Tag: Tiquan Underwood

Former Rutgers wide receiver, assistant coach Tiquan Underwood heading back to the NFL

Tiquan Underwood is set to leave the college coaching ranks.

Former Rutgers football wide receiver and assistant coach Tiquan Underwood is heading back to the NFL. Underwood is set to join the New England Patriots as an assistant wide receivers coach.

Underwood joined Rutgers as a member of the class of 2025. He was a seventh-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2009 NFL draft.

Linked to the NFL earlier this week, Underwood made it official on Thursday via his social media.

Underwood played six seasons in the NFL before transitioning to coaching. In 2020, he was hired by Rutgers as part of the first coaching staff brought in upon the return of head coach Greg Schiano.

He was a part of Schiano’s staff for two years before leaving before joining Pitt. Now, after serving as a quality control coach with the Miami Dolphins in 2019, he is heading back to the AFC East.

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Following Underwood, Rutgers hired [autotag]Damiere Shaw [/autotag]to become their wide receivers coach (Shaw is currently the running backs coach at Rutgers). [autotag]Dave Brock[/autotag], who coached wide receivers in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, currently is the wide receivers coach at Rutgers.

Report: Former Patriots WR rejoins team as coaching staff member

A familiar face is returning to coach in New England

The New England Patriots are adding a former wide receiver to their coaching staff. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported the Patriots are close to hiring Tiquan Underwood as an assistant receivers coach.

Underwood spent a season in New England in 2011, crossing paths with Jerod Mayo in the process. He got his first coaching job in 2018 as a wide receivers coach with Lafayette College, before transitioning back to the NFL as a quality control assistant with the Miami Dolphins.

He then went to the collegiate coaching ranks again in 2020, serving on Greg Schiano’s staff at Rutgers. He was the passing game coordinator for Pittsburgh in his most recent stop, and now, he’ll have a chance to add to an ever-evolving Patriots coaching staff.

Things are ramping up for the Patriots’ hiring process after locking down a new head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coach.

Don’t expect for things to slow down anytime soon with the team looking to finish up their coaching hires and move on to the player personnel side of things in free agency.

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Four-star Hykeem Williams on Saturday’s Rutgers visit: ‘they’re on track to be great in the next few years’

Rutgers football has a bigtime recruit coming on Saturday in four-star wide receiver Hykeem Williams.

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One of the top wide receivers in the class of 2023 will be at Rutgers on Saturday, giving yet another look at the program.

Four-star wide receiver Hykeem Williams is flying up to New Jersey on Saturday morning to spend the day at Rutgers and watch the game against Maryland. Williams is the No. 52 player in the nation for the class of 2023 according to Rivals and he said this is his third trip up to Rutgers.

He is a standout at Stranahan in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Rutgers (5-6, 2-6 Big Ten) hosts Maryland (5-6, 2-6 Big Ten) in the regular season finale with bowl eligibility on the line for both programs.

“I just like the energy up there, I like the great coaches, the players, just everything,” Williams told ‘Rutgers Wire.’

“I believe that program will be great.

“They’re progressing, they’re starting to get more players. Last year they won three games, this year they’re on track to win six or more…on that pace, they’re on track to be great in the next few years.”

He said that his recruitment is wide-open but that Rutgers along with Miami, Florida State, Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Georgia, Texas A&M, USC and Clemson are recruiting him the hardest. Clemson hasn’t offered yet, he says.

This year, he has made unofficial visits to Miami, Florida State and Georgia. He hopes to visit Michigan State, Oklahoma and Clemson sometime after the new year.

Family atmosphere is important to him, acknowledging that most programs offer a chance to get to the next level.

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Saturday’s game at Rutgers means less about getting bowl eligibility, Williams says, than “vibing with the coaches and players…seeing that last game experience and how it goes.” His interest in Rutgers seems to be legitimate.

As far as his recruitment at Rutgers, he said the bond being built with wide receiver coach Tiquan Underwood is growing. Underwood, a former Rutgers star, played for head coach Greg Schiano in the Big East and then the NFL.

“He’s the one I talk to the most,” Williams said of Underwood.

“Knowing that he played the position I play at Rutgers, played in the league, played for coach Schiano before in the league. That means he must know a lot.”