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Brian Gamble enters his second season as the inside linebackers coach at Texas State in 2022.
Gamble produced a pair of Second-Team All-Conference USA linebackers in Trey Baldwin and Tyler Grubbs. Grubbs earned Freshman All-America honors after averaging 9.9 tackles per game and recording 9.5 tackles for loss last season. Baldwin averaged 9.4 tackles per contest and led C-USA with 5.9 solo tackles per game.
Gamble mentored Honorable Mention All-C-USA selections Willie Baker, Collin Scott, and Connor Taylor in 2019 when the Bulldogs won 10 games for the first time since 1984 and shut out the Miami Hurricanes, 14-0, in the Independence Bowl. The shutout was the first in Independence Bowl history and the only shutout of the 2019 bowl season. Taylor was named the Independence Bowl Outstanding Defensive Player after recording a team-high nine tackles and 1.5 sacks. The 2019 defense ranked 30th in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 21.8 points per game, the fewest since 1991.
Gamble went to La Tech after coaching 10 seasons at Incarnate Word. He joined UIW’s staff in 2008 as a defensive line coach and was named defensive coordinator in 2012.
In his first year at Incarnate Word, Gamble’s defensive linemen finished 16th in the nation in tackles for loss per game and were 33rd in sacks per game.
When Gamble took over the defensive coordinator duties at UIW in 2012, he transformed the unit into a 3-4 defensive front. The defense did not allow opponents to reach 500 yards of total offense in any games for the first time in 2012. The Cardinals held non-Division I opponents to less than 150 yards rushing and finished fourth in the Lone Star Conference in passing yards allowed (216.0). Senior cornerback Devan Avery earned Second Team All-Region honors.
In his second season in charge of the defense, Gamble’s squad recorded back-to-back shutouts against Texas College and Langston, the first two in school history. They also held four opponents under 10 points and gave up just 147.5 yards rushing and under 400 yards of total offense per game for the second straight season. Four players earned
College Sports Madness All-Independent Second or Third Team honors in 2013.
UIW finished the 2015 season ranked first in yards allowed per game among Division I programs in Texas. He directed a defense that finished fourth in the Southland Conference in points allowed and third in yards allowed. The Cardinals had 62 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, and 23 forced turnovers. They held four opponents under 300 yards in total offense and allowed just 33 points in the final three games. Linebacker Myke Tavarres earned All-America honors after recording 110 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks.
In 2015, UIW’s defense ranked 18th in the nation in fourth-down conversion percentage, 21st in interceptions, 27th in total first downs allowed, 37th in passing yards allowed per game, and 39th in total yards allowed per game.
Gamble began his coaching career as the linebackers coach at Kilgore College in 2004 and helped guide the team to a 10-2 record and No. 5 national ranking. After that season, he served as a graduate assistant at Houston from 2005-07 and helped the Cougars claim the 2006 Conference USA Championship with a 10-4 record.
A graduate of Texas A&M, Gamble was a four-year starting linebacker under R.C. Slocum from 1999-2002. He completed his playing career with 47 career starts, including 46 consecutive games, and accumulated 341 total tackles for the Aggies. He ranked second on the team with 82 stops in his senior season.
Gamble was named the Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year and Second Team Freshman All American in 1999 when he racked up 60 tackles, including 10 for losses and two sacks, while starting 10 games. He earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors as a sophomore when he started 12 games and led the Aggies in tackles with 110.
In 2001, Gamble was a Pre-Season Third-Team All-America. In 2002, he was voted defensive team captain by his Aggie teammates and was on the Butkus Award watch list.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural development in 2002. A native of Alto, Texas, Gamble and his wife, Stephanie, have a son, Bossley, and daughters, Madelyn, and Maris.
