Ryan Pugh is in his second season as UTSA’s offensive line coach.
In his first season with the Roadrunners, he helped guide the team to six wins and the program’s first-ever bowl game, the 2016 Gildan New Mexico Bowl. His offensive line helped pave the way for an offense that broke numerous school records, piled up 4,881 yards (2,104 rushing/2,777 passing) and scored a program-best 379 points. Offensive tackle Jevonte Domand picked up honorable mention All-Conference USA accolades.
Pugh joins the UTSA staff after spending the 2015 season as a graduate assistant coach at LSU, where he worked on the same staff as Frank Wilson.
In his one season at LSU, Pugh helped the Tigers to a 9-3 campaign that finished with a 56-27 win against Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl and a No. 16 final ranking.
Prior to his time in Baton Rouge, Pugh was a graduate assistant coach at Cincinnati in 2014. He helped the Bearcats to a 9-4 record, including a 7-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference, and a trip to the Military Bowl, and he helped tutor first-team all-conference selections offensive tackle Eric Lefeld and offensive guard Parker Ehlinger.
He spent one season as a graduate assistant coach at Virginia Tech in 2013, helping the Hokies to an 8-5 record and a trip to the Sun Bowl.
He got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2012, where he helped coach eventual Rimington Trophy (nation’s top center) winner Reese Dismukes and 2014 NFL Draft second overall pick offensive tackle Greg Robinson.
Pugh was a four-year letterwinner at Auburn in 2007-10, where he earned All-America honors and was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy as a senior. A three-time All-SEC selection, he was the starting center for the Tigers’ 2010 team that capped a perfect 14-0 season with a 22-19 victory against Oregon in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game. He also helped Auburn make trips to the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl and the 2009 Outback Bowl. Also a standout in the classroom, Pugh was a four-time SEC Academic All-Conference honoree, a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award finalist in 2010.
He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2011.
A native of Hoover, Ala., he graduated cum laude with his bachelor’s degree in building science from Auburn in 2012. He is married to the former Cathey Lee Dalton.