Texas Tech University Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Run Game Coordinator / Tight Ends Coach
One of the top up-and-coming coaches in college football, Josh Cochran enters his fifth season as a charter member of Joey McGuire’s staff at Texas Tech where he serves as the Red Raiders’ tight ends coach. He is in third year in the role of offensive run game coordinator.
Cochran is the lone member of Texas Tech’s offensive staff who joined McGuire upon his hiring as head coach in 2022. Since then, Cochran has been a key part in building the Red Raiders into a national contender, as evident by Texas Tech’s rise to Big 12 champions and College Football Playoff participant in 2025. Texas Tech has made a bowl appearance in each of Cochran’s four seasons, which includes wins over Ole Miss in the 2022 TaxAct Texas Bowl and Cal in the 2023 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. Additionally, the Red Raiders lead all Big 12 programs with 24 conference wins over Cochran’s four seasons as Texas Tech is joined by Kansas State as the only two teams with a winning conference record each of the past four seasons, regardless of league affiliation.
The Red Raiders are coming off a school record 12 wins during the 2025 season, all that came by at least 20 points. The Red Raiders became only the fifth team since 1936 to record 12 or more wins in a season by at least 20 points. Texas Tech averaged 39.4 points per game, its most since Patrick Mahomes II’s final year leading the Red Raider offense in 2016, en route to recording eight Big 12 wins by at least 20 points set a new league record. It marked only the sixth time in FBS history a team had won eight or more conference games by that margin.
Texas Tech has ranked among the nation’s top offenses throughout Cochran’s tenure, averaging at least 30 points per game during three of his four seasons on staff. The Red Raiders are averaging 34.8 points per game during that stretch, which leads all Big 12 programs and ranks ninth among power conference schools. Texas Tech has ranked in the top 15 nationally for passing offense, total offense and scoring each of the past two seasons after previously averaging 37.6 points per game – the fourth-highest clip in the country – a year ago. The Red Raiders previously averaged 302.0 passing yards and 34.2 points per game as one of the nation’s top offenses during Cochran’s first season in 2022.
Part of Texas Tech’s success offensively has stemmed from its running game, which Cochran is often credited with developing of the blocking schemes that have helped the Red Raiders boast a 1,000-yard rusher over three-consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. Tahj Brooks began that run with back-to-back 1,500-yard rushing seasons in 2023 and 2024 before Cameron Dickey emerged as Texas Tech’s latest feature back a year ago.
Brooks ultimately became Texas Tech’s all-time leading rusher after ranking among the national leaders in rushing yards during each of his final two seasons as a Red Raider. In the process, he became only the third player in Big 12 history and the first Red Raider all-time to post multiple 1,500-yard rushing seasons. Cochran’s tight end room was essential to Texas Tech’s success on the ground as Brooks set the Texas Tech record with 23 career 100-yard games, including 19 that came during those final two seasons alone.
Dickey continued Texas Tech’s success on the ground this past season as he became the ninth Red Raider in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Dickey, who totaled 1,124 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, paired with fellow running back J’Koby Williams to form one of the nation’s top rushing duos, pushing Texas Tech to 2,560 rushing yards a team, its most since joining the Big 12 in 1996. Texas Tech’s rushing attack combined speed and power, giving the Red Raiders their first pair of 800-yard rushers in school history.
Cochran has coached four NFL free agent signees during his tenure in Baylor Cupp (Kansas City Chiefs), Jalin Conyers (Miami Dolphins), Mason Tharp (Houston Texans) and Johncarlos Miller II (New York Giants). Cupp was on Kansas City’s practice squad throughout the 2024 season for a Chiefs team that appeared in Super Bowl LIX.
In his short time already in Lubbock, Cochran has already been recognized as one of the nation’s promising young coaches as he was tabbed to the 30 under 30 list compiled by 247Sports in 2022 as well as the 40 under 40 honor roll put together by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. He was also selected to the AFCA 35 under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute out of a field or more than 200 applicants.
The 2022 campaign marked Cochran’s first overseeing tight ends as he previously spent two seasons as the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Austin Peay. In his two seasons on staff, Austin Peay was a combined 8-4 in Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) play and had three wins over ranked opponents, which included No. 7 Jacksonville State and No. 13 Murray State during the 2021 spring slate.
Cochran's unit ranked among the best in the conference as he had five offensive linemen recognized on the All-OVC teams during his tenure, including a two-time selection to the first team in Bucky Williams. Colby McKee was also a two-time honoree on the second team for an offense that led the OVC in scoring (32.5 points per game) and total offense (419.2 yards per game) during the 2021 season.
Austin Peay was Cochran's first full-time coaching role at the FBS or FCS levels after previously serving in various roles at both North Carolina (2020) and Baylor (2017-19). His tenure at North Carolina reunited him with his former college coach Mack Brown as he was an offensive quality control coach for an eventual Orange Bowl participant up until his hire at Austin Peay in November 2020.
Cochran was a graduate assistant and offensive quality control coach during his three seasons at Baylor, assisting with the Bears offensive line during that span. He was a member of a Baylor staff that appeared in two bowl games, first at the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl in 2018 and then the Allstate Sugar Bowl a year later following an 11-win campaign and a berth in the Big 12 Championship game.
Prior to Baylor, Cochran spent one season at East Texas Baptist University in 2015 where he was the offensive line coach, mentoring four All-American Southeast Conference selections during that year alone. East Texas Baptist featured the top-ranked scoring offense in Division III that season, averaging an impressive 49.9 points per game.
Cochran began his coaching career like several other members of the Texas Tech staff in the high-school ranks as the offensive line coach at Lindale High School in East Texas. He is a former member of the Texas High School Coaches Association, an important aspect of Texas Tech’s football program.
A three-year letterman on the offensive line at Texas, Cochran was tabbed a Freshman All-American by Yahoo! Sports in 2011. He played in 31 games over his Longhorn career, making 23 starts before ending his playing career early in the 2013 season due to a chronic shoulder injury. In addition to his success in the trenches, Cochran was also a first team Academic All-Big 12 selection in 2012 and a four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
A native of Hallsville, Texas, Cochran earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Texas in 2014 and then his master's in sports management from Baylor in 2019.
He is married to the former Olivia Dietrichson. The couple is parents to two children in daughter Campbell and son Carter, who was born in April 2025.
JOSH COCHRAN COACHING HISTORY
2024-present – Texas Tech Run Game Coordinator (Tight Ends)
2022-23 – Texas Tech Assistant Coach (Tight Ends)
2020-21 – Austin Peay Co-Offensive Coordinator (Offensive Line)
2020 – North Carolina Offensive Quality Control
2019 – Baylor Offensive Quality Control
2017-18 – Baylor Graduate Assistant (Offensive Line)
2016 –East Texas Baptist Run Game Coordinator (Offensive Line)
2015 – Lindale High School Assistant Coach
2014 – Texas Student Assistant
Appreciate @dctf for the honor! Don’t deserve it but have been blessed to work with some incredible coaches and players. Lucky to have the greatest job in the world!!! #WreckEm https://t.co/UnpzlYVLaJ
— Josh Cochran (@CoachCochranTTU) July 13, 2022
