Burl Toler III - Assistant Coach, Passing Game Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator/Wide Receivers - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Burl Toler III

Title:
Assistant Coach, Passing Game Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator/Wide Receivers

Burl Toler III was named pass game coordinator, recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach for the UCLA football program by head coach DeShaun Foster on Dec. 20, 2024.

Toler joined the Bruins from California, where he spent his previous seven seasons. A graduate of Cal, he has 12 years – including 10 at his alma mater – of coaching experience. Toler also made stops at UC Davis and Fresno State.

Toler guided the Golden Bears’ wide receivers from 2019-2024, adding recruiting coordinator to his list of duties in 2022. Cal returned just one wideout to its stable in 2024, but his group still contributed to the nation’s 37th-ranked passing offense (258.6 yards per game). Leading the way was redshirt freshman Nyziah Hunter, who caught 40 balls for 578 yards and five touchdowns.

From 2021-23, Jeremiah Hunter recorded 144 receptions for 2,084 yards and 13 touchdowns across 33 games. He amassed 965 yards in 2022 alone, breaking the century mark four times. Hunter and J.Michael Sturdivant each posted top-100 marks nationally in receiving yards, receiving yards per game and receptions per game that year.

Four of Toler’s pass catchers at Cal – Trevon Clark, Kekoa Crawford, Nikko Remigio and Monroe Young – have earned spots in NFL training camps or on NFL rosters. Remigio hauled in 97 passes for 903 yards and seven scores across his four years (2018-2021) with the Golden Bears before landing on the Kansas City Chiefs’ active roster in 2024.

Patrick Laird starred during Toler’s lone campaign as Cal’s running backs coach, rushing for 961 yards and five touchdowns. Laird also set a program record with 51 catches out of the backfield, accumulating 288 receiving yards and matching the team lead finding the end zone four times though the air. He registered his first NFL touchdown as a member of the Miami Dolphins in 2019, his first of three seasons with the team.

As wide receivers coach at UC Davis in 2017, Toler oversaw Associated Press (AP) FCS All-America honoree and Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year Keelan Doss. Also a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the best FCS offensive player, he led all FCS and FBS wideouts in receptions (115), receptions per game (10.5) and receiving yards per game (136.3). The 1,499 receiving yards Doss put up led the FCS. He has played NFL snaps with the Raiders organization and the Los Angeles Chargers.

With Fresno State in 2016, Toler coached a group that featured three 45-catch, 630-yard wide receivers. Atop that trio was KeeSean Johnson, who put up 66 grabs for 773 yards and six scores. He has spent three years on NFL active rosters after being a sixth-round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019.

Toler got his start in coaching at his alma mater, serving as a quality control coach for three years after his own professional career was finished. His seven-year run (2006-2012) included stops in the Arena Football League, the Italian Football League, the NFL and NFL Europe. Toler was signed by the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2006 and later landed with the Washington NFL franchise.

Toler was a walk-on to begin his collegiate career, which culminated in the Berkeley, Calif. native helping his hometown team to a 10-win season and a No. 9 placement in the final AP Top 25 of 2004 alongside quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Toler piled up 69 catches for 873 yards and four touchdowns as a Golden Bear.

Toler’s father, Burl Toler Jr., was a four-year letterwinner at linebacker for Cal from 1974-77, taking on the responsibility of team captain in 1977. Burl Toler Sr. was part of the unbeaten 1951 University of San Francisco football team that declined an invitation to the Orange Bowl after its two Black players, including Toler, were not included. He went on to become the NFL’s first Black official and spent 25 years (1965-1989) in the role.

Burl Toler III and his wife, Drea, are the parents to daughters Lale and Lana and son Burl IV.

TOLER’S COACHING EXPERIENCE
2013 – Quality Control (Special Teams), California
2014 – Quality Control (Special Teams/Wide Receivers), California
2015 – Quality Control (Special Teams/Running Backs), California
2016 – Wide Receivers Coach, Fresno State
2017 – Wide Receivers Coach, UC Davis
2018 – Running Backs Coach, California
2019-2021 – Wide Receivers Coach, California
2022-24 – Wide Receivers Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, California