Ryan Wallace has been named the tight ends coach at Louisville, head coach Jeff Brohm announced Thursday.
Before joining the Louisville staff, Wallace spent six seasons on the Purdue staff, working the 2022 season as the tight ends coach and assisting the offensive line. He was hired at Purdue in 2017 and spent his first two years as offensive/special teams quality control. During the 2021 campaign, he was an offensive and special teams assistant for the Boilermakers.
“Working closely with Ryan on offense, I have observed a coach who is an excellent teacher, motivator and relates well with his players,” Brohm said. “He has a tremendous work ethic and has a great grasp of our offense. Ryan will be a great fit with our staff and our philosophy at Louisville.”
The 2022 season saw Wallace mentor Payne Durham at the tight end position, who earned second team All-BIG Ten accolades after catching 56 passes for 560 yards and eight touchdowns. Durham finished his career second on Purdue’s all-time receiving list for touchdowns with 21 and sixth with 1,265 receiving yards.
Senior Brycen Hopkins highlighted the tight end position for Wallace in 2019, being named the Kwalick-Clark Big Ten Tight End of the Year, a First Team All-Big Ten selection and Second Team All-America by USA Today. Hopkins finished second on the team with 61 receptions for 830 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. Hopkins’ reception and yardage total were the most by a Boilermaker tight end since Dustin Keller had 68 receptions for 881 yards in 2007. Redshirt freshman Payne Durham caught four touchdowns on his nine total receptions for the year.
Before joining the Purdue coaching staff, Wallace spent the 2016 season as tight ends coach at Austin Peay. The Governors finished third in the Ohio Valley Conference in rushing and broke the school game record for total offense multiple times. According to 24/7 Sports, Austin Peay signed the No.1 recruiting class in FCS with Wallace on staff.
Prior to his stint at Austin Peay, Wallace spent three seasons as a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky, where he worked directly with the tight ends on Brohm’s staff in 2014 and 2015 and with the offensive line in 2013. In 2015, the Hilltoppers won the Conference USA Championship Game and Miami Beach Bowl and finished 24th in the final Associated Press poll. Western Kentucky finished that season first in the nation in passing touchdowns, fifth in passing yards and scoring offense, and eighth in total offense. The season prior, the Hilltoppers broke 47 offensive school records, finished first in the country in passing touchdowns, second in passing yards, fourth in total offense and sixth in scoring offense. Tight ends Mitchell Henry and Tyler Higbee earned all-conference honors in 2014 under Wallace’s guide, with Higbee going on to be selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams in 2015.
Wallace played two seasons of tight end at Western Kentucky (2011-12) and one year as an offensive tackle at Kentucky (2010). He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science (2013) and a master’s degree in sports administration (2015), both from Western Kentucky. His father, Kevin, is a longtime high school head football coach in Kentucky with more than 300 wins and six state championships.
Wallace will reside in Louisville with his wife, Samantha.
by Rocco Gasparro