UConn has announced that Marquel Blackwell is joining Jason Candle’s staff as Co-Offensive Coordinator/QB coach. He spent the last two seasons at South Carolina as the RB coach.
Blackwell also coached RBs at Texas A&M, Ole Miss, West Virginia, and Toledo across his career. He was on Candle’s staff in the now-UConn head coach’s first and second seasons at the helm of the Rockets before joining Dana Holgorsen’s staff at WVU. He followed Holgorsen to Houston the next season to serve as co-offensive coordinator from 2019-2021.
A Florida native, UConn’s new QB coach also has held staff roles at his alma mater, USF and the University of Florida. As a player with the Bulls, Blackwell started at QB all four years, from 1999 to 2002, as the USF football program, launched in 1997, was transitioning from FCS independent to FBS.
In college, Blackwell faced UConn twice, though USF was not a conference rival until 2005 when it joined the Big East. His Bulls beat the also-transitioning Huskies twice, 21-13 in 2000, and 41-20 in 2001. Blackwell threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns, adding three more scores on the ground.
