Troy University Athletics
JOHNSON'S JOURNAL - New Troy OC Adam Austin Bringing Explosive Offense, Energy to Troy Football
3/11/2026 4:57:00 PM | Football
To say this spring will be a busy time for new Troy University offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Adam Austin is a huge understatement.
Besides implementing his offense, learning personnel and generally fitting in with a new football program, Austin and his wife, Aubri, are adding to their family.
"We're expecting twin boys in April or May," Austin said. "After 12 years of trying to start a family, we've been blessed."
If he can duplicate past success, the Trojans will be blessed as well by bringing in the innovative play-caller.
Austin was hired in January after leading the highest-scoring offense on the FCS level this past season at Tarleton State in Texas, which averaged 42.4 points per game.
Austin will be installing an offense that has proven effective on all levels of college football.
"The name of it is the Veer and Shoot," Austin said of the offense. "It's a (coach) Art Briles system. He started this thing back when he was in high school and then brought it to Baylor. It's a wide-open spread offense that's RPO (run-pass-option) based. We have an aggressive downfield, attacking run game and match that with a vertical passing game.
"It really stretches the defenses vertically and horizontally, and then also in their run responsibilities and pass responsibilities. It puts a lot of stress on them to decide what they want to try and stop."
It's become a popular offense on all levels.
"I think there are going to be about five teams in the SEC that are running it now," Austin said. "You see run numbers are averaging around 200 yards rushing per game, and you're around 250-300 passing per game."
In two seasons with Austin as offensive coordinator at Tarleton State, the team averaged 36.6 points and 436.7 yards per game. He says the offense isn't overly complicated.
"There's a learning curve in the beginning, but you do it every day," Austin said. "When it's your bread-and-butter and it's your base … what you believe in and do every day … it becomes second nature. You allow your guys not to have to think as much and play fast and play free."
Playing at the college level
Austin was a walk-on quarterback at Arizona. He eventually earned a scholarship and saw spot duty with a couple of starts during his final two seasons with the Wildcats (2005-06).
"I had to go above and beyond and work my tail off to even get a sniff at being able to play, so I wanted to make sure I was the most prepared on the field so that when I did get my chance, I just had to show that I could do it physically," Austin said.
College football wasn't on Austin's radar early in his high school football career in Mundelein, Illinois.
"I grew up basketball-baseball, and football was what I did for fun," Austin said. "It was my high school coaches who told me, 'Hey, you're 6-3, 200 pounds and can freaking sling it … you're going to go the furthest in football.'
"Our OC my junior year was Willie Snead … he played at Florida … and he took us to a game of Florida against Auburn, and I saw Rex Grossman (Florida QB) play and I'm like, 'I look just like Rex - I can throw it like him and I can play here.' Then our O-line coach, who played at Iowa, took us to a game at Iowa and I was like, 'I want to play in front of this many people … I feel like this is where I can play.'
"I had an offer to Eastern Illinois and then some D-III schools in the area. I didn't commit to Eastern Illinois … I was naive to the recruiting process and didn't commit when they needed me to … so I was in the spring of my senior year, not having a place to go yet.
"I had walk-on opportunities to Florida and Iowa. I grew up with a stepdad, and a lot of his family lived in Tucson, Arizona. His nephew played for the hockey team (University of Arizona), so we go down there for spring break, and I bring my highlight tape with me, and I walk into the football office.
"Sure enough, Coach (John, Arizona head football coach) Mackovic was there with Rick Dykes (offensive coordinator), and they sat down and looked at my film and told me, 'Well, if you can get into school, you have a spot here.'
"I was a ninth-string, walk-on QB going into camp as a freshman."
Getting a chance
Two years later, Mackovic was fired, and Mike Stoops was in as the new coach at Arizona.
"We get to the spring of my redshirt sophomore year, and I'm the only healthy quarterback," Austin said. "Some quarterbacks had transferred and another one had back surgery, so I was the only healthy quarterback going through spring ball. I wasn't even on scholarship yet.
"I did really well that spring and got put on scholarship. My junior year, I played a little bit off and on. My senior year, same thing. Willie Tuitama was the starter, and he got hurt, and I would come in. I started against Stanford and I got hurt. So it was a rotational thing with the quarterbacks. I did finally get to start some games my senior year."
