UCLA Hires Former Penn State Quarterback Billy Fessler as Offensive Coordinator

Billy Fessler began his football career as a walk-on quarterback for James Franklin's first Penn State football teams. When he returns, Fessler will be the offensive coordinator at UCLA. It's been a remarkable decade for the Erie, Pennsylvania, native who held for Penn State placekickers.

UCLA coach Chip Kelly recently announced Fessler as the Bruins' new offensive coordinator, replacing Ryan Gunderson, who left for Oregon State. Fessler spent the past two seasons with Joe Moorhead at Akron, where he coached quarterbacks and was the offensive coordinator in 2023. Moorhead, of course, coached Fessler at Penn State for two seasons as the Nittany Lions' offensive coordinator.

"Billy has earned a reputation for his attention to detail toward the quarterback position," Kelly said in a statement. "I look forward to seeing what he can accomplish on and off the field with our talented quarterback room."

Fessler, 28, played at Penn State from 2014-17 and has made a rapid ascent in the college football coaching ranks. He began as a graduate assistant at Slippery Rock in 2018, then joined Moorhead's Mississippi State staff in 2019. From there he went to Ohio State, spending two seasons as an offensive graduate assistant working with quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Justin Fields. Fessler reunited with Moorhead at Akron in 2022, landing on Kelly's radar after the 2023 season.

On his decision to promote Fessler to offensive coordinator, Moorhead said that Fessler had "played a major role in the improvement of our offense in every statistical category, while becoming one of the top-passing offenses in the MAC and NCAA. I’m excited to watch our offense and QBs grow under Coach Fessler’s tutelage.”

Fessler returns to Penn State on Oct. 5, when the Bruins visit Penn State for the first time since 1967. The following week, Penn State will visit USC, whose new defensive coordinator is former Penn State cornerback D'Anton Lynn.