_(cropped).jpg) Switzer with theOakland Raiders in 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receivers coach & passing game coordinator | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1994-11-04)November 4, 1994 (age 30) Charleston, West Virginia | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | George Washington (Charleston, West Virginia) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2017: 4th round, 133rd pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||
| Career: | 0–1 (college) | ||||||||||||||
Ryan Switzer (born November 4, 1994) is anAmerican football coach and former professional football player who is currently the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator for theTulsa Golden Hurricane. He previously played as awide receiver andpunt returner in theNational Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He playedcollege football for theNorth Carolina Tar Heels, twice earning first-teamAll-American honors. Switzer was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the fourth round (133rd overall) of the2017 NFL draft. He was also a member of thePittsburgh Steelers, andCleveland Browns.
Switzer attendedGeorge Washington High School inCharleston, West Virginia, where he played on hishigh school football team, the Patriots.[1] As a Sophomore, he led the team in receiving and scored 12 totaltouchdowns (receiving, rushing and return combined), averaging over 110 yards all purpose yards per game for the No. 1 ranked team in the state. He finished his senior season with 206carries for 2,379 yards and 32 touchdowns; he also caught 20 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns and returned three interceptions for scores.[2]
In addition to football, Switzer participated inbasketball, helping lead George Washington to the 2011 AAA state basketball title as their startingpoint guard.
Also a standouttrack and field athlete, Switzer finished 5th as a Freshman in the 2010 AAA state track meet in the100-meter dash with a time of 11.19 seconds[3] and 6th in thelong jump at 21 feet 6 inches (6.55 m) and was the lead man on the 4×100 and 4×200 teams that won state championships. He was timed at 4.33 in the40-yard dash, completed the60-yard shuttle in 7.3 seconds and had avertical leap of 34 inches.[4] He committed to the University of North Carolina to playcollege football.[5]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Switzer WR | Charleston, WV | George Washington HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 168 lb (76 kg) | 4.52 | Mar 28, 2012 |
Star ratings:Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings:Scout:47 (WR) Rivals:22 (WR) ESPN:59 (WR) | ||||||
Sources:
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As a freshman at UNC (University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill) in 2013, Switzer led allNCAA major college players with an average of 20.9 yards perpunt return. He accounted for five punt return touchdowns during the season and also had 32receptions for 341 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.[6][7] On November 2, againstNC State, he threw a 59-yard passing touchdown toQuinshad Davis in the 27–19 victory.[8] As a sophomore in 2014, he caught 61 passes for 757 yards and four touchdowns.[9][10] On September 20, against East Carolina, he threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to T. J. Thorpe in the 70–41 loss.[11]
As a junior in 2015, Switzer recorded a team-high 55 receptions for 697 yards and six touchdowns and also returned twopunts for scores.[12][13] In October 2015, a controversial decision by theAtlantic Coast Conference negated a 70-yard punt return by Switzer, ruling that he had given an "invalid signal" before the return.[14]
In his senior season, Switzer set a school single-season record with 96 receptions for 1,112 yards and scored six touchdowns.[15] He left North Carolina as the career record holder in both receptions and receiving yards.[16]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| FBS record | |
| Led NCAA Division I FBS | |
| Bold | Career high |
| North Carolina Tar Heels | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Punt Returns | Kick Returns | |||||||||||||
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2013 | North Carolina | 13 | 0 | 32 | 341 | 10.7 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 2.9 | 0 | 24 | 502 | 20.9 | 5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2014 | North Carolina | 13 | 9 | 61 | 762 | 12.5 | 4 | 8 | 29 | 3.6 | 0 | 37 | 172 | 4.6 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 |
| 2015 | North Carolina | 14 | 10 | 55 | 697 | 12.7 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 0 | 22 | 302 | 13.7 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 |
