Texas State Athletics

Brett Elliott returns to Texas State as the quarterbacks coach in 2018 after serving in a similar capacity at Mississippi State in 2017. He was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Bobcats in 2016.
 
Last season, Elliott called the offensive plays for the Bulldogs when they upset Louisville and former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, 31-27, in the TaxSlayer Bowl. True freshman Keytaon Thompson made his first career start in the bowl game and completed 11 of 20 passes for 127 yards, and rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries.
 
Elliott also coached dual-threat quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who started 12 regular season games and accounted for 2,768 yards and 29 touchdowns on offense. Fitzgerald completed 159 of 286 passes for 1,782 yards and 15 touchdowns, and rushed for 986 yards and 14 TDs on 162 carries before suffering a dislocated ankle injury against Ole Miss. Mississippi State finished the season with a 9-4 record.
 
Elliott returned to Mississippi State after serving as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas State in 2016 when Tyler Jones set a school record for the most completions in a game with 40, tied another record with 418 yards passing and accounted for five touchdowns in a triple overtime victory at Ohio. Later that season, Jones broke Texas State’s record for most yards passing and TD passes in a game when he threw for 475 yards and five TDs in another win against Incarnate Word.
 
Elliott originally came to Texas State after he was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at James Madison under Withers in 2015. The Dukes had one of the top offenses in the nation when they ranked second among FCS teams in scoring and total offense with 44.3 points and 528.8 yards per game in 2015. The team led the FCS in third-down conversions with 54 percent, while ranking fifth in passing efficiency with a 158.8 rating, seventh in rushing with 273.8 yards per game and ninth in red-zone offense with 89.4 percent.
 
Individually, Elliott coached Vad Lee, the Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year who led the nation in total offense with 375.5 yards per game and completion percentage at 68.3 percent.  He passed for 2,190 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for 814 yards and eight scores. Lee also became the only player in NCAA Division I history (FCS and FBS) to pass and run for more than 275 yards in the same game when he threw for 289 yards and set a school record by rushing for 276 yards in James Madison’s 48-45 victory over SMU on Sept. 26, 2015. He set another school record with 565 yards of total offense against the Mustangs. He also earned the “Bill Dudley Award” for the second straight year as the top player in Virginia.
 
Elliott went to James Madison after serving on the offensive staff for three seasons at Mississippi State. He was a graduate assistant coach in 2012 and served as the offensive quality control specialist in 2013 and 2014. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 11 by the Associated Press in 2014, their highest AP ranking since 1940. They also finished the year ranked 12th in the USA Today coaches’ poll and that tied for its highest ranking in that poll.
 
Mississippi State also won 10 games for the first time in school history and played in the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1941. Led by First Team All-Southeastern Conference quarterback Dak Prescott, the Bulldogs broke 29 individual and team single-season records with the top offense in school history in 2014.
 
Elliott began his coaching career after playing professionally in NFL Europe and the Arena League after signing as a free agent with the San Diego Chargers. He played with the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe and was under contract with the San Jose SaberCats when the league halted operations in 2008. He was a starting quarterback for the Arena League’s Utah Blaze in 2010 and Georgia Force in 2011. He signed with the Chargers after leading Linfield College to an NCAA Division III national championship.
 
A native of Lake Oswego, Ore., Elliott went to Linfield in 2005, and won the Gagliardi Trophy and Melberger Award, given to the top player in Division III. Elliott was named an All-American twice and led Linfield to the 2004 NCAA Division III national championship. During his playing career, he set Linfield and Northwest Small College single-game, single-season and career passing records. He also broke the all-divisions record for most touchdown passes in one season with 61 scores in 2004. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mass communications at Linfield in 2006.