SAN ANTONIO — UTSA head football coach Jeff Traylor on Friday announced that he has promoted Jess Loepp and Rod Wright to co-defensive coordinators effective immediately.
Loepp and Wright played key roles on the defensive staff in Traylor's first season at the helm in 2020, 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 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. Their guidance helped the Roadrunners lead C-USA in sacks (25), tackles for loss (85), interceptions (11), takeaways (19) and turnover margin (+7). In fact, UTSA 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).
"Coach Loepp and Coach Wright did a great job coordinating our defense the last six weeks of the 2020 season," Traylor said. "I look forward to watching our defense continue to grow in our #210TriangleOfToughness Culture."
Loepp, who will continue to coach the program's safeties, helped mentor Rashad Wisdom to first-team all-conference honors last season. 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. The Converse Judson High School product was named Jim Thorpe Award Player of the Week and C-USA Defensive Player of the Week after posting nine tackles and causing two fumbles in the 52-21 win over UTEP.
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.
Loepp joined the UTSA staff after serving as an analyst at Arkansas in 2019. Prior to that, he was the safeties coach at Prosper High School near Dallas in 2018 and the defensive backs coach at SMU in 2015-17. A native of Turpin, Okla., he spent six straight seasons at Tulsa, starting as director of high school relations in 2009 before coaching the safeties in 2010-14. He also served as recruiting coordinator in 2011-12. He got his start in coaching as the linebackers and receivers coach Oklahoma Bible Academy in 2002 before serving as a graduate assistant for the defense at Tulsa in 2003-05. A former all-conference linebacker at Central Oklahoma, he was the recruiting coordinator and safeties coach at Rice in 2006 and at Tulsa in 2007 before becoming an assistant coach and strength coordinator at Lake Travis High School in 2008.
Wright, who also is slated to tutor the program's defensive line for the third straight season in 2021, has played a key role in the development of one of UTSA's deepest units. In his two seasons with the Roadrunners, he has helped the defense emerge as one of the best in the nation in tackles for loss and sacks. In 2019, UTSA set school records with 96 tackles for loss, 8.0 tackles for loss per game and 2.2 sacks per contest, while also leading C-USA in tackles for loss in each of the past two seasons. Five of his players have earned all-conference recognition, including 2020 honorable mention honorees Lorenzo Dantzler, Jaylon Haynes and Brandon Matterson, while Christian Clayton was named to the 2020 C-USA All-Freshman Team.
Wright got his start in coaching as a student assistant and defensive special assistant at Texas in 2010-13 before earning his first full-time assistant coaching job as Sam Houston State's defensive line coach in 2014-17 where he coached current NFL defensive lineman P.J. Hall. He spent the 2018 season as the defensive line coach at East Carolina, where he mentored American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year Nate Harvey before joining the Roadrunners' staff in 2019 to oversee the same position group, including current Los Angeles Rams defensive end Eric Banks. In 2019, he was promoted to run game coordinator while still tutoring the defensive line.
An All-American and All-Big 12 Conference defensive lineman for Texas, Wright was a key cog for the Longhorns' 2005 BCS National Championship team. A Lombardi Award finalist as a senior, he went on to play four years in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins. He later suited up for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League and the Dallas Vigilantes of the Arena Football League.
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