Ryan Gunderson - Quarterbacks - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Ryan Gunderson

Title:
Quarterbacks

Quarterbacks
1st Year

Gunderson is set to enter his first season as quarterbacks coach with the Utes in 2026, after most recently spending three seasons (2023-25) as offensive coordinator at Oregon State.

Gunderson's Beaver offense averaged 390.6 yards per game in 2024, including 189.2 on the ground. Anthony Hankerson finished with 1,082 rush yards, the 19th 1,000-yard season in OSU history and Trent Walker caught 81 passes for 901 yards after coming into 2024 with just five career receptions.

Prior to Oregon State, Gunderson served as the quarterbacks coach at UCLA in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Bruins averaged 241.2 passing yards per game during his tenure and UCLA QBs threw for 73 touchdowns, while averaging better than 7 yards per pass attempt in 2023 and 229.1 yards per game

Gunderson guided Dorian Thompson-Robinson to a UCLA record 69.6 completion percentage in 2022, rating sixth in the nation. Thompson-Robinson completed his UCLA career as the program’s record holder in total offense (12,536), completions (860), touchdown passes (88), passing yards (10,710) and quarterback starts (48).

Gunderson spent the 2017-20 seasons as the quarterbacks coach at San Jose State and added passing game coordinator to his title in 2018. He was a 2019 Broyles Award nominee for top assistant coach in the nation, before helping the Spartans to the 2020 Mountain West Football Championship, the team’s first outright title since 1990. SJSU was also ranked twice in the CFP and finished the regular season with a 7-0 record.

The Spartans ranked fourth nationally in passing offense (338.0) in 2019 and 19th in 2020 (298.4). QB Nick Starkel named Player of the Week by both the Manning Award and Davey O’Brien Award in 2020. Starkel finished the season 19th nationally for passing yards per game (271.8) and 23rd for passing efficiency (152.6).

Gunderson served as Nebraska’s director of football player personnel for 2015 and 2016.

He began his professional career as a graduate assistant in 2008 with the Beavers, and moved to assistant director of player personnel in 2010. He was promoted to director of player personnel in 2014.

Gunderson played collegiate football at Oregon State, where he was a letterwinner at quarterback from 2004-07. He played in 13 career games, passing for 645 yards and two touchdowns. He was a two-time Pac-10 Academic All-Conference selection.