NORMAL, Ill. - The NCAA's career pass receptions leader will bring his skills and knowledge of how to catch and run with a football to the Illinois State football team, as head coach Brock Spack announced Friday that former Purdue wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield has been named the Redbird football team's wide receivers coach. Stubblefield comes to Illinois State following a one-year graduate assistant coaching position at NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Series (FBS) member Eastern Michigan.
"Taylor had a tremendous playing career at Purdue and is a very bright and humble person," said Spack. "He wasn't always the fastest, biggest or strongest player but he was the best. He used his physical shortcomings as an advantage and was an extremely savvy player. I look for his football intelligence and his ability to coach student-athletes up to their highest athletic ability to be a great asset to the Illinois State football program."
Stubblefield has been impressed by the level of commitment and support he has found for the ISU football program, both on-campus and in the Bloomington-Normal community.
"Joining the Illinois State football coaching staff and getting to work for Coach Spack is a great opportunity for me," said Stubblefield. "From my short time in Bloomington-Normal, I've already seen the high level of commitment and support that ISU Athletics and the Redbird football team have throughout the community. The foundation and support for a strong football program are in place at Illinois State, and I'm honored to be selected by Coach Spack to coach the wide receivers."
Stubblefield coached on the same Eastern Michigan staff in 2008 that Illinois State assistant head coach/linebackers coach Jay Peterson served on as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. Stubblefield worked with the wide receivers while serving as a graduate assistant coach at EMU during the 2008 season.
Prior to his coaching stint with the Eagles, Stubblefield served as the wide receivers coach from 2007-08 at Central Washington.
Stubblefield had a storied career at Purdue under former head coach Joe Tiller. The 2005 graduate earned All-America and All-Big Ten honors as a four-year starter for the Boilermakers. He completed his intercollegiate career as the career record holder for pass receptions at the NCAA Division I level with 316 career catches.
Stubblefield ranks second all-time in the Big Ten Conference for career reception yards with 3,629 yards.
The Yakima, Wash., native was recently named to the Sun Bowl 75th anniversary team after he started in three Sun Bowls for the Boilermakers. During the 2000 Sun Bowl, Stubblefield tied a Sun Bowl record with nine receptions for a record 196 yards and two touchdowns while posting the most all-purpose yards in bowl history with 244.
After graduating from Purdue, Stubblefield went on to play professionally with the Carolina Panthers (free agent, 2005) and St. Louis Rams (free agent, 2006) , as well as with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League.
STUBBLEFIELD COACHING LEDGER
| 2009 - | Illinois State, Assistant Coach/Wide Receivers |
| 2008 | Eastern Michigan, Graduate Assistant Coach/Wide Receivers |
| 2007-08 (Spring) | Central Washington, Wide Receivers Coach |
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