JONESBORO, Ark. – Red Wolves head football coach Blake Anderson named Luke Paschall the Arkansas State football team’s wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator.
Paschall spent the last two seasons working with Anderson as a graduate assistant coach at North Carolina, but also previously served on the coaching staffs at Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community over the last seven years.
A former player under Anderson at Middle Tennessee, Paschall has been a part of five bowl games and helped each of his former schools compile statistical numbers that ranked among the top teams in the nation.
Working primarily with the special teams while also assisting with the wide receivers the last two seasons at North Carolina, Paschall was part of a coaching staff that led the Tar Heels to 15 victories and a win over Cincinnati in the 2013 Belk Bowl.
The 2013 UNC squad led the nation in punt returns (18.13 ypr) and ranked fourth in punt return defense (2.9 ypr), 10th in net punting (40.3 average), 19th in kick return average (23.8 ypr) and 28th in passing offense (277.4 ypg). The 2012 Tar Heels finished first in the ACC and 10th in the nation in net punting during Paschall’s first season at the school.
Paschall’s time at North Carolina saw him work with some of the team’s most productive players at the wide receiver and special teams positions. All-Atlantic Coast Conference wide receiver Quinshad Davis ranked 22nd in the nation with 10 touchdown receptions and 13th in the ACC with 730 receiving yards in 2013. Davis led the team in receiving in 2012 with 61 receptions for 776 yards and five touchdowns to earn Freshman All-America honors from CollegeFootballNews.com as well.
Heavily involved with UNC’s special teams, Paschall coached FWAA Freshman All-American and CFPA Punt Returner of the Year Ryan Switzer in 2013. Switzer turned in one of the most impressive seasons in school history, breaking the ACC record and tying the NCAA’s best mark for punt returns for touchdowns (5). He finished the season with a school-record 502 punt return yards and a 20.9 yard average per attempt.
The Tar Heels’ 2012 special teams unit included second team all-conference punter Tommy Hibbard and their punt return team, led by All-ACC return man Giovani Bernard, ranked 10th in the country. Bernard was also named the CFPA Punt Returner of the Year.
Paschall came to UNC after spending one season at Ole Miss as an offensive graduate assistant coach under former head coach Houston Nutt. He was primarily responsible for working with the wide receivers and tight ends positions, but also assisted with the Rebels’ special teams. Ole Miss ranked third in the nation in punt returns and 24th in net punting Paschall’s lone season at the school, where he worked with wide receiver Donte Moncrief during his Freshman All-America season.
Paschall spent the 2008-10 seasons at Oklahoma State in a quality control position (2010) and as an offensive graduate assistant (2008-09). He was primarily responsible for helping coach the wide receivers and quarterbacks positions as a graduate assistant coach, working with current Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Zac Robinson and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant during his tenure. He helped lead OSU to the 2008 Holiday Bowl and the 2009 Cotton Bowl, while the Cowboys also played in the 2010 Alabama Bowl. Oklahoma State’s 2008 team ranked sixth in the nation in total offense (487.7 ypg) and ninth in scoring offense (40.7 ppg).
The 2007 season saw Paschall serve as wide receivers coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to an NJCAA national championship victory over Kilgore in the H.O.T. Bowl played in Copperas Cove, Texas. The Bulldogs ranked 20th in the NJCAA in total offense that season.
Prior to joining MGCCC, Paschall was a four-year letterman at the wide receiver position at Middle Tennessee. The former walk-on who earned a scholarship as a sophomore hauled in a personal-best 13 receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown as a senior. The Dickson, Tenn. native earned a psychology degree in 2006 and a master’s in sports management in 2007 from Middle Tennessee State University.
Additionally, Anthony Tucker, who served as the Red Wolves’ wide receivers coach in 2013, will change positions to running backs coach in 2014 as part of Anderson’s staff.
Tucker just completed his first season on the Arkansas State staff, helping lead the Red Wolves to their third consecutive Sun Belt Conference championship and second straight GoDaddy Bowl victory.
Under Tucker’s direction, the Red Wolves’ receiving corps was responsible for 71 percent of the team’s receiving yards and touchdowns and 68 percent of its total catches. A-State’s top three receivers all recorded at least 29 receptions, including J.D. McKissic with a team-high 82 that ranked as the third most in school history. Additionally, Julian Jones enjoyed the best season of his career with 52 receptions that were the 10th most in A-State history. McKissic racked up 662 receiving yards and Jones posted a career-high 641. The duo, along with fellow receiver Allen Muse, was responsible for 10 of the team’s 14 touchdown catches.
McKissic was recognized as first team All-Sun Belt Conference for his efforts and named the GoDaddy Bowl Offensive MVP, while Muse was responsible for scoring the game-winning touchdown with 32 seconds left in the contest. Both Jones and Muse were ranked among the top-10 players in the league in receptions and McKissic also made the list for receiving yards.
Tucker came to Arkansas State after spending the previous two seasons at Idaho State, where he coached wide receivers for a squad that ranked among the top 10 in the nation in passing yards in back-to-back years. Led by All-America wide receiver Rodrick Rumble, the Bengals averaged 351.6 passing yards per game in 2012 to rank fourth nationally, while the 2011 team held the nation’s ninth-best average at 300.6 yards per game.
The Tucker-coached Rumble later signed with the Indianapolis Colts and was named to multiple All-America teams during his career, which he finished as Idaho State’s all-time leader in receptions (223) and receiving yards (2,863). Rumble finished among the top-10 players in the nation in receptions and receiving yards as both a junior and senior.
Prior to joining Idaho State, Tucker served the 2010 season as Colorado’s Offensive Technical Assistant under then-head coach Dan Hawkins. Tucker went to Colorado after spending the 2006-09 seasons as Lakewood (Calif.) High School’s Passing Game Coordinator and Wide Receivers Coach. He also coached the wide receivers in the Best of the West Quarterback and Wide Receivers Skills Camp in 2008 and 2009 in Lakewood.
Tucker spent four seasons in the NFL, signing as a free agent with the New York Giants in 1999 and later earning a spot on the team’s practice squad in 2000. He was allocated to NFL Europe from the Giants in 2001 and played for the Amsterdam Admirals. He signed with the St. Louis Rams in 2002 and then suffered a career-ending leg injury.
A three-year letterman at Fresno State, Tucker started at wide receiver his last two seasons with the Bulldogs. Tucker earned his bachelor of science degree in criminology in 1999 from Fresno State, where he was a WAC Scholar-Athlete, member of the dean’s list three times and earned President’s List honors one time for having a 4.0 GPA.
Tucker was a football and track and field star at Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, Calif., under coach John Barnes, the winningest coach in Orange County history. Tucker helped his team complete a perfect 14-0 record his senior season in 1993 to win the school’s third straight CIF championship. He was a team captain on the track, where he participated in hurdles and sprinting events.
Loading ...
