Florida State University Athletics
FSU Promotes Austin Tucker to Quarterbacks Coach
12/18/2025 2:25:00 PM | Football
TALLAHASSEE – Florida State has promoted Austin Tucker, who has worked extensively with quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs in his coaching career, to quarterbacks coach, head coach Mike Norvell announced Thursday.
Austin has a tremendous amount of knowledge of this offense and had an integral role in last season's unit that was in the top 10 nationally, Norvell said. He has been one of the top assistants on our offensive staff, and he has nearly a decade of experience within my staff and his time with Coach Malzahn. Austin's ability to take his knowledge and teach it to the players in a way that allows them to maximize their playmaking abilities on the field will benefit the quarterbacks and the entire offense. Austin has proven to be ready for this role, and I'm excited to see our offense continue to grow and develop through his contributions.
Tucker will be in his 11th season as a Division I coach and seventh season at Florida State in 2026. He also has coaching experience at Auburn, Memphis, North Alabama and in the high school ranks, and he has worked with every skill group on offense. Last season, he helped direct and develop an offense that led the ACC in total offense, rushing offense, third-down offense and yards per completion. The Seminoles ranked in the top 15 nationally in all four categories, placing fourth with 15.21 yards per completion, ninth in total offense with an average of 472.1 yards per game, ninth with a third-down percentage of 50.9, and 13th in rushing offense after averaging 218.7 yards per game on the ground.
I am thankful to Coach Norvell for the opportunity here at Florida State, Tucker said. This program is full of great people and great athletes, and I am looking forward to helping our players continue in their journey to develop both on and off the field. I was blessed throughout my athletic career to be around great coaches in high school and college who have helped shape who I am today as a husband, father and coach. I am excited for the opportunity to continue investing in our players and in this program to represent the university at an elite level.
In 2025, Tucker served as FSU's assistant wide receivers coach and helped guide a productive group led by first-team All-ACC selection and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist Duce Robinson. Robinson caught 56 passes for 1,081 yards and six touchdowns, posting the ninth-highest single-season receiving yards total in program history. Robinson also produced the 14th 1,000-yard season in program history and became only the 11th different FSU receiver to reach the 1,000-yard milestone in a season. He led the ACC in 30- and 40-yard receptions, and his average of 19.3 yards per reception ranked second in the conference, behind only teammate Micahi Danzy.
In addition to Robinson, second-year players Danzy and Lawayne McCoy showed impressive development. Danzy made 27 receptions for 571 yards and three touchdowns through the air and added 227 yards and three touchdowns on 12 rushing attempts. Danzy led the ACC and ranked fourth nationally with an average of 21.2 yards per reception, and he joined Peter Warrick as the only FSU wide receivers with three rushing and three receiving touchdowns in the same season. McCoy also made 27 catches, gaining 396 yards and scoring three touchdowns. As a group, the trio was responsible for nine individual 100-yard receiving games in 2025.
Tucker worked with FSU's running backs for his first three seasons before moving to assist the quarterbacks prior to the 2023 season. That year, Florida State completed a 13-0 regular season and won the program's first ACC championship since 2014 behind ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year Jordan Travis. Travis was one of only two players nationally with at least 20 touchdown passes and two or fewer interceptions, and he led the ACC with a pass efficiency rating of 154.5 and an average of 8.51 yards per pass attempt. He became the first player to lead the ACC in pass efficiency in back-to-back seasons since Trevor Lawrence, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Coach Tuck is a great teacher of the game, Travis said. He has tremendous football knowledge and understands how to guide his players to grasp the offense in a way that makes it possible to maximize their capabilities. I felt extremely comfortable working with him in 2023, and he had a big impact on our success that season. He is a tremendous football coach and an even better person. He will make a difference in that room.
