Riley Named ECU Offensive Coordinator
January 22, 2010 | Football
Jan. 22, 2010
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Lincoln Riley has been named offensive coordinator at East Carolina University according to an announcement from head football coach Ruffin McNeill Friday.
Riley's assignment at ECU will mark a reunion with McNeill as the pair worked together on Texas Tech staffs for a total of seven seasons, albeit on different sides of the ball. Included in his three full-time years of service to the vaunted Red Raider offensive unit was a one-game role as interim coordinator and play-caller that helped produce a 41-31 victory over Michigan State in the Valero Alamo Bowl earlier this month.
"Lincoln Riley knows the Texas Tech offense that I know, feel comfortable with and have been a part of trying to defend for the past 10 years," McNeill said. "He will run the offense we ran at Texas Tech - I know what it can do and what it will take us to."
After working exclusively with Red Raider wide receivers in 2007, Riley spent the last two seasons tutoring the inside receivers and serving as head coach Mike Leach's top "eye in the sky" from a schematic standpoint.
As the program's wide receiver coach, he was in charge of the development of Michael Crabtree during his record-breaking campaign in 2007. Under Riley's watch, the freshman became the first underclassman to win the prestigious Biletnikoff Award.
As a redshirt freshman in 2007, Crabtree amassed 134 receptions, 1,962 yards (98 shy of the NCAA record) and 22 touchdowns under Riley's guidance. All three were NCAA freshman records, while the 22 scores tied the most in school history for a single season. Additionally, former Red Raider Danny Amendola provided Tech with a second 100-reception player as the senior grabbed 109 catches for 1,245 yards and six touchdowns. The duo was the first since Jarrett Hicks and Trey Haverty in 2004 to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. Riley also oversaw the emergence of Ed Britton, who caught 48 passes for 631 yards and four touchdowns.
Riley took his talents to the inside receiving group which accounted for 135 receptions and 12 touchdowns in 2008. Eric Morris led the charge with 74 receptions and nine touchdowns, and averaged 59.3 yards per game. He, along with wide receiver coach Dennis Simmons, transformed walk-on Alex Torres into a Freshman All-America selection in 2009 after a team-leading 67-catch, 806-yard, six-touchdown performance.
As Texas Tech's interim offensive coordinator against the Spartans, the Red Raiders racked up 579 yards during its victory in San Antonio - the second-highest output of the season and most in the program's deep bowl history since 1995.
Riley spent several seasons working in different capacities with the Red and Black, before coming aboard as an assistant. Riley made the trek to Texas Tech from Muleshoe, Texas, in 2002 as a walk-on quarterback. After a year leading the scout team, Riley switched hats and became a student coach, assisting Leach on the offensive side of the ball. He served in that capacity for three seasons while completing his degree, before assuming offensive graduate assistant duties in 2006.
During his four seasons as a student and graduate assistant, Riley had the opportunity to work with some of college football's finest quarterbacks, including single-season NCAA record-setter B.J. Symons in 2003, Arena League star Sonny Cumbie and Tech's first Cotton Bowl quarterback in 10 seasons, Cody Hodges. In 2006 he saw the emergence of Graham Harrell as one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
Riley has been a part of seven bowl game appearances and five bowl victories during his time at Texas Tech. Additionally, the offense has been very productive during his years assisting the explosive system as Red Raider quarterbacks won NCAA passing titles in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
Riley earned a degree in exercise and sport sciences from Texas Tech in May 2006. He prepped at Muleshoe High School, where he was an all-region quarterback for the Mules during the 2000-01 seasons.
Riley and his wife, Caitlin, were married in July 2007.
