Football
Harrell, Graham
Graham Harrell
- Title:
- Offensive Coordinator
- Email:
- fbrecruit@purdue.edu
- Phone:
- 494.3224
Graham Harrell is in his second year as the offensive coordinator at Purdue after joining the program in December of 2022. Harrell also serves as Purdue’s quarterbacks coach.
Harrell has nearly two decades of experience working with and playing for innovate offensive minds like the late Mike Leach, Dana Holgorsen and Clay Helton. While being known as a disciple of the Air Raid offense as a player and coach under Leach, Harrell has showcased his ability to adapt the offense to feature the biggest playmakers regardless of position.
In his first season at Purdue, Harrell guided an offense that led the Big Ten in rushing in conference games (184.6 ypg). The Boilermaker offense rushed for 2,029 yards, the most since 2012, which included back-to-back 300-yard rushing games for the first time since 1968. Purdue’s 353 yards on the ground against Minnesota were the most by any Big Ten team in a conference game throughout the 2023 season. Also in that contest, Purdue scored seven touchdowns to join national champion Michigan as the only teams to score seven touchdowns in a Big Ten game. Devin Mockobee (811) and Tyrone Tracy Jr. (716) combined for 1,527 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. The pair of Boilermakers became the only Big Ten duo to rush for more than 500 yards apiece in conference games (Mockobee – 625, Tracy – 624).
Through the air, Harrell mentored fellow Texas native Hudson Card through his first season at Purdue. Card ranked third in passing yards per game, throwing for 2,534 yards and 15 touchdowns. Wide receiver Deion Burks emerged as the Boilermakers’ leading receiver, hauling in 47 receptions for 629 yards and seven touchdowns to earn Second Team All-Big Ten accolades. Burks’ seven receiving touchdowns ranked fourth in the conference.
Harrell arrived in West Lafayette after spending the 2022 season as the offensive coordinator at West Virginia. His Mountaineer offense averaged 30.6 points per game behind a balanced attack of 227.5 passing yards and 171.5 rushing yards per game. Harrell worked with transfer quarterback JT Daniels to throw for 2,107 yards and 13 touchdowns in his lone season at West Virginia. Offensive lineman Zach Frazier garnered First Team All-Big 12 Conference honors, while receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton was tabbed second team all-conference.
Harrell joined West Virginia following three seasons at USC. In 2021, USC led the Pac-12 and was No. 17 nationally in passing offense (298.3) and red zone offense (.902), No. 20 in third-down conversion percentage and No. 24 in total offense (443.9). Receiver Drake London was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on several All-America teams.
In 2020, USC's passing offense ranked No. 11 nationally (first in Pac-12) at 319.3 yards per game. Quarterback Kedon Slovis made All-Pac-12 First Team, while ranking in the top 20 in completions (1st at 29.5), passing yards (6th at 320.2), total offense (No. 13 at 310.7) and completion percentage (No. 18 at .670), all tops in the Pac-12. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown also was an All-Pac-12 first teamer.
In Harrell's first year at USC in 2019, the Trojan offense averaged 455.4 total yards (335.8 passing) and 32.5 points—significant improvements from 2018, when the figures were 382.6, 249.1 and 26.1, respectively—while ranking in the top 25 in completion percentage, passing offense, passing efficiency, total offense, third down conversions and first downs. The 2019 Trojans also set school season pass marks for total passing yards (4,365), completion percentage (71.0%), completions (365) and attempts (514).
Under Harrell's tutelage, true freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis was a Freshman All-American first-teamer and the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, completing a school-record and NCAA freshman record 71.9% of his passes for a USC frosh-record 3,502 yards with 30 TDs, including a school-record 515 passing yards against UCLA (one of a USC-record four games with 400-plus passing yards), to rank in the top 20 in completion percentage, passing yards, completions, passing efficiency, passing TD and total offense (his 167.9 passing efficiency rating was a USC record).
Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who won the 2019 Pop Warner College Football Award and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff and Witten Awards, was in the top 20 in receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs.
Prior to his three-year stint at USC, Harrell produced back-to-back top 25 offenses as the offensive coordinator at North Texas.
After inheriting an offense that ranked in the nation's bottom 25 in scoring, passing and total offense in 2015, he helped the Mean Green improve statistically in each category in 2016, including by 9.6 points per game. Then in 2017, North Texas was No. 19 nationally in scoring (35.5), No. 21 in passing (291.9) and No. 24 in total offense (455.1), and quarterback Mason Fine set school season records for passing yards (4,052) and TDs (31).
In 2018, UNT ranked No. 12 in passing (306.8), No. 20 in total offense (460.5) and No. 26 in scoring (34.6), with Fine throwing for 3,793 yards and 27 touchdowns with just five interceptions, wide receiver Rico Bussey Jr. catching 68 passes for 1,017 yards with 12 TDs and running back DeAndre Torrey scoring 15 TDs on the ground. Fine was the 2017 and 2018 Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, while Bussey Jr. was an All-Conference USA first teamer in 2018. Tight end Kelvin Smith, who played as an attached tight end and in the slot, completed 27 and 29 catch seasons in 2017 and 2018 to rank among the top receivers on the team.
