The Denver Broncos have hired an up and coming assistant coach, Christopher Kragthorpe, as the offensive quality coach. That name may sound familiar to LSU Tiger fans, as his family have deep ties in Baton Rouge.
During his brief stint as a graduate student coach for the University of Georgia, he was already drawing up plays that obtained notice. Not bad for a brand new guy.
Had @Coach_Thorpe draw a similar play up for me at the @FootballUGA coaches clinic. Love this play. https://t.co/3qz6TWf0Nl
— coach erik kriebel (@erikckriebel) June 5, 2015
During his most recent stint at Louisiana State University, Kragthorpe was the offensive analyst. No doubt learning at the feet of his father, Steve. He was LSU’s QB coach and Offensive Coordinator before illness moved him up to his current position as special assistant to the head coach/chief of staff.
His brother Brad was a QB at LSU, now currently the offensive assistant at Utah State. Football obviously runs deep in this family, from playing to coaching. Their grandfather, Dave, played at Utah State University before becoming the head coach at Bringham Young University where he implemented a strong passing game. Later, at Oregon State University, he invented the, ‘Air Express’. Marvin Lewis played for and later coached under Dave.
Christopher's father also played college ball before transitioning to coaching at several colleges. During his stint as an NFL QB coach he guided the Buffalo Bills’ Drew Bledsoe.
The former OL for Wheaton College and Business major, Christopher Kragthorpe started his coaching career as a graduate assistant defensive coach for LSU before moving on to UGA and the other side of the ball. One could say though, that he's been learning coaching his whole life.
Most quality control coaches watch hundreds of hours of film, draw up plays and run the scout team. They give briefings on opposing teams, players and trends to the head coach and coordinators.
Having a young coach move up from the college level will benefit our new players transitioning from the college level to the NFL level. This could be an extra benefit to Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy and Paxton Lynch as LSU and Georgia run schemes close to what Memphis did.
He could be a good bridge and a shot of innovation since the NFL often copies what the college ranks do, especially in trick plays, doing the most with talent level, and thinking outside the box.
Denver recently hired Charles Gordon as his more experienced defensive counterpart. This duo should be an interesting and dynamic pair who will be working their magic behind the scenes.