Tyler Sutton enters his second season at Idaho after joining the staff in the spring of 2022 as the Tight Ends Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.
In 2022, Connor Whitney was the third-highest receiver on the Vandal team, catching 30 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown. Jack Schuster, Dalton Cash and Jake Cox also caught passes for the Vandals from the tight end position. The production came even after expected starter Alex Moore went down with a season-ending injury in the first half of the season opener at Washington State.
In his role as recruiting coordinator, Sutton helped the Vandals recruit a top-10 recruiting class in the FCS as ranked by 247Sports which included over 40 incoming freshmen.
Sutton came to Idaho from San Diego where he was the Offensive Coordinator and Running Backs Coach for the last two seasons. In his time with USD, Sutton has been a part of six consecutive seasons of nine or more wins, eight conference championships, five FCS Playoffs appearances, and two FCS playoff wins.
He rose through the ranks at USD where he started as a volunteer assistant in 2013. Sutton was named the running backs coach in 2014 and served in that capacity through his tenure. Helping guide an explosive offense with a proven running game, Sutton has shown that player development is one of his greatest strengths. He has mentored at least one all-conference running back in each season, including three seasons with multiple Torero running back selections, as well as the 2016 conference player of the year recipient and FCS All-American, Jonah Hodges.
Sutton has contributed to the success of an explosive Torero offense, which ranked top-10 nationally in scoring offense in back-to-back seasons (2018, 2019).
He added the Special Teams Coordinator role in 2018. Under his direction, the Toreros were one of the most dominant units at the FCS level, producing back-to-back conference Special Teams Player of the Year recognitions (Michael Armstead, 2018; Tanner Kuljian, 2019). In 2019, the Toreros ranked highly nationally in several categories, including second in punt returns and fifth in punt return yards allowed.
On top of his proven coaching credentials, Sutton brings experience recruiting the West Coast, especially in his home state of California.
He was selected to the prestigious 35 under 35 coaches in 2022.
Sutton played at the University of Redlands during 2005-08 before a stint as a high school coach. He returned to Redlands as a Defensive Line graduate assistant coach in 2011 before being promoted as the Special Teams Coordinator in 2012.
Sutton and his wife Erin have one son, Brooks.
