Watch below as IU football offensive coordinator Walt Bell and new wide receivers coach Anthony Tucker met with the media this week.
Read below for more background on Tucker, from an IU release.
Video credit – IU Athletics
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana head football coach Tom Allen announced on Monday morning that Anthony Tucker will serve as the program’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.
“We are very excited to welcome Anthony to our football family,” Allen said. “He brings tremendous knowledge and expertise to our staff and the wide receivers room. Anthony has been a part of highly productive and successful offenses over the last several years, and we look forward to that continuing with us.”
Tucker comes to Bloomington after two seasons as offensive coordinator at Utah State. In his 13 years of collegiate coaching, he has appeared in nine bowl games and captured four conference championships.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity to join Coach Allen and his staff,” Tucker said. “I’m equally excited to be here in Bloomington, representing and working for a great and respected university like IU.”
Tucker worked on the same staffs as IU offensive coordinator Walt Bell at Arkansas State (2014-15) and Maryland (2016).
Utah State tied a program record with 11 wins in 2021, won its first Mountain West Championship, defeated Oregon State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, and finished No. 24 in both national polls.
The Aggies set eight school marks, including 41 touchdown passes, 4,248 passing yards, and three receivers with 10-plus TD receptions, the only team in the country to accomplish the feat. USU ranked 15th nationally in passing offense (303.4), 23rd in total offense (445.6), and 33rd in scoring offense (32.6).
Deven Thompkins carded third-team All-America status and was a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist after he ranked second in the nation in receiving yards. He set three school marks with 102 receptions for 1,704 yards and five games with at least 170 yards.
Quarterback Logan Bonner broke five school records, including 3,618 passing yards and 36 touchdowns (7th nationally).
Tucker arrived at Utah State after three seasons at Central Florida, where the Knights posted a 28-8 overall record, a 19-5 conference mark, and appeared in three bowl games. The 2018 team finished the campaign ranked No. 11 with a 12-1 record and a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.
He mentored running backs in 2018, was elevated to passing game coordinator in 2019, and was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2020.
Under his tutelage, UCF produced the best three-year rushing stretch in school history with a program-record 3,448 yards (265.2) and a school-best 43 touchdowns in 2018; 2,909 yards (223.8) and 34 TDs in 2019; and 2,107 yards (210.7) and 23 scores in 2020.
The 2020 Knights ranked second nationally in total offense (568.1), third in passing (357.4), ninth in scoring (42.2), and 25th in rushing (210.7).
In 2019, UCF went 10-3 and closed out the campaign second in the country in total offense (540.5), fifth in scoring (43.4), eighth in passing (316.7), and 19th in rushing (223.8).
Central Florida’s ground attack set program marks with 3,448 yards, 265.2 yards per game, 43 touchdowns, and 5.8 yards per carry. The Knights ranked fifth in the nation in total offense (522.7), sixth in scoring (43.2), and eighth in rushing (228.4).
Tucker oversaw the running backs at Maryland in 2016 and 2017. The Terrapins rushed for 2,594 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2016, and made a trip to the Quick Lane Bowl. The 2016 season marked the first time the Terps eclipsed 2,500 rushing yards since 2003, and their rushing TDs were the most since 2007.
He coached the running backs (2014-15) and wide receivers (2013) at Arkansas State, where the Red Wolves claimed the 2013 and 2015 Sun Belt Conference titles, and played in three-straight bowl games.
ASU rushed for 3,007 yards, ranked 15th in the nation in rushing offense, and set school records for points scored and touchdowns in 2015. The previous campaign Arkansas State set a program record for total offense and ranked 25th nationally in rushing offense.
Idaho State ranked in the Top 10 in the country in passing during the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Tucker instructing wide receivers.
He got his start in the collegiate ranks as an offensive technical assistant at Colorado in 2010 and mentored wide receivers and was the passing game coordinator at Lakewood (Calif.) High School from 2006-09.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Tucker signed as a free agent with the New York Giants in 1999 and secured a place on the practice squad in 2000. He later played for NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals in 2001 and signed with the St. Louis Rams in 2002 before he suffered a career-ending injury.
Tucker earned his bachelor’s degree from Fresno State University. A two-year starter at wide receiver, he was a Western Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete, a three-time Dean’s List member, and a President’s List honoree.
The Tucker File
2021-22: Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks, Utah State University
2020: Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs, Central Florida University
2019: Passing Game Coordinator/Running Backs, Central Florida University
2018: Running Backs, Central Florida University
2016-17: Running Backs, University of Maryland
2013-15: Running Backs/Wide Receivers, Arkansas State University
2011-12: Wide Receivers, Idaho State University
2010: Offensive Technical Assistant, University of Colorado
2006-09: Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers, Lakewood (Calif.) High School
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