SAN ANTONIO — UTSA head football coach Larry Coker announced Wednesday that he has hired Tony Jeffery, a former receiver and quality control coach at Texas, as an assistant coach. He is slated to tutor the Roadrunners’ wide receivers and special teams and his hiring is effective immediately.
“Tony is a great addition to our coaching staff,” Coker said. “He had an outstanding career as a player at Texas and has been a well-respected coach there for the past few years. He’s from Houston and knows the San Antonio area, as well, so he’s going to be a great asset to the program we are building here. We’re really excited to have him on board.”
Jeffery is the second assistant coach hired in the past week, as Travis Bush was introduced as offensive coordinator on Jan. 20. Jeffery and Bush join assistant coaches Mike Menefee, Eric Roark and David Ross and director of operations Shane Elder on Coker’s inaugural staff.
“I’m obviously excited about the opportunity to join Coach Coker’s staff,” Jeffery, 27, said. “He has assembled an amazing group of coaches already and I’m anxious to be a part of it. I’m looking forward to being able to help build this program into something the university and the City of San Antonio can be proud of.”
Jeffery, a Houston native, served as a quality control coach from 2006-09 for head coach Mack Brown. During his four-year tenure on the Forty Acres, the Longhorns qualified for four consecutive bowl games and finished ranked in the top 10 three times.
In 2006, Texas won the Alamo Bowl against Iowa and finished No. 13 in both ˆ and USA Today Coaches Polls. A year later, the Longhorns captured the Holiday Bowl against Arizona State and ended the season at No. 10 in both polls. The Longhorns won the Fiesta Bowl over Ohio State to finish the 2008 campaign with a 12-1 record, fourth in The AP Poll and third in the Coaches Poll. This past season, UT finished as the Bowl Championship Series runner-up after a loss to Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
Jeffery was a four-year letterwinner at wide receiver for the Longhorns from 2001-04, where he caught 57 passes for 714 yards (12.5 ypc) and six touchdowns and carried 25 times for 127 yards and a score in his career. The Klein Forest High School product also was a special teams standout, as he blocked four punts, returning two for TDs, and served as the holder.
Jeffery started all 12 games as a senior in 2004, hauling in 33 passes for 437 yards — both team highs — and three TDs and rushing seven times for 47 yards and a score to help UT to a 11-1 record capped by a 38-37 Rose Bowl victory against Michigan. He had eight receptions for 91 yards and a TD as a junior and earned the Whatever It Takes (W.I.T.) Award after helping the Longhorns to a 10-3 season.
As a sophomore, Jeffery caught 11 passes for 112 yards and a score, as Texas posted an 11-2 record and a Cotton Bowl win against LSU. In 2001 as a redshirt freshman, he shared UT’s Most Improved Offensive Player Award after tallying 74 receiving yards and a TD on five catches to help the Longhorns to an 11-2 ledger and a victory over Washington in the Holiday Bowl.
Jeffery and his wife, Connie, have a one-year-old son, Justus.
