CHUCK CARLTON Coach returns to Tech roots
Kittley’s latest chapter with Red Raiders is guiding team’s offense
The wonderment still sounds in Zach Kittley’s voice, one that can come only from fond boyhood memories.
Kittley was all of 8 years old living in Lubbock when Mike Leach came to town as a football coach with some offensive system called the Air Raid, at the time still a novelty. Soon enough, Leach had a quarterback in Kliff Kingsbury and Tech had a national offensive identity.
“I grew up around Texas Tech and the offensive scheme, and throwing the ball across the yard was awesome,” Kittley said during a recent visit to Dallas “And that’s just kind of what we did at Texas Tech as a kid, and I was always fascinated with that.”
Now Kittley, 30, is back in Lubbock as Texas Tech’s new offensive coordinator to begin the Joey McGuire Era. For McGuire, hiring Kittley was a key piece.
Pick your favorite hyperbole — wunderkind or the next big thing or rock star, a McGuire favorite — and it’s probably been used somewhere, sometime.
Kittley’s Western Kentucky offense led the nation in passing yards per game (433.7) and ranked second in yards per game (536.2) and points per game (44.2). Quarterback Bailey Zappe, a fourth-round pick of New England, set FBS records for passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62).
For the record, Kittley said he’s not caught up in trying to balance running and passing and notes run-pass options can skew that anyway.
And no, it’s not possible to throw the ball too much, he says.
“At the end of the day,” Kittley said, “I think it’s all about whatever it takes you to win the game.”
Actually, the 6-7 Kittley was better at basketball than football growing up and played for a while at Abilene Christian. He eventually transferred to Tech, where his father, Wes, is the longtime track and field coach complete with a 2019 NCAA outdoor championship.
But football, especially the offense side and executing at the highest level, fascinated Kittley.
It just so happened that Kingsbury was the coach and Kittley saw the perfect person to learn from.
“Man, when he got hired at Texas Tech, I just said that’s who I want to work for,” Kittley said. “I want to learn under this guy, he’s the best in the business. This is what I want to do with my life.”
Kittley started at the bottom as a student assistant in 2013, progressing to offensive intern then graduate assistant in five seasons.
“Early on, it was clear what a high football IQ he has,” Kingsbury said, “and he’s built upon that at every stage of his career.”
Kingsbury credits Kittley with helping the development of Patrick Mahomes, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as quarterbacks such as Davis Webb and Nic Shimonek.
“He’s worked his tail off to earn this opportunity, and I know how passionate he is about the university and the Red Raider football program,” Mahomes said when Kittley was hired Dec. 5.
“He invested a ton of time in me while we were there together and really helped me develop as a college quarterback.”
Tech led the nation in total offense in 2016 with Mahomes and averaged 43.7 points — and still failed to make a bowl.
“I think we’ve got to figure ways to play team football,” Kittley said, remembering that season. “I think maybe the way we went about practice sometimes it didn’t help the defense much.”
Kittley landed his first full-time job at Houston Baptist in 2018 as offensive coordinator, a remarkably quick advancement. He moved to Western Kentucky before the 2021 season, Zappe and two HBU receives in tow. Think of it as an offensive makeover on the fly.
While Western Kentucky was in the midst of a record-setting season that only raised Kittley’s stock, Tech didn’t look like a landing spot despite a coaching change. McGuire had decided to keep Sonny Cumbie — another of Kittley’s mentors — as his offensive coordinator. Then Cumbie landed the job at Louisiana Tech, and Kittley was an obvious candidate.
Kittley and McGuire still haven’t named a starting quarterback yet between original 2021 starter Tyler Shough, Liberty Bowl standout Donovan Smith and once-heralded recruit Behren Morton.
“It’s a brand new offense,” McGuire said. “I think that Coach Kitlee has done a phenomenal job of preparing these guys. I think they do feel like we have a plan to put them in place to be successful.”
Said Shough, who once led Oregon to a Pac-12 championship: “Coach Kittley has kind of given us the key to the car.”
Kittley is convinced that Tech will get to where it wants to be soon offensively, while admitting it’s not there yet. He admits that he has to coach the three quarterbacks differently because of where they stand in their careers.
“A guy like Tyler Shough, for example, he’s a seasoned veteran. He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve ever been around,” Kittley said. “You have a guy like Donovan who’s kind of more middle of the road as far as the knowledge of the game because he has had more game experience, but still has a high ceiling and a lot to learn.
“Then, you’ve got a guy like Baron Morton who’s got unbelievable talent, and is going to be one of the best quarterbacks probably to ever play at Texas Tech, but doesn’t have that experience and it’s still really growing in the game of learning how to play the position and understanding defenses.”
Naming a quarterback is just the beginning of the process, not the end, Kittley understands.
He says he installed all of his offense in the spring. At the same time, it may take a while for it to be second nature.
And Kittley is home — again.
“Even this last spring, being able to get out there and being able to get into the Jones [AT&T Stadium], that is just very special,” Kittley said.
“So yeah, I love being back home ... it’s a great experience.”
And he knows where to find the best taco or burger or barbecue intuitively.
“I know that I know the hot spots in Lubbock for sure,” he said.
