Entering 2025, Adam Austin will begin his second season as the offensive coordinator at Tarleton State and his fifth season on the Tarleton State football coaching staff. His promotion to offensive coordinator was announced on April 5, 2024. He will be the play caller for the second straight year in 2025, and lead the quarterbacks for a fifth straight season. He was quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator from 2021-23.
"I am incredibly thrilled and honored to have been elevated to Offensive Coordinator for THE Tarleton State University," Austin said at the time of his promotion. "This opportunity represents the culmination of years of hard work and dedication by our staff and I am eager to contribute to our team's continued success in this new role.”
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. 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. Offensively, Tarleton ranked fourth in the country in pass yards per completion (14.5), fifth in red zone offense (.933), ninth in first downs (300), tied-13th in sacks allowed per game (1.14), 22nd in total offense (415.8 yards per game), 23rd in rushing offense (191.1 yards per game), 28th in scoring offense (30.7 points per game), 34th in tackles for loss allowed per game (4.71) and 42nd in passing offense (224.7 yards per game). Tarleton State had the No. 1 rusher across all of FCS (Kayvon Britten, 1,982 yards) and the No. 1 receiver across all of FCS (Darius Cooper, 1,450 yards). Britten and Cooper collected a combined nine All-American honors, including both earning Associated Press FCS All-America First Team. There were five offensive players total named UAC All-Conference, with Cooper and Britten on First Team, followed by quarterback Victor Gabalis, offensive lineman Layton Ernst and offensive lineman Tuli Teuhema on Second Team.
In 2023 with Austin's guidance, the Texans averaged 33.3 points per game, the second best average in the United Athletic Conference, 13th most in all of FCS. They also averaged 430.5 yards per game (second in the UAC, 14th in the FCS) with 6.4 yards per play (most in the UAC, 11th in the FCS).
Over the past four seasons, Austin's quarterbacks have consistently put up elite performances. In Austin's first two seasons at Tarleton, his quarterbacks produced seven 300-plus yard performances, including the most in the Western Athletic Conference in 2022 with five. Also that season, the Texans finished third in the WAC with 24 passing touchdowns, throwing for 2,883 yards across 11 games, averaging 262.1 passing yards per contest.
In 2022, Tarleton's passing attack was a major reason why the Texans finished with a winning record, going 6-5. The Texans finished third in the Western Athletic Conference with 20 passing touchdowns, throwing for 2,640 yards across 11 games, averaging 240.0 passing yards per contest. Austin coached up QB Beau Allen, the 2022 WAC Newcomer of the Year. Allen threw for 2,836 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, finishing with a QBR of 142.7 and averaging 257.8 passing yards per game. Allen led the WAC with 23 passing touchdowns as well as 300+ passing yard games with five. Austin engineered the Texans’ aerial attack that saw Allen toss for 2,836 yards, Darius Cooper go for 1,063 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, and Jaden Smith finish with 822 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. The Tarleton offense threw for the second most total passing yards in the WAC with 2,883 under Austin’s watch.
Austin came to Tarleton State with a rich history of coaching success, including eight seasons spent at Tarleton’s former Lone Star Conference rival Midwestern State and one season at Eastern Kentucky.
Prior to his coaching career, Austin was a signal caller for the University of Arizona where he played in nine games from 2005-06. He threw for 549 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He led the Wildcats to wins over Stephen F. Austin and Stanford as a senior starter and helped Arizona become bowl eligible for the first time in eight years.
Following his playing career, Austin spent three years as a graduate assistant coach of tight ends, quarterbacks and wide receivers. He spent his first year at Grambling State and won a SWAC Championship before spending the next two at Marshall.
He landed his first full-time gig as the quarterbacks coach for Midwestern State in 2011, where he won back-to-back league titles and was a part of the top scoring offense in NCAA Division II. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2013 – a title he would keep for six seasons with the Mustangs.
In 2017, the Mustangs had one of the top offenses in the nation. Midwestern State was No. 8 in the country in scoring at 42.5 points per game and No. 11 nationally in total offense at 483.3 yards per game. Austin was an NCAA Division II Coordinator of the Year finalist after the 2017 season. The following year, the Mustangs ranked No. 8 in the nation in total offense at 506.2 yards per game and No. 11 in scoring at 41.8 points per game despite being outdueled by Tarleton in overtime of their homecoming game 35-34 on a game-winning PAT block by Tyrell Thompson.
Individually, the 2018 offense was fueled by the trio of quarterback Layton Rabb, running back Vincent Johnson and wide receiver Juwan Johnson. That season under Coach Austin, Rabb was No. 6 in the nation with 324 passing yards per game while Johnson rushed for 1,037 yards and ranked No. 11 in the country with an average of 7.01 yards per carry. Juwan Johnson was No. 6 in Division II with 1,215 receiving yards.
He departed for Eastern Kentucky in 2019 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. After leaving EKU and heading to Garden City Community College for the 2020 season, Austin never coached a game for GCCC because of the COVID-19 pandemic canceled fall. He signed on with Missouri Southern State in February and coached one spring game – a 21-20 win against Southern Nazarene – before making the move back to Texas.
A native of Mundelein, Illinois, Austin graduated from Arizona in 2007 with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. He earned a master’s degree from Marshall in 2010 in Adult and Technical Education. He resides in Stephenville with his wife, Aubri, and dog, Gunner.
