Texas Longhorns legend secures new head coaching position.
Major Applewhite, a former Texas Longhorns quarterback, is getting another shot as a head coach.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel announced on Wednesday that Applewhite had been named head coach at South Alabama.
Since 2021, the 45-year-old coach has served as South Alabama’s offensive coordinator under departing head coach Kane Wommack. Wommack departed the program to become Alabama’s defensive coordinator under Kalen DeBoer.
Applewhite has done an excellent job transforming the South Alabama offense into a well-oiled machine. This past season, the Jaguars led the Sun Belt Conference in yards per play and second in yards per rush attempt. They were next to last the year before Applewhite arrived.
Under Wommack and Applewhite, South Alabama had their finest three-year run in program history. Since the pair’s arrival in 2021, the Cougars have gone 22-16. In 2022, the squad also won 10 games for the first time.
Applewhite briefly served as the head coach at Houston. He replaced the departing Tom Herman for the bowl game in 2016 and went 15-10 in his two full seasons as head coach from 2017 to 2018.
Houston started the 2018 season 7-1 and reached as high as 17 in the AP poll during the year. Applewhite was fired after a late-season collapse, culminating in a 56-point loss against Army in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Applewhite started at quarterback for Texas from 1998 to 2001. He passed for 8,353 yards and 60 touchdowns during his Longhorns career.
