App State Football Hires Tyler Kelley as Running Backs Coach

Image Courtesy Of App State Facebook

App State football has hired Tyler Kelley as the Mountaineers’ running backs coach, head coach Dowell Loggains announced Friday. Kelley spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons on Jon Sumrall’s staff at Tulane, which posted a 15-2 record against American Athletic Conference opponents and capped a 20-7 overall run with a College Football Playoff appearance on Dec. 20.

“We are excited to welcome Tyler to App State,” Loggains said. “He has great experience coaching a College Football Playoff team. He brings a detailed, driven approach that will benefit our players and program as we pursue daily excellence.”

Recent Success at Tulane

During the 2025 season, Kelley served as assistant running backs coach and offensive recruiting specialist as Tulane went 11-2 with an American championship and a CFP berth as the No. 11 seed. The Green Wave rushed for 166.3 yards per game and totaled 26 rushing touchdowns, with a quarterback and two running backs each surpassing 500 rushing yards. Tulane also ranked among national leaders in third-and-short conversions.

As a graduate assistant working with wide receivers in 2024, Kelley helped Tulane average 35.1 points (16th nationally) and 405.0 yards of offense (25th nationally) during a 9-5 season that included a 7-1 American record. The Green Wave ranked fourth nationally in third-down conversion percentage, and Kelley helped Mario Williams post more than 1,000 receiving yards.

Coaching Background

Kelley also served as a graduate assistant for wide receivers at Louisiana Tech in 2023, after working as a student coach from 2020-22 and starting as a student equipment staff member in 2019. He earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Louisiana Tech.

“I’m extremely blessed and grateful for the opportunity to be at App State,” Kelley said. “The standard here is to be a champion, and that’s what we’re going to be every day.”

Playing Career

Kelley won a state championship at Pleasant Grove High School in Texas in 2017 and served as team captain for a squad that reached the state semifinals in 2018, when he was named an all-state safety.

Endorsement from Jon Sumrall

Florida head coach Jon Sumrall, Kelley’s former boss at Tulane, praised the hire: “Tyler Kelley is a smart, hungry, detailed football coach who makes everyone around him better by how he carries himself daily.”

Kelley’s Coaching Experience

• 2020-22: Louisiana Tech (Student assistant)
• 2023: Louisiana Tech (Wide receivers graduate assistant)
• 2024: Tulane (Wide receivers graduate assistant)
• 2025: Tulane (Running backs assistant/Offensive recruiting specialist)