Arkansas Head Coach Sam Pittman has hired Ronnie Fouch to coach the Razorbacks’ wide receivers.
Fouch joins the Hogs from Missouri State, where he was the co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach while also serving as the Bears’ recruiting coordinator. For the second straight season in 2023, the Bears’ running game was led by Kansas State transfer Jacardia Wright, who ran for a team-best 696 yards on 147 carries to go along with six touchdowns. Wright was one of seven Bears named All-Missouri Valley Conference, earning second-team honors after finishing fifth in the league in rushing yards per game (69.6 ypg) and fifth in all-purpose yards per game (96.7 ypg). Alongside offensive coordinator Nick Petrino, Fouch helped lead one of the best offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision with the Bears ranking in the top 10 nationally in multiple categories. Along with Wright, the offense featured First-Team All-America wide receiver Raylen Sharpe and Freshman All-America wide receiver Jmariyae Robinson and offensive lineman Cash Hudson.
Arkansas marks the third stop in Fouch’s career that he will work with offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. Fouch worked under Petrino at Louisville for three seasons as an offensive quality control analyst and was part of Petrino’s staff at Missouri State, serving as the Bears co-special teams coordinator and running backs coach.
In 2022, Fouch quickly molded Wright into one of the best running backs in the MVC. Wright earned All-Newcomer Team status in the league after rushing for 711 yards and nine touchdowns on 156 carries. He was the Bears’ first player to go over 700 yards rushing since 2014 and finished in the top 10 of seven different categories in the Valley. Fouch also served as the Bears’ special teams coordinator with his special teams unit led by All-America punter Grant Burkett and All-MVFC selections in kicker Jose Pizano, long snapper Caden Bolz and returner Montrae Braswell.
After sharing the league title during the 2020-21 season, the Bears earned a FCS Playoff berth for the first time in over 30 years thanks to a vastly improved running game in Fouch’s first season in Springfield, Mo. Freshman Celdon Manning earned All-MVFC honorable mention honors and was selected for the league’s All-Newcomer Team after helping the Bears to 111.6 yards per game on the ground – an improvement of nearly 40 yards per game from the previous season.
In between Louisville and Missouri State, Fouch spent the spring of 2019 coaching the quarterbacks for the Salt Lake Stallions in the Alliance of American Football. With the Stallions, Fouch coached former Arkansas QB Austin Allen, who served as the team’s backup that season. Fouch returned to the college ranks in the fall of 2019 as the tight ends coach at Florida Tech. The Panthers’ offense finished fourth in the Gulf South Conference, averaging 395.2 yards per game.
In three seasons at Louisville, Fouch worked with the Cardinals’ quarterbacks and special teams while assisting in recruiting. During his time working with the Cardinals’ QBs, he helped develop Lamar Jackson into the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and a first round pick in the NFL Draft in 2018. Fouch got his start in coaching at Georgia State, where he spent two seasons as a graduate assistant for the Panthers.
Fouch played quarterback at Washington for three seasons, starting eight games in 2008, before transferring to Indiana State. With the Sycamores, he started 22 games over two seasons (2010-11) throwing for 4,316 yards and 38 touchdowns.
He married his wife, the former Jenifer Abreu, in 2023.
The Fouch File
Birthdate: May 30, 1989
Hometown: Redlands, Calif.
College: Indiana State, 2012 BA, Criminology
Family: Wife, Jenifer Abreu
Coaching Experience
2013-14 Georgia State (Graduate Assistant)
2015-18 Louisville (Offensive Quality Control)
2019 Salt Lake Stallions (Quarterbacks)
2019 Florida Tech (Tight Ends)
2020-22 Missouri State (co-Special Teams Coordinator/RBs)
2023 Missouri State (co-Offensive Coordinator/RBs/Recruiting Coordinator)
