Football
- Title:
- Assistant Coach (Safeties & Special Teams)
- Email:
- Ronnie_Wheat@baylor.edu
- Phone:
- 3058
Ronnie Wheat joined the Baylor Football staff in January in 2022 as the safeties coach and special teams coordinator.
A native of Vancleave, Miss., Wheat came to Waco to join Dave Aranda’s staff after two seasons as a full-time assistant at the University of Nevada. He coached linebackers in 2021, helping the Wolfpack lead the country with six defensive touchdowns. They also finished ninth in the country by forcing 26 turnovers on the way to an 8-5 record and a berth in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Under Wheat’s guidance in 2021, linebacker Daiyan Henley led the team with 103 tackles and four interceptions. He finished second on the team with three fumble recoveries and also recorded three tackles for loss en route to earning All-Mountain West Conference Second Team honors. Lawson Hall finished second on the team with 89 total tackles and earned All-Mountain West Honorable Mention honors.
In 2020, Nevada hired Wheat to his first full-time assistant role coaching safeties in Reno. Wolfpack safety Tyson Williams finished second in the conference in interceptions as part of a defense that finished third in the Mountain West with six interceptions. Williams also finished second on the team with 56 tackles and earned All-Mountain West Honorable Mention.
Before his time in Reno, Wheat spent seven seasons at LSU as the lead defensive analyst, including four seasons with Dave Aranda when Aranda was the defensive coordinator of the Tigers. Wheat’s time on the bayou culminated with a National Championship in 2019, after which he was hired as an assistant at Nevada.
In Wheat’s final four seasons at LSU, working with Aranda, the Tigers never finished outside the top-15 in the nation in pass efficiency defense. Additionally, they finished in the top-10 three times (2017, 2018, 2019).
The Tigers had an individual lead the conference in interceptions in each of Wheat’s final three seasons with the Bayou Bengals. Andraez Williams had six in 2017, Grant Delpit had five in 2018 and Derek Stingley Jr. had six in 2019.
In his seven seasons in Baton Rouge, the Tigers finished in the top-25 in total defense six times, finishing in the top-15 three times (9th in 2014, 10th in 2016, and 15th in 2013).
Prior to arriving at LSU, Wheat spent five seasons at his alma mater, Millsaps College, where the Majors won four conference championships. He began as a graduate assistant on offense for the Majors in 2008 before moving to the defensive side of the ball as a linebackers coach in 2009 when he was also named recruiting coordinator. In his time at Millsaps, Wheat coached seven all-conference selections and helped Will Hawkins win 2009 SCAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Wheat played both football and baseball at Millsaps. On the football field, he tallied 152 career tackles, 18.0 tackles-for-loss, five interceptions, and 4.5 sacks in 35 career games at linebacker. He was named to the 2007 All-SCAC First Team and 2006 All-SCAC Second Team. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in 2008 and his Master’s in 2009 from Millsaps.
Wheat and his wife, Tiffany, have a daughter, Ava Lanie, and a son, Weston Hayes.
