SAN ANTONIO — UTSA head coach Frank Wilson announced Wednesday that he has hired Patrick Toney as defensive backs coach.
"We are excited to announce that Patrick Toney is going to join our staff and UTSA family," Wilson said. " We like what he brings to the table. He comes from a lineage of coaches in his family and he brings a wealth of knowledge to the defensive side of the ball. The fact that he has been a coach in this state before gives us someone with insight and experience recruiting in Texas. He's going to be a tremendous asset to our staff."
"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to join Frank Wilson's staff and be a part of something special at UTSA," Toney said. "This program has a bright future under his leadership and I can't wait to get to work with the other coaches and players."
Toney spent the 2015 season as the secondary coach at Sam Houston State, helping the Bearkats to an 11-4 record and a run to the semifinals of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. The defense forced 24 turnovers, including 17 interceptions, 13 of which were recorded by his defensive backs. A pair of his cornerbacks — Trenier Orr (first team) and Mikell Everette (second team) — earned All-Southland Conference accolades.
Prior to his tenure at Sam Houston State, Toney spent three seasons at Southeastern Louisiana. He was the safeties coach and special teams coordinator in 2014 after serving as a defensive assistant working with the secondary the previous two seasons. Toney was part of a coaching staff that took a program from a 3-8 record in 2011 to a 20-7 combined mark, a pair of Southland titles and back-to-back FCS playoff appearances in 2013-14.
During his time at Southeastern Louisiana, the Lions ranked first in the FCS in pass efficiency defense, second in interceptions, fifth in red zone defense, seventh in total defense and eighth in scoring defense. His special teams topped the nation in kickoff return average, sixth in blocked kicks and 13th in kickoff return defense.
In his first season with the Lions, he worked with All-America cornerback Robert Alford, who would go on to be the 60th overall pick (second round) in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Among the other players Toney oversaw during his time with the Lions were all-conference performers Theo Alexander, Harlan Miller, Marice Sutton, Tyler Stoddard and Todd Washington.
Prior to his time at Southeastern Louisiana, Toney spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator and offensive backfield coach at La Costa Canyon (Calif.) High School. The Mavericks posted a 17-7 record and made back-to-back playoff appearances during his tenure.
A native of Poway, Calif., Toney served as wide receivers coach at Palomar (Calif.) College in 2009 and as defensive line coach at Fallbrook (Calif.) High School the year prior.
Toney earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Southeastern Louisiana in 2013.