Colby Carthel

Early life

Carthel was born in Friona, Texas and was reared in West Texas. He attended Friona High School where he captained the football team and led them to a district championship during the 1994 season. He also went to the State Track & Field Championships for his high school, placing fourth in the discus throw. He graduated from Friona High School in 1995.

Playing career

Carthel played college football at Angelo State University. He started at linebacker for the Rams during his senior season in 1999 and helped lead them to a Lone Star Conference title. He was a four-year letterman and starter for the Angelo State, as well as a three-time Academic All-Conference winner. He graduated in 2000 with a degree in biology.

Early career

Upon graduation from Angelo State in 2000, Carthel began his coaching career as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Abilene Christian University, where he remained until 2006. In 2006 his father, Don Carthel, named him the defensive coordinator on his staff at West Texas A&M University. The WT program experienced significant success under Don and Colby Carthel and consistently landed top recruits, won championships, and went to bowl games and the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Texas A&M–Commerce

In 2013, Carthel left West Texas A&M and was hired as the 19th head football coach at Texas A&M University-Commerce. The program was coming off of two back-to-back 1–9 seasons, the worst two year stretch in school history. Carthel quickly established a new culture in Commerce that saw 50 of the 85 players leave the program. Carthel and his staff quickly plugged in the missing parts with mainly Junior College transfers and Division I transfers to quickly rebuild the program. Former Auburn University quarterback Tyrik Rollison, who had been considered the best high school quarterback in Texas in the class of 2010, transferred to Texas A&M-Commerce and was one of many JUCO and Division I players from the Dallas/Fort Worth and Northeast Texas area that transferred to A&M-Commerce to play for the Lions.

2013 season

Carthel and the Lions started his first season by opening with a home win again Sul Ross State University 51–6. The next week in front of 20,000 LSC fans at AT&T Stadium, Carthel's Lions upset the 22nd ranked Delta State. The next week Carthel the Lions faced off with his former team, West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas. The Lions stunned the crowd by jumping out to a 14–7 lead, but were bested by a prolific Buffalo team 68–28, and then dropped a 30–24 decision to Midwestern State the next week in Commerce. After a 2–2 start, the Lions rolled out 4 straight wins defeating Southeastern Oklahoma State 31–29, Texas A&M-Kingsville 41–28, McMurry 65–43, and arch-rival Tarleton State 22–20. The Lions rounded out the season by dropping a close loss to the Angelo State Rams 25–20, bouncing back against Division I Houston Baptist Huskies 55–21, and ending the season with a last second 42–35 loss to Eastern New Mexico. Despite the late season loss, the Lions were invited to the 2013 LiveUnited Texarkana Bowl to finish the season 7–5 overall and fifth in the conference.

2013 schedule

2014 season

Carthel's 2014 A&M–Commerce squad led the nation in points per game with an average of 54.1, and yards per game with an average of 535.4. They opened the season with a record-breaking performance against East Texas Baptist in which they scored 98 points and amassed 986 total yards of offense and 13 touchdowns. The win gained the Lions national exposure as it was reported on ESPN's SportsCenter that same night. The next day, head coach Colby Carthel was interviewed by ESPN's Linda Cohn in regards to the win. In that win the Lions set national and conference records for points scored, yards gained, and total offense in a game. The Lions also defeated A&M-Kingsville, Tarleton State, West Texas A&M, Angelo State, and Tarleton State a second time in the conference playoffs. The lone losses were to the Division I Stephen F. Austin State Lumberjacks, Midwestern State, and to Angelo State in a conference finals rematch. The Lions won the Lone Star Conference championship for the 21st time in school history, the first time since the 1990 season. The Lions were left out of the NCAA playoffs, but were invited back to the postseason, which resulted in a 72–21 win over East Central University in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl, the win was the first postseason win for the program since a 1991 win over Grand Valley State in the 1991 NCAA first round of the playoffs to finish the season 9–3. The 2014 team saw Ricky Collins, Vernon Johnson, and Charles Tuaau be called to the NFL.

2014 schedule

2015 season

Prior to the start of the 2015 season the Lions were picked second to finish behind Angelo State. The Lions started out with a win against Adams State followed by a loss to a top ten Delta State team in a last second thriller. Carthel then guided the Lions to their second straight conference championship with an undefeated conference record, and qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time since 1995, where they lost to the Ferris State Bulldogs in the first round of the playoffs, finishing 8–4 overall ranked #20 in the nation. The Lions were guided by former University of Nevada QB Harrison Stewart, Running Back Richard Cooper, Receiver Lance Evans, and Defensive Standouts Toni Pulu and Cole Pitts. Stewart threw for over 3,300 yards, putting him second all time for single season passing yards in Lion football History, while Cooper was an All-American and Evans, Pulu, and Pitts were all first team All-LSC Conference. The Lions led the conference in passing offense and total offense.

2015 schedule

2016 season

In the spring of 2016, Carthel was rewarded with a contract extension with options that would keep him Commerce until 2018. In his first three seasons as head coach he led the team to a total of three postseason appearances, two LSC championships, and seven or more wins in each season. He also helped lead a number of players to the NFL. Later that summer, it was announced that Carthel would have to serve a one-game suspension during the third week of the season in the game against Eastern New Mexico. This suspension was placed on Carthel due to some NCAA rule violations he had during his time at West Texas A&M for paying for a player's rent in Canyon, and for paying for a Doctor's appointment for another player's child.

Carthel's Lions started the season ranked 9th in the nation and picked to win the Lone Star Conference for the third straight year. All-American running back Richard Cooper returned for his senior season and was picked preseason conference back of the year. The Lions ran out to a 5-0 record to start the season, but lost by 1 point to Midwestern State in a back and forth affair in Commerce. The Lions then reeled off 5 straight wins and clinched their third straight LSC Championship after Midwestern lost to Eastern New Mexico in the final game of the season. The Lions once again were selected for the NCAA Division II national playoffs and hosted a first round game for the first time since 1991. The Lions defeated 24th ranked Colorado-Mesa, setting them up with the second ranked Grand Valley State Lakers. The Lions bowed out in the second round to the Lakers, ending the season at 11-2. Lions Quarterback Luis Perez was selected as a Harlon Hill Trophy nominee, while punter Hector Dominguez was first team All-American and offensive lineman Jared Machorro was named second team All-American. Return specialist Shawn Hooks and linebacker Uriah Harris were both named All-Region team and the Lions placed 8 members on the All-Lone Star Conference first team, including Cooper, Perez, Hooks, Harris, Dominguez, Machorro, Defensive lineman Tavita Faaiu, and Wideout Lance Evans. The Lions 11-2 season was the most wins for the Lions since 1953 and the first time the Lions had double digit wins since 1990. In December of 2016, TAMUC President Dr. Ray Keck and Athletic Director Tim McMurray announced they were extending Carthel's contract yet again, this time until 2020.

2016 schedule

Personal

Carthel is married to Sarah Carthel (née Butler), who is one of the Lone Star Conference's most successful volleyball players and coaches. Upon her husband's move to Commerce, she resigned her position at WT and became assistant head coach for the A&M–Commerce volleyball program. The Carthels have a one-year-old son named Major and reside in Commerce.

Head coaching record

Note*: Colby Carthel served a one game suspension during the 2016 season