Josh Gattis Position: Wide Receivers / Offensive Recruiting Coordinator Alma Mater: Wake Forest, 2006

Josh Gattis enters his first year as a Vanderbilt assistant under Head Coach James Franklin. He will mentor Commodore wide receivers and serve as the team's offensive recruiting coordinator.

Gattis comes to Vanderbilt after one year as wide receivers coach at Western Michigan where he helped the 7-6 Broncos to the 2011 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, the fifth postseason appearance in team history.

Wide receiver Jordan White, Gattis' top pupil at Western Michigan, established a slew of team and Mid-American Conference (MAC) records en route to consensus All-America recognition. As a senior in 2011, White topped the nation with 140 receptions and 1,911 receiving yards. His 17 touchdown catches ranked third in the NCAA. He finished his career with 306 catches and set a new MAC record with 4,187 receiving yards.

White owns virtually every Western Michigan receiving record. He capped his Bronco career by setting a Little Caesars Bowl record with 265 receiving yards.

White earned All-America recognition from the Associated Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation, American Football Coaches Association, Sports Illustrated and Yahoo! Sports.

Two other Western Michigan wide receivers, seniors Chleb Ravenell and Robert Arnheim, produced career campaigns under Gattis' guidance. Ravenell had 67 receptions and nine touchdown catches. Arnheim finished the year with 62 receptions.

Gattis joined Western Michigan after serving as a graduate assistant in 2010 at the University of North Carolina. Tar Heel offensive coordinator John Shoop, a former Vanderbilt grad assistant and the brother of current Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, was one of the coaches Gattis assisted in Chapel Hill.

Gattis spent time with both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears during a three-year NFL playing career that concluded in 2009.

Gattis was a standout player at Wake Forest. He earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors as a Demon Deacon safety in 2005 and 2006. Gattis finished his career with 32 starts, 253 total tackles, six forced fumbles and 12 interceptions. Gattis posted five picks in both his junior and senior campaigns.

Following his senior season, Gattis participated in the 2007 Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Game. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft by Jacksonville.

Gattis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Wake Forest in December 2006.

The Gattis File
Birthplace: Durham, N.C.
Alma Mater: Wake Forest, 2006
Playing Experience: Wake Forest (Safety, 2003-06)

Coaching Experience
2011: Western Michigan Wide Receivers
2010: North Carolina Offensive Graduate Assistant

  Printer-friendly format     Email this article