BYU OL Coach Ryan Pugh To Be Troy’s Offensive Coordinator
Jan 14, 2019, 9:39 AM | Updated: 5:33 pm
(Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – It’s official, BYU offensive line coach Ryan Pugh will be the offensive coordinator at Troy.
I HATE to lose my main man / cohort / OL Coach / oldest son / friend @CoachRyanPugh, but I’m so happy for you too! CONGRATS to you & to Troy! pic.twitter.com/s6vb0L6BAf
— jeff grimes (@coachgrimey) January 15, 2019
Chip Lindsey was named the head coach last week after Troy’s previous head coach Neal Brown left to be the head coach at West Virginia.
Pugh was a center at Auburn from 2007-10, he became a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2012 before going to Virginia Tech, Cincinnati and LSU as a graduate assistant for one year each from 2013-15.
He was named the offensive line coach at University of Texas San Antonio for two seasons before being hired by Kalani Sitake and coaching at BYU for the 2018 season. Pugh had a young offensive line at BYU that featured freshman All-American James Empey and Brady Christensen. He has never been an offensive coordinator in his young career but will be given a shot at calling plays for the Trojans.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake on Troy hiring Ryan Pugh:
“I’m excited for Coach Pugh. This is a great opportunity for Ryan to become a coordinator in his home state. He is an outstanding coach, and I appreciate all he has done to help our program. I wish him the best at Troy.” https://t.co/k6cYMkRyV3
— BYU Cougars PR (@BYUCougarsPR) January 14, 2019
Troy finished the 2018 season with a 10-3 record, including a 7-1 conference record. They will return running back B.J. Smith, who rushed for 1,186 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Trojans used two quarterbacks last season, led by redshirt sophomore Sawyer Smith, who threw for 1,669 yards and 14 touchdowns. Junior Kaleb Barker added 1,013 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air.