Joey Fitzgerald enters his first season as wide receivers coach at ULM.
Fitzgerald spent the 2018 season at Florida, serving as a recruiting specialist for head coach Dan Mullen. The Gators capped off a 10-3 campaign with a 41-15 victory over No. 7 Michigan in the Peach Bowl.
He coached wide receivers under Ron Roberts at Southeastern Louisiana in 2017, working alongside current ULM running backs coach Joe Graves.
The Lions ranked third in the Southland Conference in scoring offense (34.8 points per game) and total offense (428.1 yards per game) in 2017. Fitzgerald also coached Phil Steele and STATS FCS First-Team All-American Juwan Petit-Frere, who led the nation in kickoff return average at 34.6 yards. Petit-Frere returned two kickoffs for TDs in 2017.
In 2016, he served as wide receivers coach, passing game coordinator and special teams coordinator at NCAA Division II University of Virginia’s College at Wise. The Cavaliers averaged 229.9 yards passing per game while posting their first winning record (6-5) since 2008. Placekicker Trent Martin, who made 13-of-17 field-goal attempts, earned first-team All-Mountain East Conference honors.
Fitzgerald coached tight ends at Eastern Kentucky in 2015. The Colonels ranked fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring offense (30.3 ppg.) and total offense (388.0 ypg.). Ben Madon, who earned team Offensive MVP and first-team All-OVC honors, led the league in receptions by a tight end with 34 for 456 yards and three scores.
He spent two years under Coach Mullen at Mississippi State (2013-14), including one season as a graduate assistant and one in the offensive quality control position. During his tenure in Starkville, the Bulldogs made back-to-back postseason appearances in the 2013 Liberty and 2014 Orange Bowls.
Mississippi State, which opened the 2014 season unranked, reeled off ninth-straight wins, including three consecutive triumphs over Top 10 teams (at No. 8 LSU, vs. No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 2 Auburn), and spent five weeks at No. 1 in the national polls. The Bulldogs won a school-record 10 games and rewrote the MSU record book, setting 22 single-season records.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fitzgerald launched his coaching career at Florida Atlantic (2009-12) where he started as a defensive intern before becoming a graduate assistant. As a GA, he worked with FAU’s defensive backs and linebackers.
Fitzgerald played quarterback at Hampden-Sydney College from 2005-08. He was a member of the 2007 team that claimed the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship.
Fitzgerald received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Hampden-Sydney College in 2009. He earned a Master of Education from FAU in 2012 and a Master of Arts in teaching from Mississippi State in 2014.
He and his wife Lori have a son, named Jaxon.