North Texas also rushed for more than 150 yards per game in 2017 and 2018. UNT won nine games in each of Harrell's last two seasons and qualified for bowl games all three years that he was on staff (2016 Heart of Dallas, 2017 New Orleans, 2018 New Mexico) after UNT only played in one bowl the previous 11 seasons.
Harrell came to UNT from Washington State, where he worked for head coach Mike Leach as the outside receivers coach in 2015 after serving as an offensive analyst in 2014. The 2015 Cougars led the nation in passing offense (389.2), won eight games and won the Sun Bowl.
Harrell was a record-setting quarterback for Leach at Texas Tech from 2005-08, finishing his career with an NCAA-record 134 touchdown passes, the second-most career yards in NCAA history (15,793) and the third-highest career passing average (351.0). He also set NCAA career marks for pass completions average (31.2), as well as 400-yard passing games (20), games gaining 400-plus total yards (21) and seasons gaining 4,000-plus total yards (3). His career average of 486.3 passing yards against Texas was an NCAA record against one opponent. In each of his three seasons as a starter, his passing yardage figures placed in the top 25 all-time at the FBS level (21st in 2006 with 4,555 yards, second in 2007 with 5,705 and sixth in 2008 with 5,111) and he was the first player with a pair of 5,000-yard passing seasons.
In 2008, Harrell was an All-American first teamer, finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, was a finalist for the Walter Camp and Davey O'Brien Awards and was a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete. His 5,111 passing yards led the nation, and he threw 45 touchdowns with only nine interceptions while completing 70.6 percent of his aerials. Texas Tech went 11-2, including a victory over No. 1 Texas, and played in the Cotton Bowl in 2008.
Harrell played for the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2009, served as a quality control assistant at Oklahoma State for several months in 2010, before heading back to continue his NFL career. He played three years with the Green Bay Packers (2010-12), including on the 2010 Super Bowl XLV championship team and had a brief stint with the New York Jets in 2013.
He played for his father, Sam, at Ennis High, throwing for Texas career records of 12,532 yards and 167 touchdowns. He led Ennis to the state Class 4A title in 2001 as a sophomore. As a senior in 2003, he set state records for season passing yards (4,825), completions (334) and touchdowns (67).
Inducted into the Texas Tech Hall of Fame in 2020, Harrell earned his bachelor's degree in history from Texas Tech University in 2007.
Harrell, and his wife, Brittney, have a 6-year-old son, Hawk and a daughter, Mia. Harrell's brother, Clark, played quarterback at Tulsa (2007) and Abilene Christian (2008-10); Clark and his other brother, Zac, are now high school football coaches in Texas.
Harrell has nearly two decades of experience working with and playing for innovate offensive minds like the late Mike Leach, Dana Holgorsen and Clay Helton. While being known as a disciple of the Air Raid offense as a player and coach under Leach, Harrell has showcased his ability to adapt the offense to feature the biggest playmakers regardless of position.
In his first season at Purdue, Harrell guided an offense that led the Big Ten in rushing in conference games (184.6 ypg). The Boilermaker offense rushed for 2,029 yards, the most since 2012, which included back-to-back 300-yard rushing games for the first time since 1968. Purdue’s 353 yards on the ground against Minnesota were the most by any Big Ten team in a conference game throughout the 2023 season. Also in that contest, Purdue scored seven touchdowns to join national champion Michigan as the only teams to score seven touchdowns in a Big Ten game. Devin Mockobee (811) and Tyrone Tracy Jr. (716) combined for 1,527 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. The pair of Boilermakers became the only Big Ten duo to rush for more than 500 yards apiece in conference games (Mockobee – 625, Tracy – 624).
Through the air, Harrell mentored fellow Texas native Hudson Card through his first season at Purdue. Card ranked third in passing yards per game, throwing for 2,534 yards and 15 touchdowns. Wide receiver Deion Burks emerged as the Boilermakers’ leading receiver, hauling in 47 receptions for 629 yards and seven touchdowns to earn Second Team All-Big Ten accolades. Burks’ seven receiving touchdowns ranked fourth in the conference.
Harrell arrived in West Lafayette after spending the 2022 season as the offensive coordinator at West Virginia. His Mountaineer offense averaged 30.6 points per game behind a balanced attack of 227.5 passing yards and 171.5 rushing yards per game. Harrell worked with transfer quarterback JT Daniels to throw for 2,107 yards and 13 touchdowns in his lone season at West Virginia. Offensive lineman Zach Frazier garnered First Team All-Big 12 Conference honors, while receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton was tabbed second team all-conference.
Harrell joined West Virginia following three seasons at USC. In 2021, USC led the Pac-12 and was No. 17 nationally in passing offense (298.3) and red zone offense (.902), No. 20 in third-down conversion percentage and No. 24 in total offense (443.9). Receiver Drake London was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on several All-America teams.
