University of Houston Athletics
Darrell Wyatt Named to Houston Staff
1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HOUSTON - Houston head coach Tom Herman named Darrell Wyatt as receivers coach and recruiting coordinator for the Houston program Thursday.
A 26-year veteran with multiple New Year's Six bowl appearances with multiple years of offensive coordinator experience and extensive recruiting ties to the state of Texas, Wyatt joins Houston after serving the 2015 season as an offensive analyst at Oklahoma State, where he helped lead the Cowboys to the Allstate Sugar Bowl. In his lone season with Oklahoma State, the Cowboys' passing offense ranked seventh nationally with an average of 353.2 yards per game, while averaging 39.5 points per game, 14th best nationally.
Prior to his time at Oklahoma State, Wyatt spent three seasons at Texas where he served as co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2013, and co-recruiting coordinator and receivers coach in 2011 and 2012, alongside current Houston offensive coordinator Major Applewhite all three seasons.
"Darrell has an extensive track record of developing and molding receivers into explosive offensive threats and will be a great addition to our championship-level staff," said Herman. "He has strong recruiting ties to the state of Texas and his familiarity with Major Applewhite will make for a seamless transition in our offensive staff room."
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In his three seasons in Austin, Wyatt molded a young group of receivers that earned five All-Big 12 honors, combined for five seasons with 50-plus receptions and five seasons with 600-plus yards. In 2012, junior Mike Davis, a second team All-Big 12 choice, led the team in receiving yards (939) and touchdown catches (7). He ranked third in the Big 12 and 18th in the FBS in yards per reception at 16.5 (minimum 40 catches). Then-sophomore and current Arizona Cardinal Jaxon Shipley, an honorable mention All-Big 12 choice, led the team in receptions (59), and was second in receiving yards (737) and TD catches (6). Senior Marquise Goodwin was third in both categories, and earned Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP honors before being drafted in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
In 2011, Wyatt's receivers corps led by Davis, Shipley and Goodwin. Davis led the team with 45 catches for 609 yards. Shipley missed three games but earned second-team freshman All-America honors after tying for the team lead with three TD catches, to go along with 44 receptions for 607 yards, while also throwing three TD passes.
Prior to joining the Longhorns, Wyatt spent 2010 as co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at Kansas. Under new head coach Turner Gill, the Jayhawks were transitioning from an offense that lost one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Todd Reesing and two of the nation's top 10 wide receivers in Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier. Despite that, Wyatt helped guide junior WR Daymond Patterson to 60 receptions.
Serving as the program's co-recruiting coordinator, Wyatt helped lead the construction of a 2012 signing class that was ranked second nationally by Rivals with 24 signees from the state of Texas.
In 2008-09, Wyatt was the associate head coach/offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at Southern Mississippi. In two seasons with the Golden Eagles, Wyatt's offenses were among the nation's best.
The 2009 season saw USM produce the nation's 18th-ranked scoring offense (32.9 points per game) while ranking 31st in total offense (416.4 yards per game). The 428 points scored marked a school record as Wyatt guided a balanced attack that was 13th nationally in pass efficiency with a 147.3 rating. RB Damion Fletcher and WR DeAndre Brown both ranked in the top 50 in the nation in rushing and receptions, respectively, while QB Martevious Young was in the top 20 in pass efficiency. Fletcher finished his career with over 1,000 yards in all four seasons. He also finished as USM's all-time leader in all-purpose yards (6,253) and rushing yards (5,302) and was a second-team All-Conference USA selection along with Brown and TE Leroy Banks, while OL Ryan Hebert earned first-team honors.
In 2008, USM broke 36 offensive school records en route to producing 5,636 yards of total offense and 433.5 yards per game, a number that ranked 20th nationally. Many of the season's records included Brown, who was a freshman in 2008 and set the school single-season receptions record with 67 to go along with 1,117 receiving yards. He was named first-team freshman All-America, Conference USA Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Conference USA. Meanwhile Fletcher was also named first-team All-CUSA and rushed for 109.4 yards per game, which led the conference and ranked 17th nationally. QB Austin Davis also ranked 17th in the nation in total offense with 279.7 yards per game
Wyatt spent the 2007 season as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at the University of Arizona. The Wildcats ranked 10th in the nation in passing at 308.5 yards per game, led by junior WR Mike Thomas, who ranked 17th nationally in receptions after pulling in 83 for 1,038 yards and 11 TDs and earned first-team All-Pac 12 honors. Thomas ended his career as Arizona's all-time leading receiver and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2009 NFL Draft. Eight players on the Arizona roster had at least 20 receptions and 200 receiving yards, while five players had at least 35 receptions and 400 receiving yards.
Wyatt gained NFL experience in 2006 as the Minnesota Vikings' wide receivers coach. In his lone season with the Vikings, five different receivers finished the season with 20-plus catches, led by Travis Taylor's 57.
Before coaching in Minnesota, Wyatt spent four seasons at Oklahoma where he helped the Sooners to four bowl games, including three New Year's Six Bowls and two BCS National Championship appearances, and two Big 12 Championships, as the wide receivers coach for three seasons and passing game coordinator in his final year.
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In 2004, he coached three receivers who were first-day picks in the 2005 NFL Draft, and who started professionally as rookies, including two-time All-American Mark Clayton who held virtually every Sooner receiving record and was widely regarded as the best to ever play the position at the school. In his four seasons at Oklahoma, nine players earned All-Big 12 honors.
Wyatt spent the 2001 season at Oklahoma State as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. At OSU, he guided WR Rashaun Woods, who ranked seventh in the nation in receptions that year and went on to become a first-round selection in the 2004 NFL draft. He joined the Cowboys following his first stint at Kansas, where he spent four seasons, the last of which was as offensive coordinator in 2000.
Wyatt started his coaching career at Trinity Valley CC (1989-91) in Athens, Texas, before continuing at Sam Houston State (1992-94), Wyoming (1995) and Baylor (1996).
He started his collegiate playing career as a wide receiver at Trinity Valley CC before playing two seasons at Kansas State (1987-88). He graduated from KSU with a degree in sociology in 1989.
Wyatt is a native of Killeen, Texas, and earned All-Central Texas honors in football at Killeen High School. He and his wife Cindy have two children, Desmond and Charese.
Wyatt replaces new Rutgers offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer.