Kasey Dunn, the running backs coach at Arizona, saw something more in Austin.
"He's like, 'Man, do you ever think about coaching? You're going to be a helluva coach one day,'" Austin remembers. "I had never really thought about it, but that stuck with me and made me think.
"When I got done playing, I had a couple of private workouts with some NFL teams, but that's as far as that went. I was told if you want to continue this thing, go play in a developmental league or in arena ball, or something like that.
"I tried that for about a year. I made a team in Houston in what was called the All-American Football League, but that league never even got off the ground. Then I went and worked out with the Arizona Rattlers (Arena Football League) and made that team, but then the Arena League in 2007 disbanded for a year to renegotiate contracts and restructure, so I'm sitting there like, 'This is a sign that I probably need to get into coaching.'"
Paying his coaching dues
Austin got his first coaching opportunity as a graduate assistant - spending his first season at Grambling State and the next two at Marshall coaching tight ends, quarterbacks and wide receivers.
He got his first full time job as quarterbacks coach for Midwestern State on the Division II level in 2011 and was promoted to offensive coordinator two years later, serving in that role for six seasons.
In 2019, Austin was hired as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Kentucky, where he stayed for one season before leaving for Garden City Community College. He never coached a game there because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled the season.
He next signed on to coach at Missouri Southern State, but only coached through the spring before landing at Tarleton State, where he spent five seasons.
While it was Dunn who first put the bug in Austin's ear about coaching, Arizona offensive coordinator Mike Canales became his mentor.
"He was like a father to me and still is to this day," Austin said. "He instilled so much confidence in us and that's a big reason I was able to play at Arizona because he helped me with my confidence, and being able to block out the noise and all that sort of stuff. He was a critical piece of that and I'm still instilling that into my players."
Coming to Troy
Though he had never stepped foot on Troy's campus before being hired, Austin was familiar with the program.
"I know you can win here," Austin said. "I know it's a very talent-rich area. I'm coming from a talent-rich area, too, in Texas, but some of the best players on our roster at Tarleton were from this six-area radius from around here."
He was also impressed with the progress head coach Gerad Parker had made in the Troy program over a two-year span. The Trojans finished 4-8 in 2024 and 8-6 last season, which included a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game and Salute to Veterans Bowl.
"I did my research and called around," Austin said. "I heard about how he has developed his program and what he (Parker) believes in.
"Being a relationship builder - I'm a huge believer in that. That's how I've always done things … really being involved in your players' lives and getting to know them. And that's really what his (Parker) core values start with.
"And then seeing the improvement from year one to year two."
Goals for the spring
Austin was asked what he hopes to accomplish during spring drills.
"First and foremost, it all starts up front with the offensive line - playing physical and playing fast," Austin replied. "Then, just gaining confidence within the system through repetitions so we can do a better job evaluating who we've got and what kind of players we've got … who can make the plays. And then who can play consistently at the quarterback position."
The Trojans are blessed to have some veterans returning in the quarterback room, including seniors Goose Crowder and Tucker Kilcrease.
"That's huge," Austin said. "They have snaps under their belt and have that experience returning, especially with two guys (Crowder and Kilcrease). We had that last year at Tarleton State, where I had two seniors who had been in the program. Our backup last year at Tarleton could have gotten into the portal, gone anywhere, and started in the FCS, or maybe even the G5.
"If you've got a good culture and good relationships with your players and they're having fun, they'll choose to stay. That doesn't always happen, but another part that attracted me to Troy was the retention here. Coaches can say their culture is all good and stuff, but in this day and age, when you see you're able to retain players, that backs that statement up."
Austin has been encouraged by what he saw in winter workouts.
"I don't hear anybody complaining," Austin said. "They're working hard and asking extra questions on their own. They're hungry to learn and excited about the direction that the offense is going. I think it's really going to fit this style of players that we've got."
And after fighting for every opportunity he got as a college player, Austin is ready to give everyone a fair look.
"No question," Austin said. "That's just my coaching style. I'm going to coach everybody the same as far as how much time I try to put into them.
"I don't see a walk-on from a scholarship guy being any different as far as how it's my job to develop them."
The Trojans opened spring practices this week and will conclude with the annual T-Day intrasquad game on April 18.
