Rich Rodriguez Names Ryan Garrett as Wide Receivers Coach

West Virginia University head coach Rich Rodriguez announces Ryan Garrett as the wide receivers coach

West Virginia University football vs. Baylor. / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Thursday afternoon, West Virginia University football coach Rich Rodriguez announced Ryan Garrett as the wide receivers coach.

“I’m excited that Ryan will be joining the Mountaineer football program as the wide receivers coach,” Rodriguez said. “I have had the opportunity to work with him for several years and have seen his growth as a coach on and off the field. He brings a lot of energy and knowledge to the position, having worked closely with our receivers over the last three years. He is a great addition to our on-field coaching staff.”

Garrett has been with Rodriguez since 2021. He first became a member of his staff as a graduate assistant coach at Louisiana-Monroe before following him to Jacksonville State and served as the wide receivers coach at Jacksonville State since 2022.

In 2024, he helped lead the Gamecocks to a 9-5 record, the Conference USA championship and a spot in a second straight bowl game. The JSU offense finished No. 4 in FBS in rushing, No. 6 in first-down offense, No. 8 in passing yards per completion, No. 11 in scoring offense and No. 21 in total offense.

In Garrett’s first season at Jax State in 2022, he helped guide the Gamecocks to a 9-2 record that included a 5-0 mark in conference play and the 2022 ASUN Conference title. The Gamecocks had one of the most efficient offenses in the nation, ranking No. 5 nationally in yards per reception and No. 10 in scoring offense. Fourteen different Gamecocks caught at least one pass in 2022, while nine of those found the end zone at least once.

In 2021, he helped the Warhawks head coach and former Mountaineer Terry Bowden lay the foundation for a turnaround of their program after they inherited a team that had gone winless the season before.

Garrett spent the 2020 season as the pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach at West Virginia State under coach John Pennington, a former receiver for Rodriguez at WVU.

He started his coaching career at Ole Miss, where he began as a student assistant and eventually served as an offensive graduate assistant working with the Rebels’ quarterbacks under Rodriguez in 2019. That season, the Rebels ranked third in total offense in the SEC, averaging 445.3 yards per game, behind only Alabama and LSU.

Garrett graduated from North Henderson High School (Hendersonville, N.C.) where he was captain of the football team and was named all-conference as a wide receiver. He played college of Emory & Henry College (Virginia) for a year before transferring to Ole Miss and entering the coaching profession.