‘TikTock Coach’ turns viral videos into major promotion from HS to Power 5 staff

The key to recruiting in college football is meeting the high school prospects where they are. These days, it’s on the increasingly popular social media platform TikTok, where dancing videos and impersonations are all the rage.

Marco Regalado, 28, has found the secret sauce, and that has taken him from coaching high school football in Texas, to Washington State as an assistant recruiting staffer with the Cougars. The TikTok videos began last year when Regaldo admitted he was bored during quarantine, and downloaded the app.

Since then, he’s developed quite the following, and has produced a series of videos, from an offensive line coach impersonation, to a coach who won’t retire, and even assistant coaches’ behavior in the press box.

This isn’t the first time he’s changed jobs. Last year he moved from an assistant job at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo in South Texas to the staff at Northwest Eaton in Fort Worth.

#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/M0cTwmayoT

— Marco Regalado M. Ed (@CoachRegalado) February 7, 2021

“I really didn’t think it would take off like it did,” he told KVUE. “I had no intention of it taking off like it did. It was just something I did for my family, for my close circle of friends and coworkers. I thought they’d think it was funny.”

@coachregaladoOld School Coaches! #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #football #coach #oldschool #funny #sports #comedy #humor #coronavirus #covid19 #quarantine♬ Cowboy Saloon – Kids Party Pop Music Playlist

@coachregaladoThings you won’t hear an OLine Coach say #fyp #football #coach #footballcoach #offensivelineman #OLine♬ Cowboy Saloon – Kids Party Pop Music Playlist

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.