Tim Beck

An innovative coach regarded as one of the nation's finest offensive minds, Tim Beck has played a key role in Nebraska's success over the past several season. Beck is beginning his seventh season at Nebraska and his fourth year as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Beck, a Broyles Award nominee as the nation's top assistant in both 2012 and 2013, spent his first three seasons on staff tutoring the running backs.

Beck owns more than 25 years of coaching experience, including 16 seasons as a collegiate assistant and nine years as a high school head coach. Beck has coached teams to eight bowl games, including each of the past three as Nebraska's offensive coordinator. 

Nebraska has averaged more than 32 points per game in Beck’s three seasons as offensive coordinator. In 2013, the Huskers averaged just under 30 points per game after dealing with multiple key injuries. NU started three different quarterbacks on the season in a year where it expected to rely on four-year starter Taylor Martinez. Martinez was the coaches’ choice as the 2012 first-team All-Big Ten quarterback and NU’s all-time career passing and total offense leader. Injuries limited Martinez to just four starts in 2013, while redshirt freshman Tommy Armstrong Jr. earned eighth starts and senior Ron Kellogg III started Nebraska’s final regular-season game after Armstrong was sidelined by an injury.

The injuries were not limited to the backfield. NU has suffered injuries to five starters on the offensive line, including losing 2012 second-team All-American Spencer Long in the sixth game of the season. With the injuries, Nebraska was forced to use six different starting offensive lines in the final seven games of the regular season, a stretch that also saw NU utilize three starting quarterbacks.

Despite the injuries - which also affected a talented wide receiving corps - Nebraska joined Ohio State and Wisconsin as the only Big Ten teams to score at least 17 points in every game during the 2013 season.

Beck relied heavily on first-team All-Big Ten running back Ameer Abdullah, a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. Abdullah rushed for a Big Ten-best 1,690 yards in 2013, the highest total by a Husker since All-American Ahman Green ran for 1,877 yards in 1997. Behind Abdullah - one of two running backs nationally to lead his team in total offense - Nebraska ranked 19th nationally in rushing at 215.7 yards per game. The 2013 season marked the fourth consecutive year Nebraska ranked in the top 20 nationally in rushing offense.

In the passing game, three Huskers threw for more than 600 yards, a first in school history. Senior wide receiver Quincy Enunwa hauled in a school-record 12 touchdown passes, and broke the record in style with a school-record 99-yard TD reception in the Gator Bowl.

Joining Abdullah as All-Big Ten selections in 2013 were senior Cole Pensick as a second-team offensive lineman and wide receiver Kenny Bell and offensive tackles Andrew Rodriguez and Jeremiah Sirles as honorable-mention selections. Bell will enter his senior season in position to become Nebraska's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yardage.

When healthy, Beck has boasted productive offenses. NU has scored at least two touchdowns in 39 of Beck’s 40 games as offensive coordinator.

In 2012, Beck’s offense scored 57 offensive touchdowns, the program’s most since 2008. The Huskers averaged 34.8 points per game in 2012, a total that ranked 28th nationally. Overall, NU produced 487 total points in 2012, the highest total since the 2000 Huskers scored 522 points.

In addition to the impressive scoring totals, Nebraska was eighth nationally in rushing in 2012 (253.4 yards per game) and 26th nationally in total offense (460.8 yards per game). NU led the Big Ten Conference in total offense and rushing offense, while ranking second in scoring. On the ground, the Huskers rushed for at least 200 yards 12 times last season, the program's highest total since also rushing for 200 yards times times in 1997.

Martinez flourished in his second season in Beck's offense. The coaches' selection as the first-team All-Big Ten quarterback, Martinez accounted for a school-record 3,890 yards of total offense in 2012. Martinez rushed for 1,019 yards in 2012 - the fourth-highest total by a quarterback in school history - and he threw for 2,871 yards, the highest total ever by a Husker junior and the third-highest mark overall in school history.

As a testament to Beck's versatility as a play caller, Martinez posted three 300-yard passing performances and five 100-yard rushing efforts. Martinez established a school record with a 91.9 percent completion percentage against Arkansas State and rushed for 205 yards against the nation's eighth-ranked rushing defense at Michigan State, the third-best rushing performance by a quarterback in Husker history. Martinez accounted for 32 total touchdowns in 2012 (10 rushing, 22 passing), tying the NU school record. In addition to the impressive season totals, Martinez also became Nebraska's career passing and total offense leader during the 2012 campaign.

Abdullah also excelled in Beck's offense as a sophomore in 2012. Abdullah rushed for 1,137 yards, the sixth-highest sophomore total in school history, an impressive performance after carrying the ball only 42 times and rushing for 150 yards as a true freshman in 2011 behind All-Big Ten back Rex Burkhead. Abdullah's performance earned him second-team all-conference accolades from the league's coaches.

Bell was another sophomore who flourished in Beck's offense in 2012. After becoming the second freshman in school history to lead Nebraska in receptions and receiving yards in 2011, Bell repeated the feat in 2012. Bell set NU sophomore records with 50 catches, 863 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns, leading the team in all three categories. Bell, who also set a Husker sophomore record with three 100-yard receiving games, ranked fourth overall on Nebraska's season receiving touchdowns chart, fourth in receiving yards, sixth in 100-yard receiving games, seventh in receptions and ninth in yards per reception (17.5). He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection.

