After being announced as the first Head Coach in program history on January 9, 2015, Justin Carrigan enters his seventh season in charge of UT Permian Basin Football.
Coming off a sensational spring, the Falcons put together their best fall in program history. The Falcons started 4-1 and went to the first bowl game in the program's young history. The Falcons earned their biggest win when they routed West Texas A&M 42-31, who at the time had been receiving votes in a national poll. While they didn't crack the top 25, the Falcons did receive national votes for the first time in program history.
After COVID forced the Falcons to go on the road on short notice to open the season, the team beat Southwest Baptist. In their home opener against West Texas A&M, Carrigan had the Falcon offense humming. Clayton Roberts came within a score of tying the Lone Star Conference record with six touchdown passes in the win. In October the Falcons set the record for largest margin of victory, most points in a game, and pitched the first shutout in a 75-0 win over Lincoln (CA). In their postseason bowl game, the Falcons held one of the best offenses in the nation to just 24 points in the Fun Town RV Heritage Bowl.
After the season MJ Link earned All-LSC First Team honors at wide receiver while Carson Roberts was named to the Second Team at punter. Earning All-LSC honorable mentions were Jayvon Davis, Kobe Robinson, Matt Zubiate, La'Daidreain Glasker, Miquon Mayes, and Jaques Tyler.
The Falcons turned heads in the spring of 2021, completing a perfect 5-0 season while setting numerous program records and firsts. The 5-0 season was the first undefeated season in program history and first time the Falcons started 5-0 in a season. The five wins are the most in a single season, and the team’s two road wins were the most in a season. The Falcons defeated Midwestern State for the first time in the program’s first ever overtime contest to cap off the season in dramatic fashion. The Falcons also beat a Texas institution on the road for the first time in a 17-2 win over Texas A&M - Kingsville.
On the field, Carrigan led his most efficient offense as the Falcons scored 31.4 points per game and only turned it over six times. The quarterback tandem of Clayton Roberts and Brayden Thomas combined for 14 touchdown passes. Roberts tied the program record in each of the first two weeks with four touchdown passes in a game.
The receiving trio of MJ Link, Kobe Robinson, and Baylon Ware was dynamic. Link had five touchdown receptions to lead the way and tied an NCAA record with a 99-yard touchdown reception. Robinson set the program record with 256 all purpose yards and three touchdowns in week two against Lincoln (Mo.). He also became the first Falcon to return a kick-off for a touchdown in that game. In the final game of the season, Robinson caught the game-winning two-point conversion from Thomas. Ware was a big play machine, averaging 21.5 yards per reception.
It was a record-setting year in 2019 for the Falcons under Coach Carrigan. The Falcons doubled their win total to four wins, including two of the final three against Lone Star Conference opponents. The Falcons set records for total points with 312, total offense with 4,192 yards and rushing yards with 2,019. The team set the single-game record for points in the season opener against Wayland Baptist before shattering it again in the season finale against Texas A&M – Kingsville in their 70-14 victory. The record setting victory saw new game highs for the Falcons in points, margin of victory, total yards, rushing yards, 100-yard rushers, rushing touchdowns and points in a half. The win was the first for the program against a Lone Star Conference opponent from the state of Texas. The Falcons also defeated Eastern New Mexico for the first time in 2019. The Falcons went into halftime trailing by 14 before exploding in the second half in the 48-38 victory, tying the largest comeback in program history.
Senior linebacker Chris Hoad had another monster season, registering 157 tackles on the season to lead Division II football, and ending the season as the NCAA career leader with 526. Hoad was named Lone Star Conference Linebacker of the year for the second straight year while making the All-Conference First Team and was also named AFCA Second Team All-American. Punter Sergio Landeros was also named All-Conference First Team after leading the conference in punting yards and average yards.
Offensive linemen Pablo Gutierrez and Hunter Bowers, wide receiver Kyle McBride, defensive lineman Diego Assad, linebacker Keegan Gray and defensive back Donta Stuart were all named All-Conference Honorable Mention after the season, the most postseason awards in program history. The Falcons also had a pair of plays make NCAA Division II Plays of the Week including the viral play when John O’Kelley handed off an interception return to allow Hoad to score on Senior Night.
The 2018 season was another year-of-improvement for the Falcons under Carrigan. After some close losses early in the season, the team broke through with a come-from-behind 21-20 win over Western New Mexico with 14-unanswered points in the fourth quarter. The team picked up its second win of the season against Humboldt State. Freshman quarterback Taylor Null threw for a school-record 430 passing yards in just his fifth start. As a team the Falcons allowed 144 less points and nearly 800 less yards on defense, while Null set team records in touchdown passes (16) and yards (2,145).
Hoad was named a D2CCA All-Super Region Four First Team member, Lone Star Conference Linebacker of the Year and All-Conference First Team while finishing third in Division II in tackles with 133. Null, wide receiver Kristian Brown, McBride and Gray were Lone Star Conference Honorable Mentions.
The 2017 season saw the team earn its first Lone Star Conference victory when the Falcons went on the road and earned a 41-32 win at Western New Mexico. UTPB scored 24 points in the second quarter, and 27 straight points overall in the come-from-behind win over the Mustangs.
Later in the season UTPB dominated the ground game in the team's first ever neutral site contest against Quincy. The Falcons ran for 373 yards on 63 attempts, with four touchdowns. Brandon Infiesto ran for 175 yards and two scores on 18 carries, while Marquis Simmons carried the ball 12 times for a touchdown and 110 yards in the 42-7 win.
O'Kelley was named Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year after a stellar season. The defensive end appeared in all 11 games, recording 38 total tackles, 25 of them solo. He had 9.5 tackles for loss, while led the Falcons with 5.5 sacks, tied for the team lead with three forced fumbles, and tied for the NCAA lead with four total blocked kicks on the year.
Defensive lineman Frank Seiuli earned Second Team All-Conference honors, while Hoad, Bowers, fullback/defensive end Marquee Allison, Gray and defensive lineman Ieti Manu were named All-Conference Honorable Mention.
In the program's first year of competition, the Falcons kicked off its season with a 27-6 win against Sul Ross at Ratliff Stadium in front of a record 13,856 fans. UTPB scored the first 20 points of the game in the 21-point victory over the Lobos.
UTPB scored a season-high 49 points the next week in a 49-34 win at home against Arizona Christian. The Falcon offense broke-out for 495 total yards of offense, including 368 passing yards and three touchdowns by QB Kameron Mathis and 87 yards and a touchdown by running back Brandon Infiesto.
Offensive lineman Corin Brooks, defensive linemen Frank Seiuli and Jared Thames, and kicker Bailey Giffen earned end of year All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Carrigan came to UTPB having spent five seasons as an assistant at Tarleton, the last three as offensive coordinator where they won a Lone Star Conference Championship in 2013. Prior to his five-year stint at TSU, Carrigan spent a year at the University of Texas-El Paso working with the Miners' passing game. Carrigan started his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant in 2005 at MSU Texas as wide receivers coach. A season later he was promoted to passing game coordinator and helped the offense average 549.4 yards per game in 2007.
Carrigan graduated with a degree in kinesiology in 2003 from Angelo State where he was a two-time All-LSC safety. A three-year starter in the secondary, he was All-Conference in 2000 and 2001, and was a team captain in 2002. He earned his master's degree in sports administration from Midwestern State in 2009.
Carrigan lives in Odessa with his wife Heather and kids Madalyn and Gunner.
