Rodriguez Announces Garrett as Wide Receivers Coach
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (January 2, 2025) – West Virginia University football coach Rich Rodriguez has announced that Ryan Garrett has been hired as the wide receivers coach on the Mountaineer coaching staff.
“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 joins Rodriguez for the third time. He first became a member of his staff as a graduate assistant coach at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021, before serving as the wide receivers coach at Jacksonville State in 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.
Garrett’s top receiver, Cam Vaughn, finished with 49 catches for 804 yards and five touchdowns, ranking No. 3 in CUSA in yards per reception, No. 6 in receiving yards, No. 8 in touchdown receptions and No. 9 in catches.
Jacksonville State made history during the 2023 season, posting a 9-4 record during their first season at the FBS level and winning the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Perry Carter earned All-Conference USA Honorable Mention honors after leading the Gamecocks in receiving.
Carter averaged 17.74 yards per catch during the regular season, which was third in CUSA. He finished the year with 672 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
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.
