Seth Doege is in his first season at Purdue, joining Ryan Walters’ staff in West Lafayette and serving as the tight ends coach.
Doege (pronounced DAY-ghee) spent the 2022 campaign with Ole Miss following three years as USC. Prior to being promoted to tight ends coach in 2021, Doege was an offensive quality control analyst for the Trojans in 2019 and 2020. He was instrumental in USC’s on-campus recruiting efforts, including playing a key role in helping the Trojans’ signing a highly-ranked 2021 class that features a pair of Top 100-rated quarterbacks.
In 2020, USC’s passing offense ranked 11th nationally (first in Pac-12) at 319.3. Quarterback Kedon Slovis made All-Pac-12 First Team, while ranking in the national Top 20 in completions (first), passing yards, total offense and completion percentage, all tops in the Pac-12. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown also was an All-Pac-12 first teamer.
In 2019, USC was in the national Top 25 in six offensive categories (completion percentage, passing offense, passing efficiency, total offense, third down conversions and first downs), while setting school marks for total passing yards, completion percentage, completions and attempts. Slovis was a Freshman All-American first teamer and the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year while completing a school-record 71.9 percent 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 national 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).
Doege arrived at USC after three seasons (2016-18) at Bowling Green, the first as a graduate assistant, the second as the receivers coach and the last adding special teams coordinator to his receivers duties. Wideout Scott Miller was an All-Mid-American Conference first teamer in 2016, while catching 74 passes for 968 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Doege played quarterback at Texas Tech (2009-12), starting his final two seasons. As a junior in 2011, he was 398-of-581 for 4,004 yards and 28 TDs, set an NCAA completions percentage record when he hit 40-of-44 passes (90.9%) against New Mexico and led the Red Raiders to an upset over No. 3 Oklahoma. As a 2012 senior, he completed 380-of-541 passes (70.2%) for 4,205 yards and 39 TDs (Top 5 nationally in passing yards, TDs, completions and completion percentage), passed for 504 yards in an upset over No. 5 West Virginia, threw seven TDs in a win over TCU, earned MVP of the Meineke Car Care Bowl and was a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award. His 69.0% career completion mark was a school record.
He spent the 2013 season on the practice squad of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, then played with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2014.
Doege prepped at Crane (Texas) High, where he started at quarterback as a freshman and sophomore, and Frenship High in Wolfforth, Texas, but knee injuries sidelined him for his junior and senior seasons.
He received his bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports sciences from Texas Tech in 2011.
He was born on December 18, 1988. He and his wife, Abigail, have a daughter, Leighton Flynn. His brother, Jarret, is a senior quarterback at West Virginia (he spent 2017 and 2018 at Bowling Green). His cousin, Kyle Herm, played quarterback at Rice (2000-03).