MacIntyre Hires Kurt Roper As Quarterbacks Coach

BOULDER – Kurt Roper, a 22-year veteran in the coaching ranks, has been hired as quarterbacks coach at the University of Colorado, head coach Mike MacIntyre announced Wednesday.

"Kurt brings a tremendous amount of quarterback coaching experience and has tutored some of the great ones like Eli Manning at Ole Miss and Thaddeus Lewis at Duke," MacIntyre said. "He has great offensive knowledge and we are extremely excited to have a coach of his caliber on our staff to work with our quarterbacks."

Roper, 45, was previously an offensive coordinator for two SEC programs and another in the ACC. He most recently was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Carolina for the past two seasons and earlier in his career had worked with MacIntyre for six years when the two were coaching together at Mississippi (1999-02) and Duke (2008-09).

"My family and I are excited about coming to the University of Colorado," said Roper, who spent 15 of his first 22 years of coaching in the SEC and has helped his teams appear in 14 bowl games. "We are excited about the opportunity to compete for championships with the Buffaloes. Getting back with coach MacIntyre is obviously really appealing, we have a great relationship, have spent a lot of time together and I know how talented and how hard he works at putting together great teams. I am really looking forward to being a part of this group."

Roper tutored All-America signal-caller Eli Manning, the 2003 SEC Player of the Year and No. 1 overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft, during his six-years as the quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss (1999-04). After winning the Maxwell and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards in 2003, Manning has gone on to win two Super Bowls, was twice named the Super Bowl MVP and is a four-time Pro Bowl selection.

Another one of his quarterbacks, Thaddeus Lewis at Duke, spent six years in the NFL after a record-breaking career in Roper's offense at Duke where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2008-13.

Lewis finished his career as Duke's all-time leader in pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns. He joined Phillip Rivers as just the second player in ACC history to throw for over 10,000 yards.

In Roper's last year at Duke, the Blue Devils enjoyed a record-setting campaign as they won a program-best 10 games en route to capturing the ACC's Coastal Division championship. His offense set the school record for total touchdowns (60), while becoming the first squad in Blue Devil history to post 20+ rushing and 20+ passing TDs in the same season.

Under Roper's guidance, Anthony Boone finished his career as the winningest quarterback in Duke history with 19 victories, Brandon Connette became Duke's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns, while wide receiver Jamison Crowder established school single-season records for receptions (108) and receiving yards (1,301).

Quarterback Sean Renfree was selected to the prestigious AFCA Good Works Team before going on to be a seventh round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2013.

After leaving Duke, he was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Florida in 2014 and had a year-long stint with the Cleveland Browns as a senior offensive assistant coach prior to going to South Carolina in 2016. He helped lead the Gamecocks to the Birmingham Bowl in his first year in Columbia, S.C. and a eight-win regular season this past fall.

Roper got his start in coaching at Tennessee as a graduate assistant from 1996-98, working with the defensive and special teams' units.

After his six years in Oxford, Miss. with the Rebels, he went to Kentucky for the 2005 season as quarterback coach of Andre' Woodson, who went on to be a sixth round draft pick of the New York Giants.

From 2006-07 he was at Tennessee, where he coached the running backs. During that span, the Vols won 19 games, earned a pair of Outback Bowl berths and captured the SEC Eastern Division championship. In 2007, Tennessee's rushing attack was led by Arian Foster, who gained 1,193 yards on 245 carries, while scoring 12 touchdowns on the ground. Foster went on to lead the NFL in rushing yards in 2010 and rushing touchdowns in 2010 and 2012. Another one of his running backs at UT, Montario Hardesty, went on to be a second round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns.

A native of Ames, Iowa, Roper was a three-year letterman as a quarterback and defensive back at Rice from 1992-94. He earned a bachelor's degree from Rice in 1995 and a master's degree from Tennessee in 1998.

Roper and his wife, Britt, have one daughter, Reese, and one son, Luke. His brother, Zac, is the associate head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Duke.

Kurt Roper's Coaching History
2016-17 – South Carolina – Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2015 – Cleveland Browns – Senior Offensive assistant
2014 – Florida – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2008-13 – Duke – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2006-07 – Tennessee – Running Backs
2005 – Kentucky – Quarterbacks
1999-2004 – Ole Miss – Quarterbacks
1996-98 – Tennessee – Graduate Assistant

Kurt Roper's Bowl Experience
2017 Outback
2016 Birmingham
2014 Birmingham
2013 Chick-fil-A
2012 Belk
2008 Outback
2007 Outback
2004 Cotton
2002 Independence
2000 Music City
1999 Independence
1999 Fiesta
1998 Orange
1997 Citrus

Related Videos