Keith Wagner enters his second season as the Bulldogs offensive line coach.
And he is welcoming back the entire unit from last season, including 2017 preseason All-SWAC second team lineman Austin Simmons.
Prior to coming to the Hill, Wagner spent four seasons at North Carolina A&T as the offensive line coach.
In four seasons, Wagner built an offensive line that cleared the path for the MEAC leading rusher in two out of the last three years. In the one season the Aggies did not have the leading rusher under Wagner’s offensive line was in 2012 when Aggies running back Mike Mayhew finished fourth in the conference in rushing and as a team they finished third.
A&T quarterbacks were also able to stay upright. In 795 pass attempts, A&T quarterbacks were only sacked seven percent of the time. This resulted in the Aggies producing the program’s first ever 2,000 yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver in a single season (2011).
The Aggies scored 23 rushing touchdowns in 2012, third best in the MEAC, and the team was third in the conference rushing yards per game (169.2). Three running backs all had career years in rushing yardage running behind Wagner’s offensive line.
Before coming to A&T, Wagner spent one season as Rod Broadway’s offensive line coach at Grambling State. During his season at Grambling, the Tigers offensive linemen made life comfortable for the quarterback. The Tigers only surrendered 1.91 sacks per game, the second fewest in the SWAC. The Tigers also had the second-best rushing offense in the SWAC, and running back Frank Warren rushed for 139.7 yards per game.
Prior to his stint at Grambling, Wagner was an assistant coach at Winston-Salem State, where he served as the Rams running back and strength and conditioning coach. In 2009, Wagner returned to Abilene Christian where he spent a portion of his collegiate career to coach running backs and serve as the team’s special teams.
Wagner’s other coaching stops include the University of Central Arkansas, Trinity Valley Community College, Midwestern State and Ranger College.
As a player, Wagner started his college football career at Texas Christian University. He spent three seasons with the Horned Frogs before transferring to Abilene Christian. During his only season at ACU in 1994, he earned second-team All-American honors along with first-team All-Lone Star Conference accolades as an offensive tackle. After leaving ACU, Wagner was invited to the Dallas Cowboys training camp.
He also spent time with the New York Giants (1995) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (1997). His professional football exploits also took him to NFL Europe, where his Scottish Claymores won the World Bowl in 1996. In 1998, his Rhein Fire was NFL Europe runner-up.
Wagner earned a bachelor of applied arts and science degree at Midwestern University in 2000.