Besides implementing his offense, learning personnel and generally fitting in with a new football program, Austin and his wife, Aubri, are adding to their family.
"We're expecting twin boys in April or May," Austin said. "After 12 years of trying to start a family, we've been blessed."
If he can duplicate past success, the Trojans will be blessed as well by bringing in the innovative play-caller.
Austin was hired in January after leading the highest-scoring offense on the FCS level this past season at Tarleton State in Texas, which averaged 42.4 points per game.
Austin will be installing an offense that has proven effective on all levels of college football.
"The name of it is the Veer and Shoot," Austin said of the offense. "It's a (coach) Art Briles system. He started this thing back when he was in high school and then brought it to Baylor. It's a wide-open spread offense that's RPO (run-pass-option) based. We have an aggressive downfield, attacking run game and match that with a vertical passing game.
"It really stretches the defenses vertically and horizontally, and then also in their run responsibilities and pass responsibilities. It puts a lot of stress on them to decide what they want to try and stop."
It's become a popular offense on all levels.
"I think there are going to be about five teams in the SEC that are running it now," Austin said. "You see run numbers are averaging around 200 yards rushing per game, and you're around 250-300 passing per game."
In two seasons with Austin as offensive coordinator at Tarleton State, the team averaged 36.6 points and 436.7 yards per game. He says the offense isn't overly complicated.
"There's a learning curve in the beginning, but you do it every day," Austin said. "When it's your bread-and-butter and it's your base … what you believe in and do every day … it becomes second nature. You allow your guys not to have to think as much and play fast and play free."
Playing at the college level
Austin was a walk-on quarterback at Arizona. He eventually earned a scholarship and saw spot duty with a couple of starts during his final two seasons with the Wildcats (2005-06).
"I had to go above and beyond and work my tail off to even get a sniff at being able to play, so I wanted to make sure I was the most prepared on the field so that when I did get my chance, I just had to show that I could do it physically," Austin said.
College football wasn't on Austin's radar early in his high school football career in Mundelein, Illinois.
"I grew up basketball-baseball, and football was what I did for fun," Austin said. "It was my high school coaches who told me, 'Hey, you're 6-3, 200 pounds and can freaking sling it … you're going to go the furthest in football.'
"Our OC my junior year was Willie Snead … he played at Florida … and he took us to a game of Florida against Auburn, and I saw Rex Grossman (Florida QB) play and I'm like, 'I look just like Rex - I can throw it like him and I can play here.' Then our O-line coach, who played at Iowa, took us to a game at Iowa and I was like, 'I want to play in front of this many people … I feel like this is where I can play.'
"I had an offer to Eastern Illinois and then some D-III schools in the area. I didn't commit to Eastern Illinois … I was naive to the recruiting process and didn't commit when they needed me to … so I was in the spring of my senior year, not having a place to go yet.
"I had walk-on opportunities to Florida and Iowa. I grew up with a stepdad, and a lot of his family lived in Tucson, Arizona. His nephew played for the hockey team (University of Arizona), so we go down there for spring break, and I bring my highlight tape with me, and I walk into the football office.
"Sure enough, Coach (John, Arizona head football coach) Mackovic was there with Rick Dykes (offensive coordinator), and they sat down and looked at my film and told me, 'Well, if you can get into school, you have a spot here.'
"I was a ninth-string, walk-on QB going into camp as a freshman."
Getting a chance
Two years later, Mackovic was fired, and Mike Stoops was in as the new coach at Arizona.
"We get to the spring of my redshirt sophomore year, and I'm the only healthy quarterback," Austin said. "Some quarterbacks had transferred and another one had back surgery, so I was the only healthy quarterback going through spring ball. I wasn't even on scholarship yet.
"I did really well that spring and got put on scholarship. My junior year, I played a little bit off and on. My senior year, same thing. Willie Tuitama was the starter, and he got hurt, and I would come in. I started against Stanford and I got hurt. So it was a rotational thing with the quarterbacks. I did finally get to start some games my senior year."
Kasey Dunn, the running backs coach at Arizona, saw something more in Austin.
"He's like, 'Man, do you ever think about coaching? You're going to be a helluva coach one day,'" Austin remembers. "I had never really thought about it, but that stuck with me and made me think.
