Staff Directory

Anthony Tucker

Title:
Assistant Head Coach / Pass Game Coordinator (Running Backs)

THE TUCKER FILE

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
College: Fresno State, 1999
High School: Los Alamitos High School
X/Twitter: @AnthonyJTucker
Birthday: Feb. 27, 1976

COACHING EXPERIENCE

2024-present:
Mississippi State, Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs
2023:
Indiana, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers
2021-22:
Utah State, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2020:
UCF, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs
2019:
UCF, Passing Game Coordinator/Running Backs
2018:
UCF, Running Backs
2016-17:
Maryland, Running Backs
2013-15:
Arkansas State, Running Backs/Wide Receivers
2011-12:
Idaho State, Wide Receivers
2010:
Colorado, Offensive Assistant
2009:
Lakewood (CA) High School, Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers

BOWL GAMES COACHED

2022: First Responder Bowl (Utah State)
2021: LA Bowl (Utah State)
2020: Boca Raton Bowl (UCF)
2019: Gasparilla Bowl (UCF)
2018: Fiesta Bowl (UCF)
2016: Quick Lane Bowl (Maryland)
2015: New Orleans Bowl (Arkansas State)
2015: GoDaddy.com Bowl (Arkansas State)
2014: GoDaddy.com Bowl (Arkansas State)

Anthony Tucker was named Mississippi State's assistant head coach and running backs coach on December 1, 2023.

In his 14 years of collegiate coaching, Tucker helped capture four conference championships and appeared in nine bowl games.

Tucker, who spent two seasons with head coach Jeff Lebby at UCF, comes to Starkville after serving as Indiana's co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2023.

Prior to his time in Bloomington, he coordinated the offense and coached quarterbacks at Utah State from 2021-22. Utah State tied a program record with 11 wins in 2021, won its first Mountain West Championship, defeated Oregon State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, and finished No. 24 in both national polls.

The Aggies set eight school records, including 41 touchdown passes, 4,248 passing yards, and three receivers with 10 or more touchdown receptions. They were the only team in the country to accomplish that feat. Utah State ranked 15th nationally in passing offense (303.4), 23rd in total offense (445.6), and 33rd in scoring offense (32.6).

Under Tucker's guidance, Deven Thompkins earned Third-Team All-America status and was a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist after he ranked second in the country in receiving yards. Thompkins set three school marks with 102 receptions for 1,704 yards and five games with at least 170 yards. Quarterback Logan Bonner broke five school records, including 3,618 passing yards and 36 touchdowns (No. 7 nationally).

Tucker spent three seasons at UCF, where the Knights boasted one of the nation's most explosive offenses, posted a 28-8 overall record and appeared in three bowl games. The 2018 team finished the campaign ranked No. 11 with a 12-1 record and a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

He mentored running backs in 2018, was elevated to passing game coordinator in 2019, and was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2020.

Under Tucker's direction, UCF produced the best three-year rushing stretch in school history with a program-record 3,448 yards (265.2) and a school-best 43 touchdowns in 2018; 2,909 yards (223.8) and 34 TDs in 2019; and 2,107 yards (210.7) and 23 scores in 2020.

The 2020 Knights ranked second nationally in total offense (568.1), third in passing (357.4), ninth in scoring (42.2), and 25th in rushing (210.7).

In 2019, UCF went 10-3 and closed out the campaign second in the country in total offense (540.5), fifth in scoring (43.4), eighth in passing (316.7), and 19th in rushing (223.8). UCF's ground attack set program marks with 3,448 yards, 265.2 yards per game, 43 touchdowns, and 5.8 yards per carry. The Knights ranked fifth in the nation in total offense (522.7), sixth in scoring (43.2), and eighth in rushing (228.4).
Tucker oversaw the running backs at Maryland in 2016 and 2017. The Terrapins rushed for 2,594 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2016 and made a trip to the Quick Lane Bowl. The 2016 season marked the first time the Terps eclipsed 2,500 rushing yards since 2003, and their rushing TDs were the most since 2007.

He coached the running backs (2014-15) and wide receivers (2013) at Arkansas State, where the Red Wolves claimed the 2013 and 2015 Sun Belt Conference titles and played in three straight bowl games. ASU rushed for 3,007 yards, ranked 15th in the nation in rushing offense, and set school records for points scored and touchdowns in 2015. In the previous campaign, Arkansas State set a program record for total offense and ranked 25th nationally in rushing offense.

Tucker also instructed wide receivers at Idaho State from 2011-12. He started in the collegiate ranks as an offensive technical assistant at Colorado in 2010, mentored wide receivers, and was the passing game coordinator at Lakewood (Calif.) High School from 2006-09.

Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Tucker signed as a free agent with the New York Giants in 1999 and secured a place on the practice squad in 2000. He later played for NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals in 2001 and signed with the St. Louis Rams in 2002 before he suffered a career-ending injury.

Tucker earned his bachelor's degree from Fresno State University. A two-year starter at wide receiver, he was a Western Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete, a three-time Dean's List member, and a President's List honoree.