Texas State Athletics

Brad Franchione served as the lnebackers for five seaons and took over as the interim defensive coordinator during the 2015 season. In addition to his duties as linebacker, Franchione served as the special teams coordinator until he was named interim defensive coordinator..

In 2014, he produced Texas State’s first FBS All-American, top two leading tacklers on the team and an All-Sun Belt Conference punter.
 
David Mayo was named a Fourth-Team All-American linebacker by Phil Steele and the unanimous SBC Defensive Player of the Year after ranking second nationally in tackles and leading the SBC with 12.8 tackles per game. His overall total of 154 tackles tied a SBC record and ranked third in school history for most tackles in a single season. He also was the only FBS player last season and the first SBC player in league history to record 20 or more tackles in two games during the same season. His 22 tackles at UL Monroe are the highest single-game total in the nation this season.
 
Trey McGowan joined Mayo as a starting linebacker in seven games and  ranked second on the team with 80 tackles while playing in 11 contests as a junior.
 
In addition, Will Johnson was named All-SBC Second Team by both College Sports Madness and Phil Steele after ranking second among league leaders and 21st nationally with a punting average of 43.8 yards on 65 punts. He placed 21 of his punts inside the 20, had 16 punts over 50 yards with four resulting in a touchback. Johnson also converted 11 of his 15 field goal attempts and averaged 63.4 yards on 71 kickoffs with 46 resulting in touchbacks throughout the season.
 
Franchione also produced a pair of All-Sun Belt Conference linebackers in 2013 as Phil Steele chose both Mayo and Michael Orakpo as All-SBC Second-Team selections. In addition, Mayo was tabbed an All-SBC Second-Team selection by College Sports Madness.
 
In 2012, Texas State’s special teams were ranked fourth nationally overall by Phil Steele.com and Johnson set a school record for the longest field goal made for the second straight year. As a team, Texas State ranked eighth nationally and second in the WAC in net punting with an average of 40.5 yards per punt. The Bobcats also ranked third nationally and led the WAC in punt returns.
 
Franchione also coached Second-Team All-WAC linebacker Joplo Bartu, who led the Bobcats and ranked sixth among league leaders in tackles, and was second in the WAC in tackles for loss and fifth in quarterback sacks. Bartu played with the Atlanta Falcons in 2013.
 
Franchione came to Texas State after serving as the head coach at Blinn College from 2006-10, where he guided his teams to two national championships and three Top-10 NJCAA finishes while compiling a 54-13 career record. He also led the Buccaneers to three Southwest Junior College Football Conference championships and four overall bowl appearances.
 
The Buccaneers won their first national title and a Southwest Junior College Conference championship during his second season as head coach and defensive coordinator in 2006 when they finished the season with a 12-0 record and boasted the nation’s top defensive unit.
 
Following the season, Franchione was named the SWJCFC Coach of the Year, the American Football Monthly Schutt Sports Coach of the Year and the inaugural Sportex® Football Coach of the Year.
 
In 2009, Franchione was named the American Community College Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year after leading Blinn to another national title with an 11-1 record. In 2010, Franchione led the team to an 8-3 record and a victory in the Heart of Texas Bowl.
 
Throughout his tenure at Blinn, Franchione coached four NFL Players. They included Carolina’s Cam Newton, who was the top overall player selected in the 2011 NFL Draft, former running backs James Johnson and Bernard Scott, along with former cornerback Ryan Mouton. He also coached 19 NJCAA All-Americans and 85 total players who went on to play in NCAA Division I schools.
 
Three of his players included Terrance Cain, the 2008 NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year; Scott, the 2008 Harlan Hill Trophy winner and Newton, who was named the 2010 Associated Press College Football Player of the Year and winner of the 2010 Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Trophy, Davey O’Brien Award and Manning Award.
 
Franchione went to Blinn after serving one season as the defensive line coach at Texas A&M-Commerce. There, he also served as the program’s academic, travel and video coordinator.
 
He also was an associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla., in 2003-04, where he helped lead the Warriors to a second place finish in the Central States Football Conference. He went to Bacone after serving as a linebackers coach, kickoff team coach and recruiting coordinator at Tennessee-Martin in 2002.
 
Franchione’s career as a linebackers coach began at West Alabama in 2001 and 2002 when he served as linebackers coach as well as the punt and kickoff teams coach.
 
He gained additional coaching experience at East Central University (in Ada, Okla.) and at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas. He served as the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator at East Central from 1999-2001. He also was the team’s recruiting and academic coordinator.  He helped lead the Tigers to their first winning season in 17 years during the 2000 campaign.
 
While at Fort Scott, Franchione coached the quarterbacks and the punt team, while also serving as the video coordinator in 1998.
 
Franchione began his coaching career as a student coach assisting with the secondary at New Mexico from 1992-96 and was a graduate assistant coach at Arkansas State from 1996-98.
 
He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education at New Mexico in 1996 and master of science degree in education at Arkansas State in 1998.  He and his wife, Rebecca, have two sons Wyatt and Gunnar, and a daughter, Isabella.