In 2020, USC's passing offense ranked No. 11 nationally (first in Pac-12) at 319.3 yards per game. Quarterback Kedon Slovis made All-Pac-12 First Team, while ranking in the top 20 in completions (1st at 29.5), passing yards (6th at 320.2), total offense (No. 13 at 310.7) and completion percentage (No. 18 at .670), all tops in the Pac-12. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown also was an All-Pac-12 first teamer.
In Harrell's first year at USC in 2019, the Trojan offense averaged 455.4 total yards (335.8 passing) and 32.5 points—significant improvements from 2018, when the figures were 382.6, 249.1 and 26.1, respectively—while ranking in the top 25 in completion percentage, passing offense, passing efficiency, total offense, third down conversions and first downs. The 2019 Trojans also set school season pass marks for total passing yards (4,365), completion percentage (71.0%), completions (365) and attempts (514).
Under Harrell's tutelage, true freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis was a Freshman All-American first-teamer and the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, completing a school-record and NCAA freshman record 71.9% of his passes for a USC frosh-record 3,502 yards with 30 TDs, including a school-record 515 passing yards against UCLA (one of a USC-record four games with 400-plus passing yards), to rank in the top 20 in completion percentage, passing yards, completions, passing efficiency, passing TD and total offense (his 167.9 passing efficiency rating was a USC record).
Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who won the 2019 Pop Warner College Football Award and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff and Witten Awards, was in the top 20 in receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs.
Prior to his three-year stint at USC, Harrell produced back-to-back top 25 offenses as the offensive coordinator at North Texas.
After inheriting an offense that ranked in the nation's bottom 25 in scoring, passing and total offense in 2015, he helped the Mean Green improve statistically in each category in 2016, including by 9.6 points per game. Then in 2017, North Texas was No. 19 nationally in scoring (35.5), No. 21 in passing (291.9) and No. 24 in total offense (455.1), and quarterback Mason Fine set school season records for passing yards (4,052) and TDs (31).
In 2018, UNT ranked No. 12 in passing (306.8), No. 20 in total offense (460.5) and No. 26 in scoring (34.6), with Fine throwing for 3,793 yards and 27 touchdowns with just five interceptions, wide receiver Rico Bussey Jr. catching 68 passes for 1,017 yards with 12 TDs and running back DeAndre Torrey scoring 15 TDs on the ground. Fine was the 2017 and 2018 Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, while Bussey Jr. was an All-Conference USA first teamer in 2018. Tight end Kelvin Smith, who played as an attached tight end and in the slot, completed 27 and 29 catch seasons in 2017 and 2018 to rank among the top receivers on the team.
North Texas also rushed for more than 150 yards per game in 2017 and 2018. UNT won nine games in each of Harrell's last two seasons and qualified for bowl games all three years that he was on staff (2016 Heart of Dallas, 2017 New Orleans, 2018 New Mexico) after UNT only played in one bowl the previous 11 seasons.
Harrell came to UNT from Washington State, where he worked for head coach Mike Leach as the outside receivers coach in 2015 after serving as an offensive analyst in 2014. The 2015 Cougars led the nation in passing offense (389.2), won eight games and won the Sun Bowl.
Harrell was a record-setting quarterback for Leach at Texas Tech from 2005-08, finishing his career with an NCAA-record 134 touchdown passes, the second-most career yards in NCAA history (15,793) and the third-highest career passing average (351.0). He also set NCAA career marks for pass completions average (31.2), as well as 400-yard passing games (20), games gaining 400-plus total yards (21) and seasons gaining 4,000-plus total yards (3). His career average of 486.3 passing yards against Texas was an NCAA record against one opponent. In each of his three seasons as a starter, his passing yardage figures placed in the top 25 all-time at the FBS level (21st in 2006 with 4,555 yards, second in 2007 with 5,705 and sixth in 2008 with 5,111) and he was the first player with a pair of 5,000-yard passing seasons.
In 2008, Harrell was an All-American first teamer, finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, was a finalist for the Walter Camp and Davey O'Brien Awards and was a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete. His 5,111 passing yards led the nation, and he threw 45 touchdowns with only nine interceptions while completing 70.6 percent of his aerials. Texas Tech went 11-2, including a victory over No. 1 Texas, and played in the Cotton Bowl in 2008.
Harrell played for the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2009, served as a quality control assistant at Oklahoma State for several months in 2010, before heading back to continue his NFL career. He played three years with the Green Bay Packers (2010-12), including on the 2010 Super Bowl XLV championship team and had a brief stint with the New York Jets in 2013.
He played for his father, Sam, at Ennis High, throwing for Texas career records of 12,532 yards and 167 touchdowns. He led Ennis to the state Class 4A title in 2001 as a sophomore. As a senior in 2003, he set state records for season passing yards (4,825), completions (334) and touchdowns (67).
Inducted into the Texas Tech Hall of Fame in 2020, Harrell earned his bachelor's degree in history from Texas Tech University in 2007.
Harrell, and his wife, Brittney, have a 6-year-old son, Hawk and a daughter, Mia. Harrell's brother, Clark, played quarterback at Tulsa (2007) and Abilene Christian (2008-10); Clark and his other brother, Zac, are now high school football coaches in Texas.