In addition to the trio of skill players, other Huskers earned individual honors in 2012. Offensive guard Spencer Long, a former walk-on, earned second-team All-America honors from both the Associated Press and the Walter Camp Foundation, in addition to being a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection. Offensive tackle Jeremiah Sirles also earned second-team all-conference honors, while tight ends Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed and center Justin Jackson were honorable-mention selections.

Beck produced impressive results in his first year as an offensive coordinator. Nebraska averaged nearly 30 points per game, and the Huskers scored at least two touchdowns in every game in 2011, a feat NU has accomplished only twice in the past 10 seasons. Nebraska’s rushing attack flourished under Beck’s direction, averaging 217.2 yards per game to rank 15th nationally. Nebraska averaged 200 yards rushing for only the second time in the past eight seasons.

Individually, All-Big Ten back Rex Burkhead tied a school record by scoring a touchdown in 10 consecutive games to open the season. His 17 touchdowns were seventh in NU history and the most by a Husker since Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch scored 19 touchdowns in 2001. Burkhead finished 19th nationally in rushing (104.4 ypg), and his 1,357 rushing yards were the seventh-most in school history and the most by a Husker I-back since 1997. Taylor Martinez added 874 yards on the ground, the ninth-highest total by a quarterback in school history.

The Huskers also boasted an efficient passing attack under Beck. Martinez completed 56 percent of his passes and threw for 2,089 yards, the sixth-highest total in school history. Under Beck’s game plan, Martinez threw only two interceptions in the season’s final 30 quarters, a span that totaled 168 pass attempts. Martinez had one streak of 125 straight passes without an interception. Martinez also posted the top total offense season (2,963) by a Husker sophomore in 2011 and the third-best overall mark in school history.

As running backs coach in 2010, Beck helped the Huskers’ rushing attack rank first in the Big 12 and ninth nationally in 2010 at 247.6 yards per game. Nebraska topped the 200-yard mark 10 times, rushed for 300 yards four times and 400 yards once. The Huskers ranked seventh nationally with an average of 5.47 yards per carry. Nebraska also posted its first 2,500-yard rushing season since 2003 and scored 30 rushing touchdowns for the first time since 2001.

NU posted back-to-back 300-yard rushing games against Idaho and Washington, a first for the program since 2002. The Huskers had three 100-yard rushers for only the fifth time in school history against the Huskies. Two weeks later at Kansas State, Nebraska ran for 451 yards, its highest total since 2001.

Two-time All-Big 12 selection Roy Helu Jr. ran for a career-high 1,245 yards - the second-highest total by a senior running back in NU history - before being selected in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Helu Jr. was the first Husker to post back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons since Calvin Jones in 1992 and 1993. Helu Jr. also set the Nebraska single-game rushing record with 307 yards against Missouri. Behind Helu Jr., Burkhead earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 accolades and rushed for 951 yards in 2010.

In 2009, Nebraska averaged 147.1 rushing yards per game, and outrushed 11 of 14 opponents. Helu Jr. rushed for 1,147 yards, and ranked fourth in the Big 12 in rushing to earn second-team All-Big 12 honors.

In Beck’s first year, NU’s running game improved throughout 2008. Nebraska had five games with more than 200 rushing yards in league play, including a season-high 355 yards against Kansas State. In Big 12 games, NU ranked third in the league in rushing (182.5 ypg).

Beck came to Nebraska after a three-year stint on the staff at Kansas. Beck was the Jayhawks’ receivers coach each of his three seasons in Lawrence, and was promoted to pass game coordinator in February of 2007. Kansas finished with a 12-1 record and a No. 7 final national ranking in 2007. The Jayhawks capped their season with a 24-21 victory over Virginia Tech in the Fed Ex Orange Bowl. KU finished the year second nationally in scoring offense (42.8 ppg), eighth in total offense (479.8 ypg) and 17th in passing (291.0 ypg).

In 2006, five Jayhawk receivers caught at least 24 passes. In 2005, Beck’s receivers helped Kansas to a 7-5 record and a victory in the Fort Worth Bowl.
Beck came to KU as one of the most respected high school coaches in the state of Texas, serving three seasons at Summit High in Mansfield. He was the 2003 District Coach of the Year, and a season later, Summit High advanced to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs with a 9-4 record.

Beck was head coach at R.L. Turner High in Carrollton, Texas, from 1999 to 2001, leading the school to back-to-back playoff appearances and consecutive winning seasons for the first time in 25 years. Beck was named the district coach of the year in 2000.

Prior to coaching in the Texas prep ranks, Beck worked at Missouri State for three seasons from 1996 to 1998, including one season as the offensive coordinator. In 1998, the MSU offense racked up 4,542 total yards - the fourth-best mark in school history.

Beck was hired at Missouri State after leading Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., to the 1995 4A state championship – the school’s first state title. Beck was named the regional coach of the year in 1994, and in his final two seasons at the school, Saguaro compiled a 23-4 record, compared to a 5-43 mark in the five seasons prior to his arrival.

The 47-year-old Beck served as a graduate assistant at Kansas State in 1991 and 1992 under Bill Snyder, where Beck worked with former NU defensive coordinator Carl Pelini. Previously, Beck coached the outside linebackers and punters at Illinois State in 1990, and worked in 1988 and 1989 as an assistant coach at Miramar High School.

Beck is a native of Youngstown, Ohio, and graduated from Cardinal Mooney High, the same high school that Bo Pelini attended. Beck was a standout in football, basketball and baseball at Cardinal Mooney.

Beck played at Central Florida and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1988 before adding a master’s degree in counseling and guidance from KSU in 1992. He and his wife, Tamara, have a son, Jordan, and a daughter, Haylie Marie.