UTEP Football Announces Lanear Sampson as Miners’ Co-Offensive Coordinator & Wide Receivers Coach

2/3/2026 10:37:00 AM

EL PASO – Third-year UTEP head coach Scotty Walden announced on Tuesday that Lanear Sampson will be the Miners' co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.

Sampson will reunite with Walden on the sidelines after serving as Austin Peay's pass game coordinator in 2022 and as the co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach in 2023. Sampson comes to the 915 from San Diego State, where he served as the Aztecs' pass game coordinator/wide receivers coach for the last two seasons (2024, 2025).

San Diego State struggled to a 3-9 mark in 2024, but rebounded with a 9-4 record in 2025, where the 23^rd-ranked Aztecs took on [RV] North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl. SDSU fell short in a 49-47 shootout. San Diego State averaged 26.4 points per game and 356.4 yards of total offense. Wide receivers Jordan Napier (48 rec., 629 yards, 2 TD) and Donovan Brown (33 rec., 518 yards, 2 TD) were the team leaders in receiving.

In his lone season as the co-offensive coordinator at APSU, the 10^th-ranked Governors posted a 9-3 overall record and a perfect 6-0 mark in ASUN play and a trip to the FCS Playoffs. Statistically, his offense ranked fourth in team passing efficiency (162.2), ninth in scoring offense (34.1 points per game), 11^th in FCS in completion percentage (66.7), 12^th in red zone offense (89.7 percent), 13^th in passing offense (274.1 yards per game, and 15^th in total offense (426.8 yards per game).

Austin Peay's quarterback, Mike DiLiello, would go on to be named the ASUN offensive player of the year and finished eighth in the voting for the 2023 Walter Payton Award. The play caller led a group of eight offensive players to earn all-United Athletic Conference honors, including a first team selection for wide receiver Trey Goodman and second team selection for wideout Tre Shackelford.

In his first season at Austin Peay, Sampson mentored wide receiver Drae McCray, who posted just the fourth 1,000-yard receiving season in program history with 76 receptions for 1,021 yards. McCray finished the 2022 season with 14 more catches and 253 more yards than any other receiver in the ASUN Conference. Overall, his receiving core had five players with multiple touchdowns all ranking in the top 10 of the ASUN.

Prior to Austin Peay, Sampson spent the 2021 season as an offensive analyst on Dino Baber's staff at Syracuse, assisting the Orange to the 16^th-best rushing offense (213.5 ypg) in FBS.

Sampon spent the 2020 season as an offensive quality control coach for Josh Heupel at the University of Central Florida. While there, the Knights had one of the best offenses in the nation, ranking second in total offense (568.1 ypg), fourth in passing offense (357.4 ypg), seventh in first downs (283), and eighth in scoring offense (42.2 ppg).

While at McNeese State, Sampson's receiver group was led by second team All-Southland Conference selection Cyron Sutton. Sutton hauled in 10 touchdowns that year and set the single-season record with 67 catches and recorded the second most yards in program history with 950. He also caught a touchdown in seven straight games, another McNeese State record.

As a player, Sampson was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He also spent time with the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers before he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League in 2015.

Before going pro, he was a key piece of the senior class that turned around Baylor's football program. Sampson helped the Bears reach three consecutive bowl games for the first time in school history, including back-to-back wins against Washington in the 2011 Alamo Bowl and UCLA in the 2012 Holiday Bowl.

Sampson finished his career fifth on Baylor's all-time receptions list (165) and 10^th in career receiving yardage (1,905). He caught a pass in 43 straight games from 2010-12 and earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors as a senior. Sampson had 52 receptions for 656 yards and six touchdowns in his final campaign to earn a spot in the 2013 Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Game. He was also a two-time Academic All-Big 12 selection during his time in Waco.

A Mesquite, Texas, native, Sampson earned a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Baylor in 2012 before earning his master's degree in instruction design, development, and evaluation from Syracuse in 2018.

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