Gilbert Named USF Offensive Coordinator
Former Texas and Tulsa OC joins Charlie Strong’s Bulls staff
TAMPA, JAN. 5, 2017 – USF Head Coach Charlie Strong today announced the first addition to his Bulls coaching staff, naming Sterlin Gilbert as offensive coordinator.
Gilbert served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Strong at Texas during the 2016 season and previously held positions as co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Tulsa (2015), Bowling Green (2014) and Eastern Illinois (2012-13). Gilbert’s last four offenses at four different universities have posted a combined average of 505.3 yards and 36.8 points per game, producing 304.3 yards per game through the air and 200.9 yards per game on the ground.
“Sterlin has put together a tremendous track record of developing players and producing highly productive offenses that build on his players strengths,” Strong said. “He’s young and passionate about his players and the game of football. We are excited to have Sterlin on our Bulls staff and to have him working with the very talented players we have at South Florida.”
Gilbert’s Texas offense ranked 17th in the nation and second in the Big 12 in rushing, posting 239.3 yards per game on the ground, and was 16th nationally and fifth in the Big 12 averaging 491.3 total yards per game. Longhorn running back D’Onta Foreman became just the 28th player in FBS history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season. He ran for over 100 yards in all 11 games he played and ranked first in the nation in rushing yards per game (184.4 ypg), second in total rushing yards (2,028 yards) and third in all-purpose yards (191.18 ypg). Foreman earned first team All-America honors and was named the 2016 Doak Walker Award winner and the 2016 Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
“I’m excited to join Coach Strong at South Florida and to get to work building on the great season they just had,” Gilbert said. “We have some very talented players, led by a dynamic quarterback in Quinton Flowers, and I am really looking forward working with them and the great football talent in the state of Florida. Being a former high school coach, I look forward to meeting the high school coaches in the state and know they play great football here.”
Prior to Texas, Gilbert led a Tulsa offense that ranked 11th in the nation in passing (333.2 ypg), 13th in total offense (507.4 ypg) and 21st in scoring (37.2 ppg) in the nation. Quarterback Dane Evans passed for 4,332 yards and 25 touchdowns and receivers Keyarris Garrett (1,588 yards) and Josh Atkinson (1,071) both posted 1,000-yard seasons.
At Bowling Green, Gilbert saw his starting quarterback go down prior to the season and mentored back-up quarterback James Knapke to a 3,000-yard passing season, despite entering the season with 10 previous collegiate passing attempts. Gilbert’s offense gained 432.9 yards per game and scored 30.0 points per game.
At Eastern Illinois, Gilbert was named the 2013 FootballScoop FCS Coordinator of the Year after directing an explosive offense that led all FCS programs producing 589.5 yards and 48.2 points per game while ranking second passing for 372.4 yards per game and 20th with 217.1 rushing yards per game. The team went 12-2 and won the Ohio Valley Conference Championship as Gilbert guided current New England Patriot quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a stellar season that saw him named the Walter Payton Award winner, the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Garoppolo passed for 5,050 yards, a mark that ranks second in FCS history, and 53 touchdowns, fourth in FCS history. During two seasons under Gilbert, Garoppolo totaled 8,873 yards and 84 touchdowns passing and was a second-round NFL Draft pick.
A former standout Texas high school quarterback and coach, Gilbert enjoyed a successful career as a high school coach. He was head coach at his alma mater, San Angelo Lake View (TX) High School, from 2008-10 and earned West Texas High School Coach of the Year honors in 2008. He was also a highly successful offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Temple (TX) High School (2011) and Abilene Cooper High School (2006-07).
He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Springtown (TX) High School (2003-04) before moving for one season to serve as a graduate assistant at the University of Houston.
Gilbert was a three-year starter and two-year captain at quarterback at Angelo State University, where he led the Rams to back-to-back Lone Star Conference South Division championships and concluded his career fourth all-time in total offense at the school. He was also a two-time All-State quarterback and 1996 District MVP at San Angelo Lake View High School, where he also earned Big XII Region All-America and All-West Texas 4A MVP honors.
He earned his degree in kinesiology with a minor in history from Angelo State in 2002.
Season ticket deposits for the 2017 season start at $50 per seat and can be placed at USFBullsTix.com. The Bulls will play seven home games in Raymond James Stadium in 2017, hosting notable games vs. Illinois, Houston, Temple, Tulsa and Cincinnati.
USF finished the 2016 season with a school record 11 wins following the program’s fifth-ever bowl victory in the Birmingham Bowl. The Bulls’ 11-2 record marked the fifth-best winning percentage in FBS football in 2016 and one of just 11 teams to reach 11 wins. USF set nearly 40 program and individual records in 2016, including team records for total yards (6,650), rushing yards (3,714), touchdowns (77) and scoring (569). Junior quarterback Quinton Flowers was named the American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and led a school-record 10 players named to the all-conference team, seven of which, including Flowers, have eligibility in 2017.
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