Closer look at Derek Kief, Arkansas’ WRs coach remainder of season

FAYETTEVILLE — When Dan Enos was fired it was a natural for Sam Pittman to move Kenny Guiton to coach quarterbacks and promote Derek Kief to work with the wide receivers.

Kief came to Arkansas this season as a Senior Quality Control for the offense after spending the 2022 season on the field coaching at Towson. At Towson, Kief coached the Tigers’ wide receivers.

Kief was previously a graduate assistant coach at the University of Maryland, working with the wide receivers and special teams unit. At Maryland, Kief served in various roles including working with recruiting on and off-campus, leading position meetings, putting together practice schedules, breaking down film and helping with scouting reports.

He has SEC experience as he was a wide receiver for Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide from 2014-2018. He played 51 games for the Tide. He saw action on special teams in addition to wide receiver. He was part of two national championship squads with the Tide. As well as playing, Kief was a coach for the Nick Saban Football Camp and was a recruitment team assistant. He earned an invite to the Buffalo Bills rookie mini-camp in 2019.

Kief was a four-star recruit and No. 26 wide receiver in the nation by ESPN coming out of Cincinnati (Ohio) La Salle High School in the Class of 2014. At La Salle, Kief had 155 career receptions, 2,105 receiving yards and 23 receiving touchdowns. He earned 2012 and 2013 Associated Press All-Ohio Division II Football Team and All-District distinction.

Kief earned his undergraduate degree from Alabama in 2017 in exercise science and his Master’s Degree in Kinesiology in 2018.