"When I got done playing, I had a couple of private workouts with some NFL teams, but that's as far as that went. I was told if you want to continue this thing, go play in a developmental league or in arena ball, or something like that.
"I tried that for about a year. I made a team in Houston in what was called the All-American Football League, but that league never even got off the ground. Then I went and worked out with the Arizona Rattlers (Arena Football League) and made that team, but then the Arena League in 2007 disbanded for a year to renegotiate contracts and restructure, so I'm sitting there like, 'This is a sign that I probably need to get into coaching.'"
Paying his coaching dues
Austin got his first coaching opportunity as a graduate assistant - spending his first season at Grambling State and the next two at Marshall coaching tight ends, quarterbacks and wide receivers.
He got his first full time job as quarterbacks coach for Midwestern State on the Division II level in 2011 and was promoted to offensive coordinator two years later, serving in that role for six seasons.
In 2019, Austin was hired as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Kentucky, where he stayed for one season before leaving for Garden City Community College. He never coached a game there because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled the season.
He next signed on to coach at Missouri Southern State, but only coached through the spring before landing at Tarleton State, where he spent five seasons.
While it was Dunn who first put the bug in Austin's ear about coaching, Arizona offensive coordinator Mike Canales became his mentor.
"He was like a father to me and still is to this day," Austin said. "He instilled so much confidence in us and that's a big reason I was able to play at Arizona because he helped me with my confidence, and being able to block out the noise and all that sort of stuff. He was a critical piece of that and I'm still instilling that into my players."
Coming to Troy
Though he had never stepped foot on Troy's campus before being hired, Austin was familiar with the program.
"I know you can win here," Austin said. "I know it's a very talent-rich area. I'm coming from a talent-rich area, too, in Texas, but some of the best players on our roster at Tarleton were from this six-area radius from around here."
He was also impressed with the progress head coach Gerad Parker had made in the Troy program over a two-year span. The Trojans finished 4-8 in 2024 and 8-6 last season, which included a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game and Salute to Veterans Bowl.
"I did my research and called around," Austin said. "I heard about how he has developed his program and what he (Parker) believes in.
"Being a relationship builder - I'm a huge believer in that. That's how I've always done things … really being involved in your players' lives and getting to know them. And that's really what his (Parker) core values start with.
"And then seeing the improvement from year one to year two."
Goals for the spring
Austin was asked what he hopes to accomplish during spring drills.
"First and foremost, it all starts up front with the offensive line - playing physical and playing fast," Austin replied. "Then, just gaining confidence within the system through repetitions so we can do a better job evaluating who we've got and what kind of players we've got … who can make the plays. And then who can play consistently at the quarterback position."
The Trojans are blessed to have some veterans returning in the quarterback room, including seniors Goose Crowder and Tucker Kilcrease.
"That's huge," Austin said. "They have snaps under their belt and have that experience returning, especially with two guys (Crowder and Kilcrease). We had that last year at Tarleton State, where I had two seniors who had been in the program. Our backup last year at Tarleton could have gotten into the portal, gone anywhere, and started in the FCS, or maybe even the G5.
"If you've got a good culture and good relationships with your players and they're having fun, they'll choose to stay. That doesn't always happen, but another part that attracted me to Troy was the retention here. Coaches can say their culture is all good and stuff, but in this day and age, when you see you're able to retain players, that backs that statement up."
Austin has been encouraged by what he saw in winter workouts.
"I don't hear anybody complaining," Austin said. "They're working hard and asking extra questions on their own. They're hungry to learn and excited about the direction that the offense is going. I think it's really going to fit this style of players that we've got."
And after fighting for every opportunity he got as a college player, Austin is ready to give everyone a fair look.
"No question," Austin said. "That's just my coaching style. I'm going to coach everybody the same as far as how much time I try to put into them.
"I don't see a walk-on from a scholarship guy being any different as far as how it's my job to develop them."
The Trojans opened spring practices this week and will conclude with the annual T-Day intrasquad game on April 18.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
QB
/ FootballGerad Parker - Spring Practice Day Two
Wednesday, March 11
Evan Crenshaw - Day Two Spring Practice
Wednesday, March 11
Skylar Meade Postgame - Alabama
Wednesday, March 11
Player Postgame Press Conference (Ella Cunningham, Jasmine Lawrence)
Wednesday, March 11