Tripp Weaver - Football Coach - East Carolina University Athletics

Tripp Weaver

Title:
Assistant Coach - Safeties
Email:
weaverr20@ecu.edu
Phone:
(252) 737-4570

Returned to his alma matter as East Carolina's safeties coach on Jan. 31, 2020 ...
Helped the Pirates to a conference title and four bowl appearances as a defensive staff assistant before following with six seasons of full-time collegiate coaching experience ...
His appointment at ECU comes after earlier championship stops at The Citadel and James Madison, and most recently, a promotion to a defensive coordinator's role after two seasons at Western Carolina ...
In only four years, his unit has played a key role netting a combined total of 37 interceptions ...
The Pirates ranked 37th nationally in total defense allowing 341.3 yards per contest …
Overall, ECU stood among the national leaders (Top 40) in nine defensive categories including Fourth down defense (ninth/33.3 pct), first down defense (11th/212), defensive touchdowns (15th/3), fumbles recovered (16th/10), tackles for loss per game (17th/7.0), red zone defense (19th/76.2 pct), rushing defense (19th/122.2) and scoring defense (37th/22.4) …
Member of defensive staff unit in 2023 that set program marks in the Mike Houston era in points per game allowed, pass yards allowed per game (219.2) and total yards per game …
Mentored first-team All-AAC selection (coaches, Phil Steele’s Magazine) Julius Wood who led the club for the second year in tackles with 86 in 2023 - ECU's first first-teamer since Nate Harvey (2018) … He added 3.0 TFLs (-4 yards) to go along with a team-best two interceptions for 29 yards …
His core group of starters tallied 164 stops with 5.5 TFLs (-17 yards) with three interceptions (63 yards) and nine pass breakups …
Members of his 2022 safety group helped the Pirates rank 19th nationally in rush defense averaging just 112.5 yards per carry and stood 88th in total defense at 404.3 yards per contest …
The Pirates forced 20 turnovers ranking 40th in FBS, while the squad stood 32nd in fourth down defense (43.5 percent) and 35th in redzone efficiency (80.0 percent) …
Jireh Wilson earned fourth-team All-AAC accolades by Phil Steele’s Magazine after tallied 48 tackles (25 solo) … He added 4.5 TFLs (-7 yards) while picking off a team-best three passes for 37 return yards and recovering three fumbles …
Julius Wood led the team with 87 total tackles (38 solo) while intercepting a pair of passes for 45 yards with a touchdown (47 vs. Memphis) …
The duo of Wood (Oct. 16) and Wilson (Oct. 24) earned consecutive AAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2022 …
Gerard Springer, who was named ECU Defensive Player of the Year, stood second on the squad with 70 tackles (32 solo) … He added 6.5 TFLs (-20 yards) which included 2.5 sacks (-13 yards) with one interception (10 yards) and recovered two fumbles …
In all, his safety group tallied 303 tackles, 16.0 TFLs (-40 yards), six interceptions (92 yards), 7 PBUs, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries …
Weaver ran the kickoff team that went from 77th nationally in average starting field position in 2021 to 21st nationally in 2022 …
On the way to gaining bowl eligibility for the first time since 2014, the 2021 Pirates stood 14th nationally and second in the American Athletic Conference with 15 interceptions - eight of which were collectively tallied by safeties Warren Saba (4), Shawn Dourseau (1), Juan Powell (1), Teagan Wilk (1) and Jireh Wilson (1) ... Additionally, freshman Wilk was credited with a team-high three forced fumbles and senior D.J. Ford had the squad's longest fumble return (16 yards) ...
Assisted with game plans that held two '21 opponents (Temple/69, Navy/37) under the 100-yard passing mark for the second consecutive season ...
Top student Saba ranked 14th nationally at the FBS level in total interceptions and 17th in interceptions per game (0.33) in 2021 ...
Had two players earn Pro Football Focus All-American Athletic Conference honors - Saba (2020 third-team/Flex D) and Wilson (2021 honorable mention/DB) ...
Helped provide an immediate impact to the Pirates' secondary during his first campaign at ECU in 2020 as his unit accounted for nearly half of the team's interception total (4/10), returning one for a TD - the program's first pick-six since 2015 ...
Played integral role in holding two opponents under the 100-yard passing mark in '20 - a first for an East Carolina defense since 2008 ...
Developed a pair of first-time FBS starters in Shawn Dourseau (58) and Warren Saba (30), who finished the 2020 campaign as the third- and eighth-leading tacklers on the squad, respectively ...
Also significantly contributed to the Pirates' special teams, heading a punt return unit that stood 10th nationally (2nd/AAC) with a 14.6 yards-per-return average ...
Before being elevated into a unit leadership position at WCU on Jan. 16, 2020, he served as defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator in 2018 and 2019 ...
In a span of just two years, he spearheaded a significant improvement in the Catamounts' pass defense, standing 17th nationally with a 176.3 yards per game average in 2019 after ranking 108th (261.5 ypg) among all FCS programs a year earlier ...
Spent the previous four seasons working on Houston's staffs at The Citadel and James Madison, which resulted in a combined three league titles, two FCS title game appearances and a national championship ...
As JMU's cornerbacks coach, special teams assistant and recruiting coordinator in 2016 and 2017, he played a key role in the Dukes' defensive success that fueled back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association championships, successive trips to the FCS finals and one crown ...
After leading the nation with 21 interceptions and ranking fifth in takeaways with 30 in 2016, James Madison topped the FCS level in four defensive categories - scoring defense (11.1 ppg), interceptions (31), takeaways (44) and pass efficiency defense (83.12) - in 2017 ...
Of the Dukes' 52 interceptions and 149 pass breakups during his two-year tenure in Harrisonburg, his cornerbacks accounted for 24 and 72, respectively ...
Earned first full-time position in 2014 when Houston hired him as outside linebackers coach at The Citadel ...
While in Charleston, he helped the Bulldogs produce a remarkable turnaround that included a 9-4 mark, a Southern Conference co-championship, a 23-22 road win at Southeastern Conference member South Carolina and a second round FCS playoff showing in 2015 ...
Additionally, The Citadel led the country with a school-record 515 interception return yards and five interceptions for a touchdown in '15. It also topped the SoCon and ranked third nationally with 20 interceptions, the third-highest single-season total in program history, and with 31 turnovers forced ...
Under his tutelage, a total of seven secondary performers earned Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-America honors, while 11 were selected to various all-conference squads during his time with the Bulldogs, Dukes and Catamounts ...
The Asheville, N.C., native began his collegiate coaching career as a defensive student assistant under head coaches Skip Holtz and Ruffin McNeill at East Carolina during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 campaigns ...
As an undergrad, he was part of a Pirates program that captured the 2009 Conference USA championship and made postseason appearances at the Liberty Bowl and Military Bowl ...
He accepted a graduate assistant's position at ECU in 2012, increasing his responsibilities by working directly with cornerbacks during his initial year before coaching safeties in 2013 ...
The Pirates posted an 18-8 overall record, a 13-3 C-USA ledger and played in a pair of bowls - R&L Carriers, Beef 'O' Brady's - during his final two seasons at East Carolina ...
Helped mentor All-Conference USA selections Adonis Armstrong, Damon Magazu and Chip Thompson, assisted a secondary that picked off a combined 28 passes and was part of a program that knocked off in-state rivals North Carolina and NC State on the road - marking the first-time East Carolina defeated both schools in the same season ...
He is married to the former Leigh Hatcher of Asheville, N.C. ...
Age 33 (May 24).