TULSA, Okla. –– The appointment of former NFL receiver Ryan Switzer to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaching staff became official on Thursday, as announced by head coach Kevin Wilson.

Switzer, 28, retired from the NFL in July 2022 and begins his coaching career at Tulsa.  The receiver/punt returner was a fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

He played collegiately at North Carolina, where he caught 244 passes for 2,907 yards and 19 touchdowns in his four seasons (2013-16), while returning 99 punts for 1,082 yards and seven TDs.

As a freshman at UNC in 2013, Switzer led all NCAA major college players with an average of 20.9 yards per punt return. He accounted for five punt return touchdowns during the season and also had 32 receptions for 341 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. In his senior season, Switzer set a school single-season record with 96 receptions for 1,112 yards and scored six touchdowns. He left North Carolina as the all-time leader for career receptions (244), career receiving yards (2,907), career punt return yards (1,082), career punt return touchdowns (7) and single-season receptions (96 in 2016). His seven career punt return TDs was also an ACC record.

One of the most electrifying players in college football, Switzer received All-America honors as a return specialist during his freshman and junior seasons. He was also a three-time all-AAC selection.

A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Switzer made his NFL debut with the Cowboys on Sept. 10, 2017. He was traded to the Oakland Raiders in the spring of 2018 and then to the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 2018 campaign. He spent two seasons with the Steelers and one year with the Cleveland Browns before announcing in retirement.