Lester Erb Season 2024
Lester Erb joined the LSU football staff in 2022 and serves as the senior special teams analyst for the Tigers. Erb played a key role in back-to-back 10-win seasons for the Tigers and the SEC Western Division title in 2022.
In his first season on the LSU staff in 2022, punter Jay Bramblett earned second-team Academic All-America honors.
Erb joined the LSU staff with over 25 years of coaching experience, which included 13 seasons in the Big Ten with Iowa. Erb was a quality control coach on the offensive side of the ball for the Baltimore Ravens for two seasons before joining the LSU staff.
Erb coached at Rutgers from 2017-19 serving as running backs coach (2017) followed by two years coaching the wide receivers.
Prior to arriving at Rutgers, Erb spent four seasons at Nevada where he served as running backs coach and special teams coordinator from 2013-15 before holding the post of assistant head coach and wide receivers coach in 2016.
In 2015, Erb coached a pair of 1,000-yard running backs en route to a 7-6 record and victory in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. It marked the third time in program history that two running backs topped the 1,000-yard mark in the same season.
A standout recruiter throughout his career, Erb was twice recognized by Rivals.com as one of the nation’s top-25 recruiters in 2005 and 2011.
Erb spent 13 seasons at Iowa, including the final five years as the running backs coach. He also worked eight seasons as the wide receivers coach and coached special teams throughout his tenure in Iowa City. Overall while at Iowa, Erb and the Hawkeyes went to 11 bowl games, including six January bowl trips during his tenure. They won a share of two Big Ten Championships and finished in the final top 10 of both major polls four times.
In his first season working with the Iowa running backs in 2008, Erb coached Shonn Greene to the Doak Walker Award and consensus All-American honors while being named the Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten Conference. He rushed for 1,850 yards to set an Iowa single-season rushing mark and was the only running back in the nation to surpass 100 yards in every game during the season.
Erb was also an integral part of special teams in Iowa City as the Hawkeyes led the Big Ten and ranked 25th in the nation in net punting in 2011. The Hawkeyes ranked third in the Big Ten in net punting in 2010 after ranking fourth in 2009, third in 2008 and second in 2007. Senior punter Ryan Donahue was a finalist for the Ray Guy Punter of the Year award in 2010.
Erb coached kicker Nate Kaeding to first team All-America honors in both 2002 and 2003. Kaeding was named winner of the 2002 Lou Groza Placekicker of the Year award and was one of three finalists for the award in 2003.
Erb began his career at Hobart College coaching wide receivers. He then spent three seasons at Syracuse, where he assisted with the offensive line and scout team preparation while earning a master’s degree.
Erb played receiver at Bucknell University, where he set records for touchdown receptions in a season and career. He set a school record for average yards per catch in a single game when he averaged 33.7 yards on six catches vs. Fordham. His 902 receiving yards in 1989 ranks second best all-time at Bucknell. He ranks fifth in career all-purpose yards (3,286) and was Bucknell’s Most Valuable Player as a senior in 1990.
He earned his B.A. in business administration from Bucknell and his M.A. in high educational administration from Syracuse.
He and his wife, Eileen, have four children, sons Jacob and A.J., and daughters Emily and Sarah.