Football
- Title:
- Wide Recievers Coach
- Email:
- joshua.atkinson@sfasu.edu
THE ATKINSON FILE
Hometown: Carrollton, Texas
Colleges: Tulsa (2016); Baylor
Playing Experience: Tulsa | WR | Three-Year Starter | Four-Year Letterman
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2025-Present: SFA | Wide Recievers
2023-24: Colorado State University-Pueblo | Wide Receivers and Recruit Coordinator
2022: Midwest State University | Wide Receivers
2020-21: Baylor | Offensive Graduate Assistant
Josh Atkinson enters his second season as Stephen F. Austin’s wide receivers coach in 2026 after helping guide the Lumberjacks to an 11-3 record, the program’s fifth Southland Conference championship and its first appearance in the FCS quarterfinals since 2009. SFA finished the 2025 season averaging 235.9 passing yards and 35.4 points per game while producing 3,303 passing yards and 30 touchdowns through the air. Following the season, Atkinson was selected for the prestigious 2026 AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute.
Under Atkinson’s direction, returning All-American Kylon Harris earned first-team All-Southland Conference honors after finishing the season with 86 receptions for 1,068 yards and 10 touchdowns. Harris established an SFA single-game record with 16 receptions against East Texas A&M and later produced 11 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown in the Lumberjacks’ FCS playoff victory over Abilene Christian. The receiver room also included Bugs Mortimer, who earned consensus All-America and first-team All-SLC recognition as a punt returner. Mortimer led all NCAA divisions with four punt-return touchdowns and paced the FCS with 21.5 yards per return while establishing SFA and Southland single-season records with 547 punt-return yards.
Atkinson joined SFA after two seasons as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Colorado State University Pueblo. In 2024, the ThunderWolves won the outright Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship and led the RMAC during the regular season in scoring offense at 41.7 points per game and passing offense at 311.7 yards per game.
Reggie Retzlaff developed into one of the nation’s top Division II receivers under Atkinson. Retzlaff was named the 2024 RMAC Offensive Player of the Year and D2CCA Super Region Four Offensive Player of the Year while earning first-team All-RMAC and All-America honors from the Associated Press and AFCA, along with second-team D2CCA All-America recognition. A finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, Retzlaff set CSU Pueblo single-season records with 67 receptions and 1,228 receiving yards while matching the program record with 12 touchdown catches. He had previously earned second-team All-RMAC and first-team NFF Colorado Chapter All-Colorado honors in 2023 after recording 48 receptions for 805 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Atkinson also coached Zack Rakowsky, who earned honorable-mention All-RMAC, second-team NFF Colorado Chapter All-Colorado and second-team CSC Academic All-America honors in 2023. Rakowsky led the ThunderWolves with 58 receptions for 769 yards and six touchdowns that season. He added first-team All-RMAC recognition as a punt returner in 2024 and was named to the CSC Academic All-District team. During Atkinson’s first season in Pueblo, the receiving corps set a school record with 268 receptions and helped the ThunderWolves rank among Division II’s top 10 in passing offense and scoring.
Before CSU Pueblo, Atkinson coached the wide receivers at Midwestern State in 2022. Kylan Harrison earned first-team All-Lone Star Conference honors at both wide receiver and return specialist, finishing the season with 26 receptions for 354 yards and three touchdowns. Harrison completed his career with 118 receptions for 2,034 yards and became the program’s career leader with 24 touchdown receptions. Ja’Marzeyea Arvie also earned second-team All-LSC honors after leading the Mustangs with 42 catches for 449 yards and four touchdowns.
Atkinson spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons as a wide receivers graduate assistant at Baylor. He helped the Bears complete a dramatic turnaround in 2021, finishing 12-2 while winning the Big 12 Championship and the Sugar Bowl. During his tenure, R.J. Sneed earned second-team All-Big 12 recognition in 2020 and honorable mention in 2021, while Tyquan Thornton was selected to the 2021 All-Big 12 Second Team after recording 62 receptions for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns. Thornton was subsequently selected by the New England Patriots with the 50th overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Atkinson began his coaching career at his alma mater, serving as a wide receivers graduate assistant at Tulsa during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. During that stretch, Keylon Stokes led Tulsa in receiving in consecutive seasons and produced his first 1,000-yard campaign in 2019, finishing with 62 receptions for 1,040 yards and six touchdowns. Stokes was also named to the Biletnikoff and Paul Hornung Award watch lists.
A native of Carrollton, Texas, Atkinson was a four-year letterman and three-year starter at Tulsa. He completed his career with 202 receptions for 2,654 yards, including consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. As a senior, he caught 78 passes for 1,058 yards and eight touchdowns after being named to the preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list. His performance helped Tulsa finish 10-3 and defeat Central Michigan in the Miami Beach Bowl. Atkinson previously recorded 76 receptions for 1,071 yards during his breakout junior season.
Atkinson attended The Oakridge School, where he helped the program win a state championship in 2011. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communication from Tulsa in 2016. Atkinson is married to the former Jodi Edmiston, a four-year softball letter winner at Tulsa, and the couple has two children.
