Dylan Wagner is entering his second season in 2025 as Director of Recruiting and Player Development for Texan Football, his fourth year with the program.
The Texans just posted a historic campaign in 2024, going 10-4 overall and 6-2 in United Athletic Conference play, winning their FCS Playoffs debut against Drake before dropping a tight contest at No. 4 South Dakota in Vermillion in the second round. It was the longest regular season in program history both in number of games played and number of days on the calendar, with Tarleton State opening on Week 0 (a 26-23 win over McNeese on ESPN2) on Aug. 23, and finishing with a 42-31 loss at South Dakota on Dec. 7. On Nov. 30, 13-seed Tarleton hosted Drake in the first round of the FCS Playoffs winning 43-29 at Memorial Stadium. The Texans became the fifth team in the history of the FCS Playoffs (Division I-AA Playoffs), which goes back 46 years, to win their first playoff game at the FCS level in their first year eligible after reclassifying from NCAA Division II. Two of those five teams comprised of the four-team playoff field in that initial round of the FCS Playoffs – Florida A&M and UMass, in 1978. The other two programs are currently in the FBS; Troy in 1993 and UCF in 1990. The Texans earned the No. 13 seed in the FCS Playoffs among the 24-team field across 129 FCS programs in just their first year of championship eligibility. They had become just the first team fresh off of reclassification to make the playoffs since 2009 (South Dakota State). Tarleton State was named No. 12 in the final AFCA FCS Coaches Poll of the season, and No. 13 in the final Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll of the season. Tarleton State was ranked in both polls every single week of the 2024 campaign, from the preseason through the postseason. The Texans were just one of 11 teams nationwide to never leave the polls, joined by Idaho, Illinois State, Montana, Montana State, North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, UC Davis, UIW and Villanova. Tarleton State started 2024 7-1, with a six-game winning streak, their best start and their longest winning streak in the D1 era. The Texans finished second in the UAC. Across the board, Tarleton was ranked No. 22 in total offense and they forced the tied-third most turnovers. Tarleton had both the leading receiver (Darius Cooper at 1,450 yards) and the leading rusher (Kayvon Britten at 1,982) across all of the FCS.
Wagner served Texan Football as a graduate assistant in 2023 and a student assistant in 2022. In his first two years at Tarleton State, Wagner served as the main liaison between the offensive and defensive staffs, helping the offensive staff with in-depth opponent scouting reports, with major input on recruiting, plus much more.
"I want to thank Coach Whitten for this great opportunity, it has been a blessing to be a part of this program and I am ready to attack this new position," Wagner said at the time of his promotion to Director of Recruiting and Player Development. "We are truly building something special here at Tarleton. I'm excited to keep building and to bring the best of the best here to Stephenville."
Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Wagner earned his undergrad in sport management from Tarleton State in 2023 and received his master's in sport administration in May 2024.
