Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and returner Ryan Switzer is reportedly joining the University of Tulsa’s staff as a wide receivers coach.
Switzer played collegiately at the University of North Carolina and wound up with the Steelers after being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 4th round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
A West Virginia native, Switzer played 25 games for Pittsburgh from 2018-19, bringing back 38 punts for 281 yards. As a wideout, he worked mostly out of the slot and later joined the Cleveland Browns, but didn’t see as much playing time there as he did in black and gold.
He retired from professional football last July, announcing earlier that month that he had surgery on his ankle. He was placed on injured reserve in each of his final two seasons with the Browns.
Tulsa’s first-year head coach, Kevin Wilson, spent the last six seasons as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Ohio State, where he worked alongside talented recruiter Brian Hartline.
Wilson sees some of the same capabilities in Ryan Switzer as he did Hartline, who wooed several high-end receivers and recently took over as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator.
It will be interesting to see if Switzer uses the job with the American Athletic Conference team to climb up the coaching ranks. Tulsa went 5-7 last go-round and missed out on a bowl game.
Switzer may be working with a bit of a young group as both of the team’s leading wideouts — Keylon Stokes and JuanCarlos Santana — were seniors.