UAPB's Chris Forestier joining Texas as special assistant

The Football Scoop reported on June 7 that Texas football is "expected to hire" former Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Chris Forestier to the staff as a special assistant.

Texas football hires UAPB coach and former Big 12 analyst Chris Forestier to join the staff

Forestier is reportedly going to be a special assistant to the head coach for Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns. He will fill the role of special assistant for special teams, like Joe DeCamillis was for the Longhorns last year.

In late March, Forestier was hired by Arkansas-Pine Bluff head coach Alonzo Hampton to be the Golden Lions special teams coordinator/tight ends coach. He only spent a few months and went through spring football with the Golden Lions after being hired for that position.

Before UAPB hired Forestier earlier this offseason, he was a special teams analyst under head coach Dana Holgorsen with the Houston Cougars in 2022 and 2023. He spent one year with a Big 12 program when Houston was a new addition to the conference last fall.

Forestier worked with new Texas transfer and former Houston wide receiver Matthew Golden during his time as a special teams analyst with the Cougars in the last two years. Golden was a big-time playmaker for the Cougars on special teams last year, returning multiple kick offs for touchdowns.

While Forestier was a special teams analyst at Houston last season, the Cougars ranked second in the Big 12 in blocked field goals (three), third in average kickoff return yards (21.6), and fifth in net punting yards (40.8).

Per Horns247, Forestier's job at Houston was to help with game-planning and daily coaching in practice for the different special teams units.

Forestier is an LSU Tigers alum. He was a special teams assistant at LSU from 2016-2022. His first coaching gig at the collegiate level was a graduate assistant role at FCS Northwestern State in 2015.

Forestier is the first special assistant hire the Longhorns have made this offseason. All three special assistants Sarkisian and the Longhorns hired last year, including DeCamillis, Payam Saadat, and Paul Chryst have departed the program this offseason.

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