Julian Griffin is in his fifth season as UTSA's running backs coach after joining the staff on Dec. 11, 2019. He also serves as the program's NFL Liaison.
During Griffin’s time in San Antonio, the Roadrunners have enjoyed the most successful four-year run in program history with a 39-14 overall record, 27-4 regular season league mark, two conference championships and four straight bowl appearances.
In his first year with the Roadrunners, Griffin's running backs helped the offense to a 7-5 overall record, a runner-up finish in the Conference USA West Division with a 6-2 mark and an appearance in the 2020 First Responder Bowl.
UTSA broke single-season school records for rushing yards (2,585), rushing yards per game (215.4), yards per rush (5.21) and rushing touchdowns (24) behind Sincere McCormick, who shattered UTSA's single-season marks for yards (1,467), carries (249) and touchdowns (11) while finishing second in the FBS with a program-record 133.4 rushing yards per game. The Roadrunners also smashed single-game standards for total yards (624) and rushing yards (443) in a game in a regular season-finale rout of North Texas.
Griffin, who was named to Dave Campbell's Texas Football 40 Under 40 list in June 2021, mentored McCormick to second-team All-America accolades by both the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Phil Steele. The Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year and Dave Campbell's Texas Football Texas College Player of the Year logged seven 100-yard games on the ground, including five with 150-plus yards. The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award finalist and Doak Walker Award semifinalist was a four-time C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honoree in 2020.
In his second season overseeing the running backs, Griffin's stable helped the Roadrunners smash more records, including single-season marks for total points (516), points per game (36.9), first downs (320), total offense (6,146) and yards per game (439.0). The Roadrunners rushed for 2,569 yards — the second-best total in program annals — and a UTSA-record 26 touchdowns.
Under Griffin's tutelage. McCormick repeated as C-USA Offensive Player of the Year and improved his own single-season standards for rushing yards (1,479), rushing TDs (15), rushes (298) and all-purpose yards (1,663) on his way to earning All-America accolades from the Associated Press, FWAA and Phil Steele, as well as landing on the finalist list for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and semifinalist list for the Doak Walker Award.
In 2021, UTSA went 12-2 to set program records for most wins and best winning percentage (.857) in a season. The Roadrunners captured their first conference title with a 49-41 win over WKU in the C-USA Championship Game, were nationally ranked (as high as No. 15) for the first time and made their second straight and third overall bowl appearance when they faced San Diego State in the Frisco Bowl.
Despite McCormick's departure to the NFL, Griffin's running backs still produced in 2022, combining for 1,819 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. Kevorian Barnes rushed for a team-high 845 yards and six TDs on 135 carries en route to C-USA Freshman of the Year, honorable mention all-conference and C-USA All-Freshman Team accolades. Brenden Brady added 699 yards and nine scores on the ground and caught 18 passes for 190 yards.
The rushing attack helped UTSA to an 11-3 record and a second straight C-USA Championship. The Roadrunners were ranked in the top 25 in all three major polls during the season and capped the campaign against Troy in the Cure Bowl, their third consecutive bowl appearance.
In 2023, Griffin helped guide the Roadrunners to a 9-4 overall record, a 7-1 mark for a third-place finish in their American Athletic Conference debut campaign and the program’s first bowl win with a 35-17 victory over Marshall in the 2023 Frisco Bowl.
Griffin’s running backs combined to rush for 1,849 yards and 23 touchdowns on 383 attempts, good for averages of 4.8 yards per carry and 142.2 yards per game. Barnes led the room with 715 rushing yards, while Robert Henry scored a team-high 11 TDs to go with 588 yards on the ground. Rocko Griffin added 483 yards and six scores to round out the three-headed monster at running back.
Griffin joined the UTSA coaching staff after serving as the offensive quality control assistant for two seasons at Arkansas. While with the Razorbacks, Griffin helped the offensive attack to 340.1 yards per game, including 192.9 through the air and 147.2 rushing yards per game. Running back Rakeem Boyd rushed 184 times for 1,133 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019. Four Razorbacks had at least 28 catches, including Mike Woods, who had 33 grabs for 423 yards and four TDs.In his first season at Arkansas, Griffin helped the Razorbacks to 1,721 rushing yards, with Boyd totaling 734 yards on 123 carries. LaMichael Pettway had 30 catches for 499 yards and four TDs.
Griffin was an offensive quality control assistant at SMU for the 2017 season, helping the Mustangs offense rank in the top 20 nationally in several offensive categories, including 12th in scoring offense (37.8 ppg) and 15th (478.5 ypg) in total offense. SMU won seven games behind an offense that scored 37.9 points per contest. Running back Xavier Jones rushed 182 times for 1,075 yards and nine TDs in 2017, while quarterback Ben Hicks threw for 3,569 yards and 33 TDs. Wide receiver Trey Quinn led the team with 114 catches for 1,236 yards and 13 TDs, while Courtland Sutton, a second-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2018, also eclipsed the 1,000-receiving mark with 1,085 yards and 12 TDs.
In 2016, Griffin was the wide receivers/special teams coordinator at Central Methodist (Mo.), where he helped mentor all-conference safety Logan Rowles.
Griffin was the offensive graduate assistant at ULM, his alma mater, in 2015. The Warhawks’ offense featured honorable mention all-conference wide receiver Marcus Green, who caught 63 passes for 698 yards and seven touchdowns.
Prior to his time at ULM, Griffin served a two-year stint as the running backs coach at Texas A&M-Kingsville. In 2013, running back Robert Armstrong earned first-team all-conference honors and went on to sign as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, while Anthony Washington was an honorable mention all-league selection.
Griffin played wide receiver for ULM from 2008-12 after a standout prep career at Gladewater High School. He went on to earn tryouts with the Edmonton Eskimos, Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL.
Griffin earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise fitness from ULM in 2012 and his master’s degree in education from Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2015.
He and his wife, Jamie, have a daughter, Parker.
The Julian Griffin File
Coaching Experience
2013: Texas A&M-Kingsville (running backs/wide receivers)
2014: Texas A&M-Kingsville (co-run game coordinator/running backs)
2015: ULM (graduate assistant/offense)
2016: Central Methodist (special teams coordinator/wide receivers)
2017: SMU (quality control/offense)
2018-19: Arkansas (quality control/offense)
2020-present: UTSA (running backs)
Playing Experience
2008-12: ULM (wide receiver)
Education
• Bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise fitness, ULM, 2012
• Master’s degree in education, Texas A&M-Kingsville, 2015
Hometown
Gladewater, Texas
Family
Wife: Jamie
Daughter: Parker