Prior to his time at FSU, Tucker spent two seasons as the wide receivers coach at North Alabama. In his first season with the Lions, he led a group that included four freshmen who combined to make 145 receptions for 1,861 yards and 14 touchdowns. That year, UNA posted a 7-3 overall record in its first season of FCS competition after nearly 70 years as a Division II program. In his second season, the quartet combined for 153 receptions, 2,475 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Tucker began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant in 2016 at Auburn under current Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. That year, the Tigers produced the SEC's No. 1 rushing offense, averaging 271.3 yards per game, and played in the Sugar Bowl. Tucker then joined Norvell's staff at Memphis in 2017 as a graduate assistant, helping tutor an offense that ranked second in the country with an average of 45.5 points per game and fourth nationally with an average of 523.1 yards per game and 7.35 yards per play. Tucker worked with consensus All-American receiver Anthony Miller, who led the country with 18 touchdown receptions and was third nationally with 96 receptions and 1,462 receiving yards.
After a successful playing career, Tucker served as the offensive coordinator at Shiloh Christian School in Arkansas and Hewitt-Trussville High School in Alabama. In 2013, his first season as an offensive coordinator, he directed a Shiloh Christian offense that averaged 38.1 points per game on its way to the 5A state playoffs. After moving to Hewitt-Trussville, his 2014 offense averaged 34.4 points per game, and in 2015 the Huskies averaged 431.5 yards per game while qualifying for the 7A state playoffs both years.
Tucker was a wide receiver at Arkansas from 2007-10, helping the Razorbacks to 31 wins with appearances in the Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Liberty Bowl. He earned his bachelor's degree in P-12 kinesiology from Arkansas in 2011.
Tucker and his wife, Adrienne, have two daughters, Willa and Finley, and two sons, Zeke and Nash.
In addition to Tucker's promotion, analyst Brendan Bognar is being elevated to assistant quarterbacks coach. Bognar joined FSU's staff in 2025 with experience at UCF, Troy and Samford. He worked with FSU's quarterbacks in 2025, helping Tommy Castellanos produce as a dual-threat signal-caller. In his first season in the Seminoles' program, Castellanos led the country with his average of 15.33 yards per completion, had the ACC's highest average yards per attempt and broke Florida State's single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. In addition to Castellanos' production, Bognar also helped prepare a group that saw five different quarterbacks appear in at least one game, with true freshman Kevin Sperry and sophomore Brock Glenn each throwing two touchdown passes while completing at least 60 percent of their passes.
In 2024, Bognar was the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator at Samford. His starting quarterback, Quincy Crittendon, passed for 2,689 yards and 18 touchdowns while completing 70.3 percent of his passes and added 386 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Crittendon led the SoCon in total offense, passing touchdowns, passing yards, completion percentage, completions per game and point responsibility. His 25.2 completions per game ranked as the nation's third-best average, and his completion percentage was the fourth-best in the country.
Bognar spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons at UCF under the direction of Malzahn. Bognar worked as an analyst and helped the Knights reach the 2022 AAC Championship Game before moving to the Big 12 and earning another bowl bid. UCF's 2022 offense ranked ninth nationally in rushing yards per game and 16th in total offense yards per game. In 2023, UCF boasted the country's fourth-best rushing offense and eighth-highest total offense average.
He began his coaching career in 2020, serving as an analyst and coaching quarterbacks at Samford. In 2021, Bognar was a graduate assistant at Troy.
Bognar played quarterback at Murray State. He began his career as a walk-on before earning a scholarship and being named a team captain. Bognar earned his bachelor's degree in public relations from Murray State in 2019.
Austin Tucker Coaching History
2026- Florida State Quarterbacks Coach
2025 Florida State Assistant Wide Receivers Coach
2022-24 Florida State Senior Analyst (Offense)
2020-21 Florida State Analyst (Offense)
2018-19 North Alabama Wide Receivers Coach
2017 Memphis Graduate Assistant
2016 Auburn Graduate Assistant
2014-15 Hewitt-Trussville High School (Ala.) Offensive Coordinator
2013 Shiloh Christian School (Ark.) Offensive Coordinator
2011-12 Shiloh Christian School (Ark.) Running Backs and Tight Ends Coach
Brendan Bognar Coaching History
2026- Florida State Assistant Quarterbacks Coach
2025 Florida State Analyst (Offense)
2024 Samford Quarterbacks Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2022-23 UCF Analyst (Offense)
2021 Troy Graduate Assistant
20202 Samford Analyst (Offense)