| 2016 | North Carolina | 13 | 11 | 96 | 1,112 | 11.6 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 16 | 106 | 6.6 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 53 | 30 | 244 | 2,912 | 11.9 | 19 | 24 | 78 | 3.3 | 0 | 99 | 1,082 | 10.9 | 7 | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft8+1⁄2 in (1.74 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) | 28 in (0.71 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.51 s | 1.56 s | 2.63 s | 4.00 s | 6.77 s | 34 in (0.86 m) | 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) | 11 reps | |
| All values from 2017NFL Combine.[17] | ||||||||||||
Switzer was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the fourth round (133rd overall) in the2017 NFL draft.[18] He was the fourth of five North Carolina Tar Heels to be selected that year.[19] A hamstring injury forced him to miss multipletraining camp practices and the first two preseason games.[20][21]
On September 10, 2017, Switzer made his NFL debut in the season opener against theNew York Giants. In the game, his role was being the kickoff and punt returner. He fielded two kick returns for 42 net yards and one punt return for no yards.[22] On September 25, against theArizona Cardinals, he recorded a three-yard rush on the first carry of his career.[23]
On October 1, against theLos Angeles Rams, he fumbled a punt that the Rams recovered at the Cowboys' 18-yard line and led to a touchdown score five plays later, contributing to a 30–35 loss.[24] On November 30, 2017, Switzer had an 83-yard punt return against theWashington Redskins to score his first career touchdown, and the first Cowboys' punt return touchdown in four years.[25] Outside of the season finale against thePhiladelphia Eagles, he was not given much of a chance atwide receiver, finishing with 4 receptions for 32 yards.[26][27]
He led the team in both punt and kickoff returns.[28] He averaged 8.8 yards per punt return and was ninth-best in the NFL among 20 returners with at least 25 attempts. He averaged 25 yards per kickoff attempt and was third-best in the league among the 10 kick returners with at least 24 attempts.[29] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[30]
On April 28, 2018, after the Cowboys acquiredTavon Austin and drafted twowide receivers, Switzer was traded to theOakland Raiders in exchange fordefensive tackleJihad Ward.[31] He was acquired to be theOakland Raiders' return specialist, reuniting withRich Bisaccia who was hisspecial teams coach with the Cowboys.[32]
On August 27, 2018, Switzer was traded to thePittsburgh Steelers along with a 2019 sixth-round draft pick (#175-Sutton Smith), in exchange for a 2019 fifth-round draft choice (#158-Michael Jackson).[33] During the Steelers' Week 3 win over theTampa Bay Buccaneers, Switzer recorded his first receiving touchdown as a Steeler on a one-yard reception fromBen Roethlisberger.[34] On November 25, 2018, against theDenver Broncos, Switzer had six receptions for a season-high 67 yards during the loss.[35] He finished the season with 36 receptions for 253 yards, one receiving touchdown, 30punt returns for 252 yards and 30 kickoff returns for 607 yards.[36]
On November 14, 2019, Switzer was placed oninjured reserve with a back injury.[37] On December 26, he was designated for return from injured reserve, and began practicing with the team again, but was not activated as the Steelers failed to make the playoffs.[38] He appeared in 9 games and played only 81 offensive snaps. He registered 8 receptions for 27 yards, 8 punt returns for 29 yards and 9 kickoff returns for 166 yards.
In 2020, he was passed on the depth chart byRay-Ray McCloud during training camp, and was waived on September 5, 2020.[39]
Switzer was signed to thepractice squad of theCleveland Browns on October 1, 2020.[40] He was placed on the practice squad/injured list on November 10, 2020,[41] and restored to the practice squad on December 8, 2020.[42] He was placed on the practice squad/COVID-19 list by the team on December 24, 2020,[43] and restored to the practice squad on December 30.[44]
On January 23, 2021, Switzer signed a reserve/futures contract with the Browns.[45] The Browns placed Switzer on injured reserve on August 16, 2021.[46]
On July 18, 2022, Switzer announced his retirement from the NFL.[47]
Tulsa hired Switzer as its wide receivers coach in 2023, under new head coachKevin Wilson.[48] Tulsa fired Wilson with one game remaining in the 2024 season and Switzer took over as interim head coach.[49]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane(American Athletic Conference)(2024) | |||||||||
| 2024 | Tulsa | 0–1 | 0–1 | T–13th[a] | |||||
| Tulsa: | 0–1 | 0–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 0–1 | ||||||||
