Special Teams Coaching Staff

TOMMY PERRY | SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR

Veteran coach Tommy Perry was named the special teams coach by Jay Norvell in January of 2022 as part of his initial staff.

Perry, who began coaching in 2004, becomes the first Colorado State coach devoted solely to special teams. He has spent the past five seasons of his career solely as a special teams coach, and has held the title 12 other seasons at various stops, the first being at Texas A&M – Commerce in 2005.

At each stop, his units have shown improvement from the onset. In 2013, his first at North Texas, the Mean Green led the nation with eight blocked kicks, of them, a nation-leading five punts, three of which were returned for touchdowns. His coverage and kicking units have regularly ranked in the top 20 nationally.

He was the first coach in program history dedicated solely to special teams, and the Rams would finish Mountain West action leading the league in punt return average (15.5) and ranking third in net punting (39.6). Employing first-time starters at punter and place kicker, Michael Boyle made 9-of-11 attempts, including the game winner at Nevada. Tory Horton was the leading punt returning in conference play, averaging 15.5 yards per return, including a 72-yard scoring burst, as he earned second-team All-Mountain West honors at the spot.

Prior to coming to Colorado State, Perry won a Conference USA championship with UTSA in 2021 while leading the Roadrunner special teams units.

Under Perry’s tutelage, punter Lucas Dean earned second-team All-America accolades from the Sporting News and was a fourth-team selection by Phil Steele after shattering UTSA’s single-season punting average record with a 46.0 mark, which led Conference USA and ranked sixth nationally. The 2020 C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year and a first-team all-league pick, Dean punted 57 times with 27 that pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line, 21 that sailed 50-plus yards, 10 that resulted in fair catches and only four that went for a touchback.

Placekicker Hunter Duplessis, an honorable mention All-American by Phil Steele, emerged as one of the most reliable kickers in the country that same season, making 17 of 20 field goals (85%) and converting 40 of 41 extra-point attempts en route to scoring a program-record 91 points. The Lou Groza Award semifinalist and first-team all-conference performer carried a streak of 23 consecutive field goals made from 2019 into October before it was snapped, and the Campbell Trophy semifinalist and C-USA All-Academic Team honoree also kicked off 46 times with 15 touchbacks in 2020.

The role at Colorado State reunites Perry with Norvell after the two worked together during Norvell’s first three seasons at Nevada.

In Perry’s second year, Nevada improved its punt return game from 10.0 yards per return to 12.59 yards per return, which ranked second in the Mountain West and 24th nationally. A big reason for the increase in punt return success was rookie Romeo Doubs, who returned a punt against Portland State 80 yards for a touchdown on his first collegiate touch. Perry also worked with punter Quinton Conaway, who averaged 43.6 yards per punt, which ranked in the top five in the league and in the top 30 nationally. Conaway also booted a 74-yard punt in 2018, which was tied for the 12th longest punt of the season across the nation.

His playing career started in 2000 at Tyler Community College, and after two seasons, he transferred to Texas A&M where he played linebacker, defensive end and fullback. His grandfather, John David Crow, won the Heisman Trophy for Texas A&M in 1957.

TYLER GILLIAM | ASSISTANT SPECIAL TEAMS COACH

Tyler Gilliam came to Colorado State as part of Jay Novell's initial staff in January 2022 where he currently serves as a special teams analyst.

Prior to Fort Collins, Gilliam made stops at Georgia State as a graduate assistant and a student assistant at Tennessee - where he earned his bachelor's in recreation sport management and a minor in business and sport & fitness.