The Texas Longhorns coaching staff continues to fill out as Texas announced on Saturday that former Longhorn player Jay Boulware steps into the role of associate head coach for special teams and tight ends coach.
Welcome home @CoachJ_Boulware. #ThisIsTexas #HookEm pic.twitter.com/oF04dzw5hl
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 18, 2020
“Jay is a proven, accomplished coach and special teams coordinator who as a former Longhorn and Texas native, has deep roots in our state,” head coach Tom Herman said. “He also has extensive experience coaching in the Big 12, having spent a decade in our league, and has worked with teams that have competed at the highest level, including a National Championship team at Auburn in 2010. Jay’s a coach I’ve been aware of for a long time, is very well-respected in coaching circles and certainly knows the recruiting landscape in our state very well. We all were really impressed in our visits with him, know he’ll do a great job building relationships and developing our players, and we’re extremely excited to be bringing him back home to Texas.”
“I’ve been watching this program from afar since the day I left there in the spring of 1997, and I’ve always had it in my mind that I would like to come back someday and help Texas win a national championship,” Boulware said. “I love everything about The University of Texas, and I’m looking forward to working closely with Coach Herman, with our special teams, and obviously coaching our tight ends to put together a product on the field that’s the best in the country. I couldn’t be more excited, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Boulware spent the last seven seasons as a member of the Oklahoma Sooners’ coaching staff, coaching running backs and special teams. He is an experienced special teams coordinator, holding the position for all but one season since 2001, including stints with the Auburn Tigers, Iowa State Cyclones, and the Utah Utes.
“I’ve been so fortunate to coach a lot of great players, and I definitely am grateful for all of them because that’s why I’ve been a part of teams that have had so much success,” Boulware said. “Recruiting is a big part of that. I grew up playing Texas high school football, and I understand the importance of football in the state and the players in the state. I know that’s a high priority for Coach Herman and the staff, and they’ve had a lot of success with the last couple of recruiting classes. Putting a rope around this big state that we have and keeping the top players in this state is so important to compete at a national level, and I’m really looking forward to helping us do that.”
The Texas coaching search is seemingly close to completion, with one position still open on the defensive side of the ball. Another former Texas Longhorn, current Baylor Bears defensive line coach Frank Okam, reportedly interviewed for the vacant position this week.