University of Memphis Athletics
Tommy West Completes 2007 Football Staff
Mar 01, 2007 | Football
March 1, 2007
MEMPHIS, TENN. - University of Memphis head coach Tommy West announced Thursday afternoon that he has recommended Darin Hinshaw for the position of wide receivers coach to the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Hinshaw joins the Tiger staff after serving one season as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Georgia Southern under former head coach Brian VanGorder. In 2006, Georgia Southern ranked 27th nationally in total offense, averaging 359.9 yards per game.
Prior to arriving at Georgia Southern, Hinshaw worked at Middle Tennessee State for five seasons. He was the running backs coach his first two seasons, and was elevated to co-offensive coordinator in February of 2003.
"Darin has a great knowledge of the spread offense," said West. "He has been a part of this type of offense for many years. I am excited that we have our staff complete now and we can focus on preparing for the start of spring practice."
Under Hinshaw's guidance, the MTSU offense responded and consistently led the Sun Belt Conference and ranked nationally throughout the years. In 2001, the Blue Raiders had two of the top five rushers in the SBC along with the top overall rushing attack. Record breaker Dwone Hicks, who rushed for over 1,000 yards, finished the year as the nation's second-leading scorer. A year later, MTSU had the nation's No. 21 ranked rushing offense, a 1,000-yard rusher, and two of the top eight ground gainers in the Sun Belt Conference.
In 2003, the Blue Raider offense went down as the highest scoring unit in the Sun Belt Conference at 27.7 points a contest, including four games of 35 points or more. The unit ranked 37th nationally in passing efficiency and had the fifth-ranked receiver in the country. In 2004, MTSU led the Sun Belt and ranked 15th nationally in passing, while ranking 31st in the country in passing efficiency.
Hinshaw made his way to Middle Tennessee after serving on Mike Kruczek's staff at UCF from 1999 to 2000. A record-setting quarterback during his playing days for the Golden Knights, Hinshaw spent the 1999 campaign as a graduate assistant with the responsibility of coaching tight ends and assisting the head coach with the quarterbacks.
In 2000, Hinshaw took over the quarterback coaching duties - the first time someone other than Kruczek guided the quarterbacks since 1985. In that first season, Ryan Schneider threw for 2,334 yards and 21 touchdowns and completed 62 percent of his passes.
As a player, Hinshaw set numerous school records for the Golden Knights, including the career passing mark with 9,000 yards. During his time under center, UCF had a combined 28-16 record, including a 9-3 mark and an appearance in the I-AA playoffs in 1993.
Following his playing days at UCF, Hinshaw began his career in professional football. After a brief stint with the Cleveland Browns, he spent two years with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League, helping the Preds to the Arena Bowl where they lost to the Tampa Bay Storm in 1995.
In 1996, Hinshaw played quarterback and was the offensive coordinator for the Granite State Warriors of the Eastern Football League, which was made up of teams from New York and New England. Hinshaw inherited a team that went 2-8 in 1995 and led it to a 14-2 record and a trip to the national championship game.
Following a year in the EFL, Hinshaw went back to the Arena League to play for the Nashville Kats. After a short stay in Nashville, Hinshaw began his college coaching career at UCF.
