LUBBOCK, Texas – Darcel McBath, one of the top defensive backs in school history with seven years of experience coaching the position at the power-five level, will return to his alma mater as a football staff analyst, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire announced Wednesday.
In his role, McBath will assist with Texas Tech's advance scouting, providing weekly analysis of opponents on both sides of the ball for offensive coordinator Zach Kittley and defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter. He will also "self-scout" the Red Raiders, identifying in-game tendencies on a weekly basis.
"We're excited to welcome Darcel and his family back home to Texas Tech," McGuire said. "With his experience, Darcel will be an asset to both our offensive and defensive staffs in this newly-created role on our staff."
A longtime assistant under the late Mike Leach, McBath returns to his alma mater following four seasons as the cornerbacks coach at Mississippi State (2020-23) and two additional years in a similar capacity at Washington State (2018-19). He began his coaching career as a quality control assistant at North Texas in 2016 before moving to Washington State in the same role the following season.
Mississippi State boasted two of its top cornerbacks in its history under McBath as he mentored both Martin Emerson, a third-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, and Emmanuel Forbes, the No. 16 overall selection of the 2023 NFL Draft. Forbes, a consensus All-America selection as a senior in 2022, ranked third in the country that season with six interceptions and set the NCAA FBS record after returning his sixth interception for a touchdown.
Prior to joining the coaching profession, McBath played five seasons in the NFL after being selected in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. McBath spent two seasons with the Broncos before moving on for one season with the Jacksonville Jaguars and two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers where he was a member of the Super Bowl XLVII roster.
A native of Gainesville, Texas, McBath was a four-year letterman at defensive back for the Red Raiders from 2004-08. McBath earned All-Big 12 first team honors as a senior in 2008 after leading the nation with seven interceptions as part of one of the top Texas Tech teams in program history. The Red Raiders finished 11-2 that season, rising to as high as No. 2 in the polls following 10-consecutive wins to start the season, including to top-ranked Texas.
McBath earned his degree in general studies from Texas Tech in 2008. He and his wife, Malorie, were married in 2013 and are parents to two children, Ansleigh and Duke.
McBath is one of several new additions to the Red Raider coaching staff in recent weeks, joining offensive graduate assistant Jackson Kimble, defensive quality control assistant Taylor Young and offensive graduate assistant Tito Overton. Texas Tech has also added two members to its personnel department in assistant director of scouting Wes Harwell and coordinator of on-campus recruiting Shelby Saul.
Kimble arrived at Texas Tech after previously serving in a similar capacity at Buffalo. A former offensive lineman at Baylor, Kimble began his coaching career as a student assistant for his alma mater in 2022. Kimble arrived prior to spring practices and works with the offensive line.
He will be joined on the offensive side of the ball by Overton, who will assist with the Red Raider wide receivers after spending the previous two seasons in the same role at Vanderbilt. Overton played collegiately at Buffalo before beginning his coaching career as the receivers coach at Franklin College and then Dayton. He moves into the position previously occupied by Trent Vasey, who has been promoted to an offensive quality control assistant.
This will be Young's third coaching stint at the collegiate level as he was previously a graduate assistant for Baylor during the 2019-20 seasons as well as a quality control assistant at North Texas for the 2021 campaign. Like many members of McGuire's staff, Young also has experience at the high school ranks as he served as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Richardson High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex the past two seasons.
Harwell, meanwhile, joins the Texas Tech personnel department after spending the 2023 season as a recruiting assistant at Nebraska. He will assist Texas Tech's personnel department led by general manager James Blanchard in identifying potential student-athletes as part of the Red Raiders' professional model.
Saul rounds out Texas Tech's personnel department as she will assist in coordinating campus visits by prospective student-athletes. Saul, the daughter of legendary Red Raider defensive back Tracy Saul, graduated from Texas Tech in May 2023 after serving as a student assistant in the personnel and operations departments throughout her undergraduate studies.
