Texas Football: 3 WR coach candidates that Sarkisian has interest in
Justin Stepp, South Carolina WR coach
It still sounds like Sark and the Longhorns are adding some new names to the big board in terms of who the top candidates for the WR coach job are. And one of the recent names to surface in connection with the Texas job is the second-year South Carolina Gamecocks wide receivers coach and former Arkansas wide receivers coach Justin Stepp.
According to a report from Eric Nahlin of Inside Texas on Jan. 13 (paid content), Stepp is someone that is interested in the Texas job. But it does look as if Texas has at least kicked the tires on the possibility of putting Stepp on the candidate shortlist to be the next wide receivers coach.
Stepp is an interesting candidate since he is also one of the rising names around the college football coaching landscape at the Power Five level. He’s done some nice work in the last decade or so as a wide receivers coach at four different programs.
The first FBS coaching position for Stepp was with former head coach Scott Satterfield and the Appalachian State Mountaineers in the early 2010s. Stepp was on staff as the WR coach at App State when that program made the jump from the FCS to the FBS in 2014. He was part of a formidable App State offense that put up nearly 36 points per game and averaged 467 yards per game of total offense.
And then, Stepp really found his stride during his three seasons as the WR coach with the SMU Mustangs. He helped to develop former SMU star wideout Courtland Sutton in the mid-2010s, along with some other standouts such as Trey Quinn and James Proche.
Stepp also did some good work during his four or five years as Arkansas’ wide receivers coach. He recruited and coached up the likes of Ketron Jackson, Treylon Burks, and Raheim Sanders, all of which turned into major contributors of late for the Hogs.
South Carolina has also produced some solid wideouts in the last couple of seasons with Stepp at the helm such as Josh Vann and Antwane Wells Jr. In the meantime, Stepp has turned into one of the best recruiters on head coach Shane Beamer’s staff in Columbia in the last two years.