Billy Fessler Tabbed to Coach Quarterbacks at UCLA
January 12, 2024 | Football
LOS ANGELES โ Billy Fessler, who has helped coach two Heisman Trophy finalists and current NFL starting signal callers in his young career, was tabbed to lead the UCLA football quarterbacks room Fridayย by head coach Chip Kelly.
Fessler most recently served as quarterbacks coach at Akron in 2022 and 2023. He was also elevated to the role of offensive coordinator for the 2023 campaign by head coach Joe Moorhead, who was Fessler's play caller during the final two seasons of his own college career at Penn State (2014-17).
"Billy has earned a reputation for his attention to detail toward the quarterback position," said Kelly. "I look forward to seeing what he can accomplish on and off the field with our talented quarterback room."
Fessler arrived at Akron after serving on the Ohio State coaching staff as an offensive graduate assistant, working with the quarterbacks and wide receivers, in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, the Buckeyes led the Big Ten in total offense (561.5 yards per game, first nationally), scoring offense (45.7 points per game, first), passing offense (380.9 yards per game, second), team passing efficiency (182.34, second) and third-down conversion percentage (.523, second), capping their season with a 48-45 victory against Utah in the Rose Bowl Game. Current Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who finished fourth in the 2021 Heisman Trophy voting, led the Big Ten and ranked top-five nationally in completion percentage (.719, third), passing efficiency (186.6, second), passing touchdowns (44, third), passing yards per game (369.6, third), total offense (367.9, third) and passing yards (4,435, fifth).
In 2020, Ohio State won the Big Ten Conference championship and topped the league in total offense (519.4 yards per game), rushing offense (256.9), third-down conversion percentage (.491), scoring offense (41.0 points per game) and team passing efficiency (175.56). The Buckeyes also ranked among the top 10 overall in four of those categories: total offense (seventh), rushing offense (eighth), team passing efficiency (ninth) and third-down conversion percentage (10th). Quarterback Justin Fields, who finished seventh in voting for the 2020 Heisman Trophy and is now with the Chicago Bears, helped Ohio State advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship contest and finished the season ranked among the nation's top 10 in passing efficiency (175.6) and completion percentage (.702).
Fessler spent the 2019 campaign at Mississippi State, where he was an offensive graduate assistant under Moorhead and became one of the youngest coaches ever recognized for the 247Sports 30Under30 list, at the age of 23. The Bulldogs ranked third in the Southeastern Conference and 21st nationally in rushing offense with a 220.6 yards-per-game average. Running back Kylin Hill equaled the school record with eight 100-yard rushing games and ranked 17th overall with a total of 1,350 yards on the ground. Hill, who earned a spot on the All-SEC First Team, finished the year with a per-game average of 103.8 yards to rate 22nd in the country. He won the 2019 C Spire Conerly Trophy as the best football student-athlete in the state of Mississippi.
Fessler was a graduate assistant at Slippery Rock during the 2018 season, working with the running backs. The Rock posted an 11-3 record and scored 30 or more points in nine games that season while advancing to the third round of the NCAA Playoffs. SRU, which won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West title, finished 18th in Division II total offense (458.4 yards per game) and 34th in rushing offense (202.7 yards per game). Running back Wes Hills compiled the third-highest rushing yards total in Division II with a school-record 1,714 yards, including eight 100-yard games. He ranked sixth in the nation among Division II schools with an average of 142.6 rushing yards per game. Hills was named to multiple Division II All-America teams and was voted MVP of the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, earning him an invitation to the Reese's Senior Bowl.
No stranger to the Big Ten, Fessler played quarterback and was the holder on place kicks for the Nittany Lions. A Dean's List student, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance in May of 2018.
Prior to Penn State, Fessler was a standout quarterback at Erie Cathedral Preparatory School, where he threw for 3,279 yards and 43 touchdowns as a senior. He helped lead Cathedral Prep to three district championships, as well as the 2012 PIAA Class 4A state championship.