Texas Tech University Athletics
Football
Matthew Panker
- Title:
- Defensive Assistant (Secondary)
Matt Panker enters his first season as a defensive assistant on the Texas Tech staff, working directly with co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Rob Greene.
Panker arrived at Texas Tech following two seasons assisting with the cornerbacks room at Army where he was a defensive quality control coach during the 2025 season. He began his tenure with the Black Knights as a defensive analyst under Army defensive coordinator Nate Woody in 2024.
Army put together its best season in the more than 100-year history of the program during Panker’s first year on staff in 2024, finishing an impressive 12-2 overall, including a perfect 8-0 mark in the Black Knights’ first season in the American Athletic Conference. The Black Knights ended the year at No. 21 in the final Associated Press poll after topping Tulane in the AAC Championship Game as well as Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl for the first 12-win season in program history.
Army boasted one of the nation’s top defenses throughout the 2024 season as the Black Knights finished fourth in the FBS for scoring after allowing only 15.5 points per game. Army was also eighth in the country for total defense, giving up just 297.9 yards per game as part of a unit that was also ranked in the top 25 for red zone defense, passing defense, rushing defense and passes intercepted.
The Black Knights again ranked as one of the American’s top defenses during the 2025 campaign, closing the season as the conference’s top unit for total defense after giving up only 343.5 yards per game. Army surrendered only 21.6 points and 190.4 passing yards per game that season, which both ranked second in the league, as the Black Knights went on to throttle UConn, 41-16, in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
Panker joined the coaching profession immediately after his own playing career at Colby College in Maine. Like both Texas Tech defensive coordinator Shiel Wood and Greene, Panker played on the offensive side of the ball as a wide receiver for Colby from 2019-22 where he caught 44 passes for 536 yards and three touchdowns before suffering a career-ending foot injury prior to his senior season. He also played baseball at Colby, finishing his career with an impressive .308 batting average.
Panker attended Iona Prep High School in New Rochelle, New York, where he was an All-County football and baseball player. During his senior year, he caught 60 passes for 1,000 yards and scored at least one touchdown in every game, finishing with 12 on the season.
Panker earned his bachelor’s degree in government from Colby College in May 2023.
Panker arrived at Texas Tech following two seasons assisting with the cornerbacks room at Army where he was a defensive quality control coach during the 2025 season. He began his tenure with the Black Knights as a defensive analyst under Army defensive coordinator Nate Woody in 2024.
Army put together its best season in the more than 100-year history of the program during Panker’s first year on staff in 2024, finishing an impressive 12-2 overall, including a perfect 8-0 mark in the Black Knights’ first season in the American Athletic Conference. The Black Knights ended the year at No. 21 in the final Associated Press poll after topping Tulane in the AAC Championship Game as well as Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl for the first 12-win season in program history.
Army boasted one of the nation’s top defenses throughout the 2024 season as the Black Knights finished fourth in the FBS for scoring after allowing only 15.5 points per game. Army was also eighth in the country for total defense, giving up just 297.9 yards per game as part of a unit that was also ranked in the top 25 for red zone defense, passing defense, rushing defense and passes intercepted.
The Black Knights again ranked as one of the American’s top defenses during the 2025 campaign, closing the season as the conference’s top unit for total defense after giving up only 343.5 yards per game. Army surrendered only 21.6 points and 190.4 passing yards per game that season, which both ranked second in the league, as the Black Knights went on to throttle UConn, 41-16, in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
Panker joined the coaching profession immediately after his own playing career at Colby College in Maine. Like both Texas Tech defensive coordinator Shiel Wood and Greene, Panker played on the offensive side of the ball as a wide receiver for Colby from 2019-22 where he caught 44 passes for 536 yards and three touchdowns before suffering a career-ending foot injury prior to his senior season. He also played baseball at Colby, finishing his career with an impressive .308 batting average.
Panker attended Iona Prep High School in New Rochelle, New York, where he was an All-County football and baseball player. During his senior year, he caught 60 passes for 1,000 yards and scored at least one touchdown in every game, finishing with 12 on the season.
Panker earned his bachelor’s degree in government from Colby College in May 2023.
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