The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
Gilbert Inducted Into Lake View HS Hall of Fame
A former Texas high school standout quarterback and coach, Sterlin Gilbert has helped lead some of college football’s most prolific offenses in recent years. In his four seasons as a collegiate coordinator, his offenses have averaged almost 500 total yards and nearly 38 points per game. He will now bring that explosive offense to Texas where he joined the staff in December 2015 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Gilbert spent this past season at Tulsa as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks/receivers coach, helping the Golden Hurricane rank among the nation’s leaders the entire season for passing, scoring and total offense. Tulsa completed the 2015 campaign ranked 11th nationally in passing, 13th in total offense and 21st in scoring. Tulsa scored over 37 points per game, while racking up an average of 507 total yards and 333 yards passing en route to an appearance in the 2015 Independence Bowl against Virginia Tech.
The offense was led by American Athletic Conference first-team WR Keyarris Garrett, who finished with 1,588 receiving yards and 122.2 receiving yards per game. He also totaled 96 receptions and signed as a UDFA with the Carolina Panthers. WR Josh Atkinson finished the season with 1,071 receiving yards, while QB Dane Evans passed for 4,332 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Prior to his appointment at Tulsa, Gilbert was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2014 season at Bowling Green. That year, the Falcons gained 432.9 total yards per game (41st NCAA), while averaging 173.0 yards on the ground and 259.9 yards passing. That production all came without the services of starting QB Matt Johnson who was injured would become the 2015 Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
Gilbert mentored back-up QB James Knapke to a 3,000-yard passing season despite his only having 10 previous collegiate passing attempts. His 3,173 yards ranked seventh on the school single-season list at the time, while his 280 completions were sixth. Wide receiver Roger Lewis recorded 1,093 receiving yards and earned first-team All-MAC honors, while RBs Travis Green (949/12), Fred Coppet (764/6) and Andre Givens (479/8) combined for 2,192 yards and 26 TDs. BGSU finished the season with a victory over South Alabama in the 2014 Camellia Bowl.
During the 2012-13 seasons, Gilbert served as the offensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois, where in his second year he was named 2013 FootballScoop FCS Coordinator of the Year. The Panthers led the nation in total offense (589.5 ypg) and scoring (48.2 ppg), while ranking second with 372.4 passing yards, and 20th with 217.1 rushing yards per game, leading to a 12-2 record and an Ohio Valley Conference Championship.
Under the guidance of Gilbert, QB Jimmy Garoppolo was named the 2013 Walter Payton Award winner, the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, given to the nation's best player. Garoppolo led the nation and ranked second in FCS single-season history with 5,050 passing yards, while ranking second in the nation and fourth in FCS history with 53 passing TDs. He was also third in the country in passing efficiency (168.3) and was chosen OVC Offensive Player of the Year.
During his two seasons with Gilbert, Garoppolo passed for 8,873 yards and 84 TDs. He finished his career seventh in FCS history with 13,156 passing yards, and sixth with 118 passing TDs. He went on to become a second-round draft choice by the New England Patriots in the 2014 NFL Draft.
In addition to Garoppolo, five other players were named 2013 first-team All-OVC, representing each position group with running back, wide receiver, tight end and offensive line. Three more players were named to the second team.
Two-time consensus first-team All-American WR Erik Lora led the nation in receptions with 123, which tied for second in FCS history, only behind his own record of 136 in the previous season. He was also second in TD receptions with 19 (tied for sixth all-time in FCS), and third in receiving yards with 1,544 (16th all-time in FCS). He finished his career second in FCS history with 332 receptions, and 12th with 4,006 yards.
Fellow WR Adam Drake was just behind Lora with 85 receptions for 1,305 yards (fifth in the nation) and 13 TDs (eighth in the nation) and earned second-team All-OVC honors. Both went on to sign free agent contracts with NFL teams.
The running backs came up 12 yards short of a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, including first-teamer Shepard Little with 1,551 yards (seventh in the nation) and 15 TDs, and second-teamer Taylor Duncan with 988 yards and 10 TDs. Tight end Jeff LePak (51-723-8), OT Dominic Pagliara and OG Collin Seibert accounted for the other members of the OVC first team and were selected third-team All-America, while offensive linemen Nick Borre made the second team, and Jimmy Lowery was on the All-Newcomer Team.
In his first season at EIU, Gilbert directed a Panthers offense that ranked sixth in the nation in passing (334.9 ypg), seventh in total offense (470.9 ypg) and eighth in scoring (36.5 ppg). The offense set several school records at the time, including touchdown passes with 34. That year, Garoppolo was seventh in the nation in total offense (318.5 ypg), while Lora set the FCS record for receptions (136) and led the nation in receiving yards with (1,664/sixth all-time in FCS) en route to being named OVC Offensive Player of the Year. Seibert joined him on the all-conference first team, while RB Jake Walker rushed for 1,133 yards and 12 TDs and made the second team, along with TE Sam Hendricks and C Kevin Kapellas.
Gilbert enjoyed a successful career as a high school coach in Texas before moving to Eastern Illinois. In 2011, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Temple High School, where the team advanced to the Texas state 5A playoffs. There he coached Zach Allen who is now a sophomore quarterback at TCU.
Prior to joining the staff at Temple, Gilbert was the head coach at his alma mater, San Angelo Lake View High School, for three seasons (2008-10). He rebuilt a program that had won only three games in three years prior to his arrival to a team that won the 2008 Bi-District Championship and the school’s first playoff game in 12 years. He was named the West Texas High School Coach of the Year in 2008.
Gilbert developed a name for himself as a prolific offensive coach at Abilene Cooper High School during the 2006 and 2007 seasons when he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2006, Cooper was the state’s top passing offense in District 3-5A with 3,172 yards, while in 2007, he helped take the team to the state playoffs.
The first collegiate coaching experience of Gilbert’s career came as a graduate assistant under Art Briles at the University of Houston in 2005 when the Cougars earned a trip to the Fort Worth Bowl. Gilbert assisted with the quarterbacks and running backs. His first job was on the prep level as the quarterbacks and running backs coach at Springtown (Texas) High School from 2003-04.
A standout prep performer at San Angelo Lake View High School, Gilbert was a two-time All-State quarterback and was named District MVP in 1996. He was Big XII Region All-America and All-West Texas 4A MVP.
Gilbert went on to start at quarterback for three seasons at Angelo State University, where he led the Rams to back-to-back Lone Star Conference South Division championships. A two-time team captain, Gilbert concluded his career in fourth place all-time in total offense and was named Honorable Mention All-Lone Star Conference in 2000 and 2001. He earned his Bachelor's degree in kinesiology with a minor in history from Angelo State in 2002.
