University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Tino Sunseri Selected to Lead UCLA Football's Offense
December 12, 2024 | Football
LOS ANGELES โ Tino Sunseri has been named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the UCLA football team, head coach DeShaun Foster announced Thursday.
Himself a former quarterback, Sunseri has helped develop some of the nation's most productive signal callers in recent years. He joins the Bruins from Indiana, where he served as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach as the Hoosiers saw their total offense rate rise more than 100 yards per game from 2023 to 2024.
Sunseri will join the UCLA staff upon completion of Indiana's season. The Hoosiers were selected to compete in the College Football Playoff, set to begin Friday, Dec. 20.
"Tino Sunseri is a natural leader of young men and rising star in coaching," said Foster. "He puts his quarterbacks in positions to succeed and it shows when you look at their production. Players will feed off his passion for development and I can't wait to have him in our building."
IU tallied 10 wins for the first time in program history and has been slotted in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff Rankings since the list's initial installment. The Hoosiers are ranked second nationally in scoring offense, averaging 43.3 points per game. They lead all FBS programs with a team passing efficiency rating of 179.1, thanks in large part to quarterback Kurtis Rourke. Rourke has completed 202 of 287 pass attempts (70.4%) for 2,827 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Sunseri also had standouts under center as quarterbacks coach at James Madison from 2021-23, starting with CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year Cole Johnson. Johnson set JMU single-season records for passing yards (3,779), passing touchdowns (41) and completions (287) in 2021.
A move to the FBS level did not slow the Dukes' offense the next year, as Todd Centeio earned the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards after throwing for 2,697 yards and 25 scores with just four interceptions. JMU won its first 10 games in 2023, earning its first-ever spot in an FBS poll, and Jordan McCloud finished as the Sun Belt's Player of the Year. He ranked top 10 nationally in passing touchdowns (32, fifth), points responsible for (242, sixth), passing efficiency (167.3, ninth) and total offense (309.2 yards per game, 10th).
Sunseri was a graduate assistant on the offensive side of the ball for Alabama and head coach Nick Saban in 2019 and 2020. Working primarily with the quarterbacks, Sunseri aided the development of Heisman Trophy finalists and NFL first-round draft picks Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones. Jones set the completion percentage record (77.4%) in 2020, leading the 13-0 Crimson Tide to a College Football Playoff National Championship win.
On the heels of his playing career, Sunseri took his first coaching job in 2016 with Florida State. He served as a quality control assistant for the Seminoles until 2018, when he moved to Tennessee in the same role.
Sunseri made 39 consecutive starts at Pittsburgh (2008-2012), where he helped the Panthers claim the 2010 Big East Conference championship. He climbed the Pitt career record books to finish No. 2 in total offense (8,591 yards) and No. 3 in passing yards (8,590). As a senior, he posted the second-best passing yards total in school history (3,288) while tossing 21 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
A three-year stint with the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders included a Grey Cup championship in 2013. The following year saw Sunseri lead his team back to the playoffs as the starter.
He graduated from Pitt with a bachelor's degree in communications and a minor in history. Sunseri married the former Ashlyn James in July 2023.
Tino Sunseri is the son of Sal Sunseri, a coaching veteran of nearly four decades between the collegiate and NFL ranks. Sal helped Alabama (2009, 2011 and 2013) and Florida State (2013) to national titles and was a Broyles Award finalist in 2011. He was most recently defensive line coach at Colorado in 2023. Tino's brother, Vinnie, completed his sixth year of coaching and first as safeties coach at Washington in 2024.
SUNSERI'S COACHING EXPERIENCE
2016, 2017 โ Quality Control Assistant, Florida State
2018 โ Quality Control Assistant, Tennessee
2019, 2020 โ Graduate Assistant, Alabama
2021-23 โ Quarterbacks Coach, James Madison
2024 โ Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach, Indiana
Himself a former quarterback, Sunseri has helped develop some of the nation's most productive signal callers in recent years. He joins the Bruins from Indiana, where he served as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach as the Hoosiers saw their total offense rate rise more than 100 yards per game from 2023 to 2024.
Sunseri will join the UCLA staff upon completion of Indiana's season. The Hoosiers were selected to compete in the College Football Playoff, set to begin Friday, Dec. 20.
"Tino Sunseri is a natural leader of young men and rising star in coaching," said Foster. "He puts his quarterbacks in positions to succeed and it shows when you look at their production. Players will feed off his passion for development and I can't wait to have him in our building."
IU tallied 10 wins for the first time in program history and has been slotted in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff Rankings since the list's initial installment. The Hoosiers are ranked second nationally in scoring offense, averaging 43.3 points per game. They lead all FBS programs with a team passing efficiency rating of 179.1, thanks in large part to quarterback Kurtis Rourke. Rourke has completed 202 of 287 pass attempts (70.4%) for 2,827 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Sunseri also had standouts under center as quarterbacks coach at James Madison from 2021-23, starting with CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year Cole Johnson. Johnson set JMU single-season records for passing yards (3,779), passing touchdowns (41) and completions (287) in 2021.
A move to the FBS level did not slow the Dukes' offense the next year, as Todd Centeio earned the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards after throwing for 2,697 yards and 25 scores with just four interceptions. JMU won its first 10 games in 2023, earning its first-ever spot in an FBS poll, and Jordan McCloud finished as the Sun Belt's Player of the Year. He ranked top 10 nationally in passing touchdowns (32, fifth), points responsible for (242, sixth), passing efficiency (167.3, ninth) and total offense (309.2 yards per game, 10th).
Sunseri was a graduate assistant on the offensive side of the ball for Alabama and head coach Nick Saban in 2019 and 2020. Working primarily with the quarterbacks, Sunseri aided the development of Heisman Trophy finalists and NFL first-round draft picks Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones. Jones set the completion percentage record (77.4%) in 2020, leading the 13-0 Crimson Tide to a College Football Playoff National Championship win.
On the heels of his playing career, Sunseri took his first coaching job in 2016 with Florida State. He served as a quality control assistant for the Seminoles until 2018, when he moved to Tennessee in the same role.
Sunseri made 39 consecutive starts at Pittsburgh (2008-2012), where he helped the Panthers claim the 2010 Big East Conference championship. He climbed the Pitt career record books to finish No. 2 in total offense (8,591 yards) and No. 3 in passing yards (8,590). As a senior, he posted the second-best passing yards total in school history (3,288) while tossing 21 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
A three-year stint with the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders included a Grey Cup championship in 2013. The following year saw Sunseri lead his team back to the playoffs as the starter.
He graduated from Pitt with a bachelor's degree in communications and a minor in history. Sunseri married the former Ashlyn James in July 2023.
Tino Sunseri is the son of Sal Sunseri, a coaching veteran of nearly four decades between the collegiate and NFL ranks. Sal helped Alabama (2009, 2011 and 2013) and Florida State (2013) to national titles and was a Broyles Award finalist in 2011. He was most recently defensive line coach at Colorado in 2023. Tino's brother, Vinnie, completed his sixth year of coaching and first as safeties coach at Washington in 2024.
SUNSERI'S COACHING EXPERIENCE
2016, 2017 โ Quality Control Assistant, Florida State
2018 โ Quality Control Assistant, Tennessee
2019, 2020 โ Graduate Assistant, Alabama
2021-23 โ Quarterbacks Coach, James Madison
2024 โ Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach, Indiana
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