Michael Lucas Huard (born October 1, 1979) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach who is currently the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

and

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

s coach for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

Playing career

Born in

Redmond, Washington Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 73,256 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. The city h ...

, Huard grew up in a football-centric family. His father, Mike Huard, was the head coach at

Puyallup High School Puyallup High School, commonly referred to as PHS, is a high school in the Puyallup School District in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (state), Washington. History Founded in 1890 as Central High School, the first nine studen ...

, where Luke played quarterback. During his senior year, he led the team to a 12–1 record and a berth in the state 4-A semifinals, earning honors such as Washington's Gatorade Player of the Year and honorable mention All-America. Huard played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

from 1999 to 2000. As a redshirt freshman in 1999, he appeared in seven games, starting four, and completed 29 of 75 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown. His playing career was curtailed by a shoulder injury sustained during the season.

Coaching career

Huard began his coaching career as the

and

s coach at Washington High School in

Parkland, Washington Parkland is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington. The population was 35,803 at the time of the 2010 census and had grown to 38,623 as of the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated suburb of the city of Tacoma and is home ...

in 2002. He then spent four seasons as the head coach at

Interlake High School Interlake High School (IHS) is a public secondary school in Bellevue, Washington, one of the four traditional high schools in the Bellevue School District. Its mascot is a Saint Bernard named Bernie, and the school's sports teams are known as t ...

, where he led the program to its first winning season in 10 years in 2004. Huard joined the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

from 2007 to 2008, working primarily with quarterbacks, including future NFL player

Jake Locker Jacob Cooper Locker (born June 15, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and was selec ...

. In 2009, he became the quarterbacks coach at Illinois State and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2010. Under his guidance, the Redbirds led the

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

in passing and total offense in 2012, averaging over 30 points per game and advancing to the FCS quarterfinals. Huard served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Georgia State from 2013 to 2016. During his tenure, quarterback Nick Arbuckle set multiple school and conference records, including 4,368 passing yards in 2015, earning

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

Student-Athlete of the Year honors. From 2017 to 2018, Huard held the position of co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Sacramento State. He then joined

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

as an offensive analyst from 2019 to 2021, contributing to the development of the Aggies' offensive strategies.

USC

In 2022, Huard was hired by

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

as an offensive analyst. Following the passing of inside receivers coach Dave Nichol, Huard was promoted to fill the role. He coached the inside receivers through the 2023 season, mentoring players like Tahj Washington and Zachariah Branch. In 2024, Huard transitioned to quarterbacks coach, overseeing the development of quarterbacks Miller Moss and Jayden Maiava. Under his guidance, the Trojans' offense ranked in the national top 25 in multiple categories, including passing offense and total offense. In February 2025, Huard was promoted to offensive coordinator while retaining his role as quarterbacks coach. Although head coach

Lincoln Riley Lincoln Michael Riley (born September 5, 1983) is an American college football coach and former player who is the head coach of the USC Trojans football program at the University of Southern California. Riley previously served as the head coach ...

continues to call plays, Huard's expanded responsibilities include overseeing the offensive unit and contributing to game planning.

Personal life

Huard comes from a family deeply rooted in football. His older brothers, Damon and

Brock Huard Brock Anthony Huard (born April 15, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies. Huard's older brother Damon also ...

, were standout quarterbacks at the University of Washington and both played in the NFL. Their father, Mike Huard, coached all three sons at

. Huard's nephew,

Sam Huard Sam Huard (born June 17, 2002) is an American football quarterback for the USC Trojans. He has previously played for the Washington Huskies, the Cal Poly Mustangs and the Utah Utes. Early life and high school Huard grew up in Bellevue, Washingto ...

is a current quarterback at USC. Luke Huard is married to Dolly Tan, and they have two daughters.

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bioSam Houston Bearkats bioWashington Huskies profileGeoriga State Panthers profileSacramento State Hornets profileTexas A&M Aggies profileUSC Trojans profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huard, Luke 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Puyallup, Washington Sportspeople from Puyallup, Washington American football quarterbacks Puyallup High School alumni North Carolina Tar Heels football players Coaches of American football from Washington (state) High school football coaches in Washington (state) Washington Huskies football coaches Illinois State Redbirds football coaches Georgia State Panthers football coaches Sacramento State Hornets football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches USC Trojans football coaches