Jess Loepp is in his fifth season as a member of UTSA's defensive coaching staff and safeties coach and his third year as defensive coordinator. He was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in January 2021 after serving as recruiting coordinator and safeties coach in his first year with the Roadrunners.
During Loepp'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.
Loepp played a key role on the staff in his first year at UTSA, including helping to coordinate the defense during the last two months of the campaign. The Roadrunners finished with a 7-5 record, a second-place finish in Conference USA’s West Division with a 5-2 mark and an appearance in the 2020 First Responder Bowl. UTSA led C-USA in sacks (25), tackles for loss (85), interceptions (11), takeaways (19) and turnover margin (+7). In fact, the Roadrunners ranked in the top 30 nationally in five categories — 19th in turnovers gained, 23rd in passes intercepted, 25th in fumbles recovered (8), 26th in turnover margin and 29th in tackles for loss per game (7.1).
Loepp helped mentor Rashad Wisdom to first-team all-conference honors in 2020. Under his tutelage, Wisdom led UTSA in total tackles with 95, solo tackles with 60 and interceptions with four, which tied the school’s single-season standard, paced C-USA and ranked eighth among all FBS players. Additionally, safeties Kelechi Nwachuku and Antonio Parks also blossomed during their first year under Loepp. Parks registered 50 tackles, including 32 solo stops, two pass breakups, a pair of quarterback hurries, one interception, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while Nwachuku posted 56 total tackles, 35 solo stops and three PBUs.
In his second season in San Antonio and first as co-defensive coordinator, Loepp helped the Roadrunners emerge as one of the best in the FBS in creating turnovers with 25 takeaways to rank 10th in the nation. UTSA also finished the campaign ranked 14th in the country in rushing defense (114.7) and fourth nationally with 14 fumble recoveries. The defense recorded 88 tackles for loss on the year including a school-record 33 sacks with first-team all-conference performer Clarence Hicks setting the pace with a program-record 10.5 sacks.
Loepp, a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, helped guide UTSA to several single-game program records in 2021. The Roadrunners posted the first two shutouts in school history with a 54-0 rout of Lamar and a 45-0 blanking of Rice in which UTSA limited the Owls to 102 total yards, the fewest allowed in a game. For the season, the defense held four opponents to fewer than 200 yards. Seven teams failed to gain 100 yards on the ground and three offenses posted 52 or fewer passing yards against the Roadrunners.
Under Loepp's tutelage, Wisdom enjoyed another first-team all-conference campaign at safety, registering a team-high 88 total tackles and 67 solo stops to go along with four tackles for loss, six pass breakups, one forced fumble and a QB hurry. His defensive backfield mate, Parks, pitched in with 49 tackles, four PBUs and a pair of interceptions. A total of 10 defenders were chosen for the all-league squad, including defensive lineman Brandon Brown, who also landed on the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
The defense helped UTSA to a 12-2 record in 2021, the most wins and best winning percentage (.857) in program history. The Roadrunners won their first conference title with a 49-41 victory 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 met San Diego State in the Frisco Bowl.
In his first season as the defensive coordinator in 2022, Loepp helped lead the Roadrunners to an 11-3 record and their second straight C-USA Championship. The Roadrunners were ranked in the top 25 in all three major polls and capped the campaign with their third consecutive bowl game in a matchup with Troy at the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
Loepp's defense ranked in the top three in C-USA in eight different statistical categories including second with 6.6 tackles for loss per game and third in both total and scoring defense. UTSA set single-season school records for interceptions (15), passes defended (84), tackles (956) and solo stops (530).
A total of 10 UTSA defenders collected all-conference honors in 2022, led by first-team selections Clifford Chattman, Corey Mayfield Jr. and Brown. Chattman posted 72 tackles and set school records for interceptions (5), consecutive games with an INT (5) and passes defended (18). Mayfield logged 63 stops, picked off three passes and had 16 passes defended, while Brown recorded 21 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two QB hurries and a forced fumble. Additionally, Trey Moore earned Freshman All-America accolades from two different publications, honorable mention all-conference recognition and joined Tai Leonard on the C-USA All-Freshman Team after registering 18 tackles for loss to break Marcus Davenport's single-season standard.
In 2023, Loepp 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.
UTSA’s defense enjoyed a record-setting season, smashing the school record for sacks with 46 and also taking down the tackles for loss mark with 99. The Roadrunners also broke single-game standards with seven sacks against Texas State and 13 quarterback hurries versus East Carolina. UTSA led The American and ranked second nationally with 3.54 sacks per game and ended up fifth among FBS teams with a conference-leading 7.6 tackles for loss per contest.
