Jacob Peeler is in his second season as the offensive coordinator at Texas State after serving one season as the co-offensive coordinator and three years coaching the wide receivers at Mississippi.
Peeler helped Texas State’s offense increase its rushing output by nearly 65 percent from the previous season and average 369.7 total yards and 27.7 points per game. It was the most yards gained for the Bobcats since 2015 and the most points score since 2014.
The offense also produced five All-Sun Belt Conference players in wide receiver Marcell Barbee, running backs Brock Sturges and Calvin Hill, offensive linemen Russell Baker and Dalton Cooper.
Peeler helped Texas State’s wide receivers take on his “Nasty Wide Outs” mantra he brought with him from Ole Miss and California. Barbee led the Bobcats with 40 catches, 584 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. His 10 TDs ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference. Second-Team All-America return specialist Jeremiah Haydel also caught 40 passes for 408 yards and four touchdowns. The wide receivers position accounted for seven of the top nine reception leaders on the team.
Peeler comes to Texas State after producing two of the NFL’s best 2019 rookie wide receivers in Tennessee’s A.J. Brown and Seattle’s D.K. Metcalf.
Brown joined the Titans after he was a two-time All-American who rewrote the receiving records at Ole Miss. He ended his three-year career as the school’s all-time leader with 2,984 receiving yards and twelve 100-yard receiving performances in his career.
Brown earned Second-Team All-America, First-Team All-SEC honors, and was a Conerly Trophy winner and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist after setting the school’s single-season receiving marks both seasons. He set single-season records with 85 catches and breaking his own mark with 1,320 receiving yards in 2018.
In Peeler’s first season at Ole Miss, Brown set the school’s previous record with 1,252 receiving yards and tied another single-season mark with 11 receiving touchdowns. He also is the only wide receiver in Ole Miss history with two 1,000-yard seasons.
He made an immediate impact during his first season in Oxford when he coined the group ‘Nasty Wide Outs”, a name he brought with him from California.
During his tenure, Rebel receivers caught at least 39 passes five times and tallied at more than 600 yards receiving six times. In addition to Brown, DaMarkus Lodge had 65 catches for 877 yards and four TDs in 2018. Lodge (698) and Metcalf (646) combined for 1,344 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2017. Elijah Moore had 67 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns in 2019.
A dynamic on-field coach and top recruiter, Peeler served four seasons on the staff at Cal before moving to Oxford. He was a graduate assistant in 2013-14 before being promoted to assistant coach for inside receivers in 2015.
Peeler helped turn Cal’s offense into one of the nation’s best, as the Golden Bears ranked in the NCAA’ top 10 leaders in passing offense, top 15 in total offense and top 25 in scoring offense for three straight seasons.
As a recruiter, Peeler helped sign a strong 2016 class highlighted by wide receiver Demetris Robertson, considered the nation’s top-ranked receiver by Rivals, 247Sports and 247Sports Composite. In his freshman campaign, Robertson hauled in 50 catches for 767 yards and seven TDs en route to receiving Freshman All-America accolades from several outlets.
In 2016, Peeler assisted with a Cal offense that finished fourth nationally in passing (358.8 ypg), 10th in total offense (513.2 ypg), and 22nd in scoring (37.1 ppg). He helped freshman Melquise Stovall (42 catches, 415 yards, 3 TDs) become an immediate contributor and helped senior Bug Rivera (41 catches, 386 yards, 3 TDs) transition to a full-time receiver role and move up the depth chart in his final season in Berkeley.
The inside receivers played a significant role in the Golden Bears’ 8-5 record in 2015 and a victory in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl over Air Force, Cal’s first bowl win since 2008. Cal’s offense set numerous single-season records in passing yardage (4,892), passing yards per game (376.3 ypg), passing touchdowns (44), total offense (6,879), total yards per game (529.2 ypg), total touchdowns (63), scoring offense (37.9 ppg), first downs (341) and first downs passing (201). They set new records after each of the marks had been previously established in 2013 and 2014.
Cal ranked third nationally in passing offense, eighth in total offense and 17th in scoring offense in 2015, with all of the numbers ranking second in the Pac-12. Peeler coached a trio of inside wide receivers that had at least 40 catches in his first season as a full-time coach in 2015. Bryce Treggs (45 catches, team-high 956 yards, 7 TDs) led the group that included Darius Powe (47-560-8) and Stephen Anderson (41-474-2).
Treggs and Anderson were both two-time All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selections under Peeler. Treggs also finished his career fourth all-time at Cal with 195 receptions, fifth with 2,506 yards receiving and 10th with 15 touchdown catches. All three players signed undrafted free agent contracts following the 2016 NFL Draft, with Anderson going to Houston, Powe signing with the New York Giants, and Treggs hooking on with the San Francisco 49ers.
Cal set or equaled nine single-season school or modern-era records on the offensive side of the ball in 2014 while Peeler was a graduate assistant working with the inside receivers. Cal ranked in the NCAA’s top 25 in seven different offensive categories in 2014, including passing offense (6th, 346.0 ypg), scoring offense (10th, 38.3 ppg), and total offense (13th, 495.2 ypg).
Despite being the nation’s second-youngest to start the season and having players on the preseason depth chart miss a combined 138 games with injuries, Cal set school records for single-season passing yards (3,977), pass completions (368) and total plays (1,046) during Peeler’s first season in 2013. The passing offense finished third in the Pac-12 and 10th in the nation with an average of 331.4 yards per game
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While he was at Cal, Peeler developed the likes of current Green Bay Packers’ tight end and third-round 2014 NFL Draft pick Richard Rodgers, Anderson, Powe, and Treggs during his tenure with the Bears.
Peeler joined Cal’s coaching staff after serving on the football staff at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech, in 2009-12. He was a graduate assistant and working with inside receivers in 2012 after serving the three previous seasons in quality control roles on the offense. Before returning to Louisiana Tech, he coached at both Itawamba Community College (Fulton, Miss.) and Independence Community College (Independence, Kansas).
Peeler earned a master’s degree in kinesiology in 2008 at Mississippi State after receiving his bachelor’s degree in education in 2007 at Louisiana Tech. He played two seasons (2005-060 on the offensive line at Louisiana Tech and started all 13 games as a senior. He helped the Bulldogs produce 4,479 total yards after redshirting in 2004.
Peeler went to Louisiana Tech after playing every offensive snap for two seasons in 2002 and 2003 at Holmes Community College, earning All-America, First-Team All-NJCAA Region 23, and First-Team All-State honors.
Peeler and his wife, the former Tori Hollis, have a son, Grayson.
