers coach for the Texas Longhorns from 2011 to 2013. From 2008 to 2009, Wyatt was the associate head coach, offensive coordinator and wide-receivers coach at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Heupel also added four support-staff members in his most recent group of hires. Rodney Hill was hired as assistant director of sports performance after serving as a strength and conditioning coaching intern with the New York Giants. Steve Smith will join as director of player development after four seasons with
For more on the Knights, as they prepare for the 2018 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