Individually, eight Roadrunners were named to the All-AAC team including first-team selections Kam Alexander (cornerback), Moore (linebacker) and Wisdom (safety). Moore, the 2023 AAC Defensive Player of the Year, also garnered second-team All-America accolades from the AFCA after breaking Davenport’s school record for single-season sacks with 14.
Loepp joined the Roadrunners after spending the 2019 season as the senior offensive analyst at Arkansas. He also has served on staffs at Rice, SMU and Tulsa and on the high school level during a coaching career that has seen him mentor 15 all-conference performers, two bowl game MVPs, one Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist and four players who went on to the NFL.Prior to his time at Arkansas, Loepp coached safeties during the 2018 season at Prosper High School after a three-year stint as the secondary coach at SMU in 2015-17.
In 2016, SMU's defense was statistically one of the 10 most-improved in college football. The Mustangs ranked seventh nationally in interceptions per game, and Loepp's secondary was responsible for 16 of the 18 picks. Following the season, defensive backs Darrion Millines and Horace Richardson, who each ranked in the top 15 for interceptions in 2016, were named first-team All-Conference.
Loepp spent eight total years at Tulsa — six as a full-time assistant coach (2007, 2010-2014), three as a graduate assistant coach (2003-05) and one as director of high school relations (2009).
During his tenure with the Golden Hurricane, Loepp was part of six bowl games - 2003 Humanitarian Bowl, 2005 and 2012 AutoZone Liberty Bowls, 2008 GMAC Bowl, 2010 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl and the 2011 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. He has also been a part of Tulsa's two Conference USA Championship seasons in 2005 and 2012.
Under Loepp's tutelage, Dexter McCoil became the school's career-leader for interceptions in 2012 and along with fellow safety Demarco Nelson earned all-conference accolades. In 2011, the Tulsa defense ranked 12th nationally for interceptions and 25th for turnovers gained. In 2010, Tulsa ranked first in NCAA statistics for interceptions with 24 pickoffs, second in turnover margin and third in turnovers gained.
In 2009, Loepp returned to Tulsa and served as the school's director of high school relations.
Before returning to Tulsa, Loepp was an assistant football coach and strength coordinator at Lake Travis High School during the 2008 campaign. He helped lead that team to the Class 4A Division I State Championship, a 16-0 record and a top-10 ranking in most national prep polls, with the highest being second nationally.
In 2007, Loepp was in his second stint with the Hurricane, while coaching safeties and serving as Tulsa's recruiting coordinator. He helped Tulsa post a 10-4 record, reach the Conference USA Championship game and win the GMAC Bowl.
Loepp spent the 2006 season as an assistant coach at Rice, where he coached the Owls safeties and served as recruiting coordinator. At Rice, he helped coach a team that made a bowl game appearance for the first time in 45 years.
Loepp first worked at Tulsa in 2003 when he served as a defensive graduate assistant coach for three years.
Before his first stint at Tulsa, Loepp held his first coaching position at the Oklahoma Bible Academy in Enid as a volunteer assistant coach. He coached the linebackers and receivers.
Loepp attended the University of Central Oklahoma and was an All-Lone Star Conference performer at linebacker. He helped UCO win league titles in 1998 and '99.
A native of Turpin, Okla., he earned his bachelor's degree at UCO in 2000 and completed his graduate work at Tulsa in 2005.
He and his wife, Kelly Lynn, have two sons, Easton and Brooks.
The Jess Loepp File
Coaching Experience
2002: Oklahoma Bible Academy (volunteer coach/linebackers/receivers)
2003-05: Tulsa (graduate assistant/defense)
2006: Rice (recruiting coordinator/safeties)
2007: Tulsa (recruiting coordinator/safeties)
2008: Lake Travis High School (assistant coach/strength coordinator)
2009: Tulsa (director of high school relations)
2010: Tulsa (safeties)
2011-12: Tulsa (recruiting coordinator/safeties)
2013-14: Tulsa (safeties)
2015-17: SMU (defensive backs)
2018: Prosper High School (safeties)
2019: Arkansas (senior offensive analyst)
2020: UTSA (recruiting coordinator/safeties)
2021: UTSA (co-defensive coordinator/safeties)
2022-present: UTSA (defensive coordinator/safeties)
Playing Experience
1997-2000: Central Oklahoma (linebacker)
Education
• Bachelor’s degree, Central Oklahoma, 2000
• Master’s degree, Tulsa, 2005
Hometown
Turpin, Okla.
Family
Wife: Kelly Lynn
Sons: Easton, Brooks