Twitter: @ChuckCarltonDMN
Kittley’s latest chapter with Red Raiders is guiding team’s offense
The wonderment still sounds in Zach Kittley’s voice, one that can come only from fond boyhood memories.
Kittley was all of 8 years old living in Lubbock when Mike Leach came to town as a football coach with some offensive system called the Air Raid, at the time still a novelty. Soon enough, Leach had a quarterback in Kliff Kingsbury and Tech had a national offensive identity.
“I grew up around Texas Tech and the offensive scheme, and throwing the ball across the yard was awesome,” Kittley said during a recent visit to Dallas “And that’s just kind of what we did at Texas Tech as a kid, and I was always fascinated with that.”
Now Kittley, 30, is back in Lubbock as Texas Tech’s new offensive coordinator to begin the Joey McGuire Era. For McGuire, hiring Kittley was a key piece.
Pick your favorite hyperbole — wunderkind or the next big thing or rock star, a McGuire favorite — and it’s probably been used somewhere, sometime.
Kittley’s Western Kentucky offense led the nation in passing yards per game (433.7) and ranked second in yards per game (536.2) and points per game (44.2). Quarterback Bailey Zappe, a fourth-round pick of New England, set FBS records for passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62).
For the record, Kittley said he’s not caught up in trying to balance running and passing and notes run-pass options can skew that anyway.
And no, it’s not possible to throw the ball too much, he says.
“At the end of the day,” Kittley said, “I think it’s all about whatever it takes you to win the game.”
Actually, the 6-7 Kittley was better at basketball than football growing up and played for a while at Abilene Christian. He eventually transferred to Tech, where his father, Wes, is the longtime track and field coach complete with a 2019 NCAA outdoor championship.
But football, especially the offense side and executing at the highest level, fascinated Kittley.
It just so happened that Kingsbury was the coach and Kittley saw the perfect person to learn from.
“Man, when he got hired at Texas Tech, I just said that’s who I want to work for,” Kittley said. “I want to learn under this guy, he’s the best in the business. This is what I want to do with my life.”
Kittley started at the bottom as a student assistant in 2013, progressing to offensive intern then graduate assistant in five seasons.
“Early on, it was clear what a high football IQ he has,” Kingsbury said, “and he’s built upon that at every stage of his career.”
Kingsbury credits Kittley with helping the development of Patrick Mahomes, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as quarterbacks such as Davis Webb and Nic Shimonek.
“He’s worked his tail off to earn this opportunity, and I know how passionate he is about the university and the Red Raider football program,” Mahomes said when Kittley was hired Dec. 5.
“He invested a ton of time in me while we were there together and really helped me develop as a college quarterback.”
Tech led the nation in total offense in 2016 with Mahomes and averaged 43.7 points — and still failed to make a bowl.
“I think we’ve got to figure ways to play team football,” Kittley said, remembering that season. “I think maybe the way we went about practice sometimes it didn’t help the defense much.”
Kittley landed his first full-time job at Houston Baptist in 2018 as offensive coordinator, a remarkably quick advancement. He moved to Western Kentucky before the 2021 season, Zappe and two HBU receives in tow. Think of it as an offensive makeover on the fly.
While Western Kentucky was in the midst of a record-setting season that only raised Kittley’s stock, Tech didn’t look like a landing spot despite a coaching change. McGuire had decided to keep Sonny Cumbie — another of Kittley’s mentors — as his offensive coordinator. Then Cumbie landed the job at Louisiana Tech, and Kittley was an obvious candidate.
Kittley and McGuire still haven’t named a starting quarterback yet between original 2021 starter Tyler Shough, Liberty Bowl standout Donovan Smith and once-heralded recruit Behren Morton.
“It’s a brand new offense,” McGuire said. “I think that Coach Kitlee has done a phenomenal job of preparing these guys. I think they do feel like we have a plan to put them in place to be successful.”
Said Shough, who once led Oregon to a Pac-12 championship: “Coach Kittley has kind of given us the key to the car.”
Kittley is convinced that Tech will get to where it wants to be soon offensively, while admitting it’s not there yet. He admits that he has to coach the three quarterbacks differently because of where they stand in their careers.
“A guy like Tyler Shough, for example, he’s a seasoned veteran. He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve ever been around,” Kittley said. “You have a guy like Donovan who’s kind of more middle of the road as far as the knowledge of the game because he has had more game experience, but still has a high ceiling and a lot to learn.
“Then, you’ve got a guy like Baron Morton who’s got unbelievable talent, and is going to be one of the best quarterbacks probably to ever play at Texas Tech, but doesn’t have that experience and it’s still really growing in the game of learning how to play the position and understanding defenses.”
Naming a quarterback is just the beginning of the process, not the end, Kittley understands.
He says he installed all of his offense in the spring. At the same time, it may take a while for it to be second nature.
And Kittley is home — again.
“Even this last spring, being able to get out there and being able to get into the Jones [AT&T Stadium], that is just very special,” Kittley said.
“So yeah, I love being back home ... it’s a great experience.”
And he knows where to find the best taco or burger or barbecue intuitively.
“I know that I know the hot spots in Lubbock for sure,” he said.
Twitter: @ChuckCarltonDMN
