MANHATTAN, Kan. – Luke Wells, a veteran offensive coach who has worked for three prior Big 12 programs over the course of his career, has been hired at Kansas State to work with the Wildcat tight ends, head coach Chris Klieman announced Monday. His hiring is pending a successful background check.
“Luke brings an extensive amount of coaching experience and recruiting energy to our tight end room, which of course has been a big piece to our recent offensive success,” Klieman said. “I have known Luke for quite a while and even visited with him during previous position openings, and we are thrilled to have him and his family in our program.”
Wells, a 2002 graduate of Oklahoma who both played and coached for the Sooners, most recently coached in college at Tulsa in 2022, while he has also spent time coaching receivers and tight ends at Iowa State and Texas Tech during his career.
“I am grateful for the opportunity from Coach Klieman to help this staff and be a part of the winning culture at K-State,” Wells said. “I can’t wait to get to work with our talented group of tight ends.”
While at Texas Tech, Wells all but built the tight end position from scratch while helping three players from his position room earn All-Big 12 accolades in tight end Donta Thompson and inside receiver Dalton Rigdon in 2019 as well as inside receiver KeSean Carter in 2020.
Prior to arriving at Texas Tech, Wells served as Utah State’s co-offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator from 2013 to 2016, working with the tight ends the first three years and then the quarterbacks in 2016. He shifted back to overseeing Utah State’s tight ends and inside receivers his final two years in Logan where the Aggies boasted one of the nation’s top offenses. It was the first time he worked under his brother, Matt, K-State’s current offensive coordinator who was the head coach at both Utah State and Texas Tech.
Wells mentored one of the top tight ends in Utah State history in Wyatt Houston, who tallied 86 receptions for 933 yards and nine touchdowns over the 2013 through 2016 seasons, as all three of his marks ranked second in school history among tight ends. Houston earned All-Mountain West Honorable Mention accolades as a senior in 2016.
Prior to Houston, fellow tight end D.J. Tialavea thrived under Wells’ direction before signing a rookie free agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014. Tialavea went on to join the Falcons’ organization a year later and was a member of the franchise when Atlanta played in Super Bowl LI. Another Wells pupil, Jefferson Court, joined the professional ranks in 2015 as he was the 37th player selected in the CFL Draft by the Ottawa Redblacks.
Offense was a prevalent theme of Utah State’s success during Wells’ final two seasons as the Aggies averaged 47.5 points per game in 2018, which trailed only Oklahoma for the top spot in the country. The Aggies racked up 618 points on the season, snapping the Mountain West and Utah State single-season records in the process.
Utah State scored at least 40 points in 13 different games over his final two seasons, including 10 times with 50 or more points. The Aggies reached the 50-point mark a school-record seven times in 2018 alone en route to breaking almost every offensive record in Utah State history.
In Wells’ first season, the Aggies set school records for completions (297), total plays (1,073), touchdown passes (30) and first downs (310). Utah State scored 445 points that season and attempted 481 passes, which both ranked second in school history. Utah State’s tight ends also set the single-season school record for touchdown receptions with nine, topping the previous record from 1993.
Prior to his time at Utah State, Wells was the wide receivers and tight ends coach at Iowa State from 2009 through 2012, helping the Cyclones advance to three bowl games in four years.
Wells arrived in Ames following six seasons at Louisiana-Monroe where he began as an offensive graduate assistant in 2003 before being promoted to tight ends coach for the 2004 through 2006 seasons and then tutoring the Warhawks’ wide receivers in 2007 and 2008. He coached first team all-conference tight end Joey Trappey in 2005 and second-team honoree Zeek Zacharie in 2006 before producing an honorable mention wide receiver in Anthony McCall a year later. Wells also served as ULM’s recruiting coordinator over his final two seasons, helping Monroe sign its highest-rated class in school history at that time.
Wells earned his first full-time coaching position managing the wide receivers at Denton (Texas) High School in 2002. He began his collegiate coaching career as a student assistant at Oklahoma from 1999 through 2001, helping the Sooners claim the 2000 Big 12 Championship and BCS National Championship.
Wells earned his bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma in secondary education in 2002. He and his wife, Coby, have a son, Walker, and a daughter, Kinsley.
THE LUKE WELLS FILE
Hometown: Sallisaw, Oklahoma
College: Oklahoma – Bachelor’s in Secondary Education (2002)
Family: Wife: Coby; Children: Walker, Kinsley
Playing Career: Oklahoma (Quarterback), 1997-99
COACHING CAREER TIMELINE
1999-2001, Oklahoma (student assistant)
2002, Denton [TX] High School (wide receivers)
2003, Louisiana-Monroe (graduate assistant)
2004-06, Louisiana-Monroe (tight ends)
2007-08, Louisiana-Monroe (wide receivers/recruiting coordinator)
2009-10, Iowa State (wide receivers)
2011-12, Iowa State (tight ends)
2013-15, Utah State (co-offensive coordinator/tight ends/recruiting coordinator)
2016, Utah State (co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/recruiting coordinator)
2017-18, Utah State (inside receivers/tight ends)
2019-21, Texas Tech (inside receivers/tight ends)
2022, Tulsa (tight ends)