SAN ANTONIO – UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor has named Tommy Perry as the Roadrunners' special teams coordinator.
Perry's hire gives UTSA nine full-time assistant coaches, as he joins Barry Lunney Jr. (associate head coach/offensive coordinator/quarterbacks), Nick Graham (cornerbacks), Julian Griffin (running backs), Jess Loepp (safeties/recruiting coordinator), Matt Mattox (run game coordinator/offensive line), Will Stein (passing game coordinator/wide receivers), Kurt Traylor (tight ends) and Rod Wright (defensive line).
Perry comes to San Antonio from Nevada, where he was the Wolf Pack's special teams coordinator for three seasons under Jay Norvell.
In his first season at the helm of Nevada's special teams, the Wolf Pack ranked fourth in the Mountain West Conference in both kickoff return (22.1) and punt return (10.0) average. Daiyan Henley's 23.1 yards-per-return average on kickoffs ranked inside the top 50 nationally and was sixth in the league. Additionally, place-kicker Spencer Pettit hit a career-long 47-yard field in Perry's first year.
In Perry's second year, Nevada improved its punt return game from 10.0 yards per return to 12.59 yards per return, which ranked second in the Mountain West and 24th nationally. A big reason for the increase in punt return success was rookie Romeo Doubs, who returned a punt against Portland State 80 yards for a touchdown on his first collegiate touch. Perry also worked with punter Quinton Conaway, who averaged 43.6 yards per punt, which ranked in the top five in the league and in the top 30 nationally. Conaway also booted a 74-yard punt in 2018, which was tied for the 12th longest punt of the season across the nation.
In 2019, he helped the Wolf Pack to seven wins, including an upset of Purdue, and their second straight bowl game. Nevada punter Quinton Conaway posted an average of 43.0 yards per punt with a long of 67 and he pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 16 times. Place-kicker Brandon Talton booted 21 of 25 field goals with a long of 56 and he ranked 18th nationally in field goals per game and 26th in field-goal percentage (.840). Kickoff specialist Julian Diaz registered 34 touchbacks on 56 kickoffs.
A native of Monroe, La., Perry is no stranger to Conference USA, as he spent four seasons as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at North Texas. He did a complete transformation of the Mean Green special teams unit when he arrived in 2013 and the results were evident.
In 2014, North Texas converted 15-of-17 field goal attempts for a school-record 88.2 percent. Perry's kickoff return defense was fifth in the nation in 2014, holding its opponents to only 16.4 yards per return. Additionally, the Mean Green finished that season with the second-highest punting average (44.8) in the conference.
In Perry's first season with North Texas, the team led the nation with eight blocked kicks, including five blocked punts, which also paced all of FBS. Of those five blocked punts, three resulted in touchdowns. Perry's impact on special teams was also felt on the return game as the top returner averaged 27.6 yards per kick return, which included a 99-yard touchdown return against No. 9 Georgia.
The North Texas running backs also thrived under Perry in 2013. Former Mean Green back Brandin Byrd posted his first 1,000-yard rushing season and two of the top-10 longest rushes in school history. North Texas rushed for 31 touchdowns that year, at the time the second-most in school history and the most since 1951.
Prior to his tenure in Denton, Perry spent four seasons as an assistant at South Alabama, where he coached the running backs and special teams. In 2012, the first season at the FBS level for South Alabama, Perry coached place-kicker Michel Chapuseaux, who broke the school's single-season scoring record with 84 points. In the offensive backfield, the duo of Kendall Houston and Demetre Baker both finished in the top 10 among FBS Independents in rushing and scoring.
Prior to his time at South Alabama, Perry spent three seasons with the Alabama Crimson Tide working as both a graduate assistant and intern under Nick Saban and Mike Shula. The Crimson Tide went undefeated in the regular season in the fall of 2008, advancing to the Southeastern Conference Championship Game, as well as the Allstate Sugar Bowl. After posting a 12-2 record, the team finished the year ranked sixth in both the final Associated Press and USA TODAY top-25 polls.
Perry began his coaching career as an assistant strength & conditioning coach at Texas in 2004, also serving as an academic advisor for the Longhorns. He became the linebackers and a strength & conditioning coach at Texas A&M-Commerce later that year, moving over to coach running backs and handle kickoff return duties in 2005 for the Lions. Perry has additional experience coaching at the professional level after working as a special teams assistant and head strength coach for NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals in 2006.
The grandson of Texas A&M's 1957 Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow, Perry played two seasons for the Aggies as a fullback, inside linebacker and defensive end, while also participating on special teams.
Perry graduated from Texas A&M in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in English and history. He then earned his master's degree in health and human performance from Texas A&M-Commerce in 2005.
Perry and his wife, Angela, have two daughters, Joanna Rose and Jude.
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