Luke Wells - Football Coach - Texas Tech Red Raiders

Luke Wells

Title:
Tight Ends/Inside Receivers Coach

Luke Wells, a veteran offensive coach with extensive ties to the state of Texas, enters his third season on the Texas Tech staff as the tight ends and inside receivers coach.

Wells, who has recruited the state of Texas for the majority of his career, has helped the Red Raiders continue their tradition of annually ranking among the nation’s top offenses during this two seasons, all while incorporating the tight end position into the scheme. Wells has all but built the position from scratch since his arrival, adding Travis Koontz as a top junior-college prospect early in his tenure and then three high school signees in John Holcomb, Jed Castles and Mason Tharp.

Over his two seasons, Wells has had three members from his position room earn All-Big 12 accolades as tight end Donta Thompson and inside receiver Dalton Rigdon received the honor in 2019 followed by inside receiver KeSean Carter in 2020. Rigdon, a former walk-on, led Wells’ position group with 34 catches for 486 yards and five touchdowns in only 10 games before suffering a season-ending injury late in the year.

Wells’ arrival on the South Plains marked his third stint in the Big 12 Conference as he was previously a student assistant at Oklahoma from 1999-01 and then the wide receivers and tight ends coach at Iowa State from 2009-12. He spent a total of six seasons in various roles at Utah State prior to joining the Tech staff.

Wells served as the Aggies’ co-offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator from 2013-16, working with the tight ends the first three years and then quarterbacks in 2016. He shifted back to overseeing Utah State’s tight ends and inside receivers his final two years in Logan where the Aggies boasted one of the nation’s top offenses.

The Aggies won 44 games and played in five bowl games during Wells’ six seasons in Logan, which was highlighted by three 10-win seasons. Utah State finished 10-4 in only his second season on staff and then added an 11-2 campaign in 2018, matching the school single-season record for wins. Utah State only had one 10-win season in its history prior to his arrival.

Utah State closed the 2018 season ranked 21st in the final Amway Coaches’ poll and 22nd in the Associated Press poll. It marked only the fourth time in school history the Aggies, who climbed as high as No. 13 during the regular season, have ended a year among the top-25 schools in the AP poll. The No. 13 ranking was Utah State’s highest since the 1961 season.

Offense was a prevalent theme of Utah State’s success during Wells’ final two seasons as the Aggies averaged 47.5 points per game in 2018, which trailed only Oklahoma among schools nationally. The Aggies racked up 618 points on the season, snapping the Mountain West and Utah State single-season records in the process.

Utah State scored at least 40 points in 13 different games over his final two seasons, including 10 times with 50 or more points. The Aggies reached the 50-point mark a school-record seven times in 2018 alone en route to snapping almost every offensive record in Utah State history.

In Wells’ first season, the Aggies set school records for pass completions (297), total offensive plays (1,073), touchdown passes (30) and first downs (310). Utah State scored 445 points that season and attempted 481 passes, which both ranked second at the time in the school record book. Utah State’s tight ends also set the single-season school record for touchdown passes with nine, topping the previous record from 1993.

Wells mentored one of the top tight ends in Utah State history late in his tenure in Wyatt Houston, who completed his career with 86 receptions for 933 yards and nine touchdowns, all of which ranked second all-time among Aggie tight ends. Houston, who earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors as a senior in 2017, went on to sign a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers.

Prior to Houston, fellow tight end D.J. Tialavea thrived under Wells’ direction before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an NFL free agent in 2014. Tialavea went on to join the Falcons’ organization a year later and was a member of the franchise when Atlanta played in Super Bowl LI. Fellow Wells tight end Jefferson Court joined the professional ranks in 2015 as he was the 37th player selected in the Canadian Football League Draft by the Ottawa Redblacks.

Before joining his brother’s staff in 2013, Wells was the wide receivers and tight ends coach at Iowa State, helping the Cyclones to one of their most-successful stretches in their history. Iowa State played in three bowl games during his four seasons in Ames, beginning with a 14-13 victory over Minnesota in the 2009 Insight Bowl.

Wells arrived in Ames following six seasons at Louisiana-Monroe where he began as an offensive graduate assistant in 2003 before being promoted to wide receivers and tight ends coach a year later. He served as the Warhawks’ recruiting coordinator over his final two seasons, helping Monroe sign its highest-rated class in school history at that time.

Wells earned his first full-time coaching position managing the wide receivers at Denton High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in 2002. He was previously a student assistant at Oklahoma for the first three seasons of Bob Stoops’ tenure where the Sooners claimed the the 2000 Big 12 Conference crown and the BCS National Championship.

Wells earned his bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma in secondary education in 2002. He and his wife, Coby, have a son, Walker, and a daughter, Kinsley.

LUKE WELLS COACHING EXPERIENCE
2019-Present – Texas Tech Assistant Coach (Inside Receivers/Tight Ends)
2017-18 – Utah State Assistant Coach (Inside Receivers/Tight Ends)
2016 – Utah State Co-Offensive Coordinator (Quarterbacks/Recruiting Coordinator)
2013-15 – Utah State Co-Offensive Coordinator (Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator)
2009-12 – Iowa State Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers/Tight Ends)
2004-08 – Louisiana-Monroe Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers/Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator)
2003 – Louisiana-Monroe Graduate Assistant
2002 – Denton High School Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers)
1999-01 – Oklahoma Student Assistant