Pete Alamar, who has more than 40 years as an assistant coach and has spent nearly 20 years working with special teams units, has been named UCF’s special teams coordinator and senior analyst, head coach Scott Frost announced Thursday, Jan. 9.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Coach Scott Frost for this opportunity to join his coaching staff as special teams coordinator,” said Alamar. “My goal is to develop and lead the best special teams units in the Big 12 and nationally and I cannot wait to get to work with our players and coaches.”
Alamar was most recently the associate head coach and special teams coordinator at Rice, serving as the Owls’ interim head coach for the final four games. He led Rice to a pair of wins as the interim coach, headlined by a 24-20 victory against Navy, which finished the season 10-3 overall with only two losses in conference play, and a 35-28 win against South Florida on senior day.
His 2024 kickoff return unit ranked ninth nationally, averaging 26.22 yards per return. Under his guidance, Quinton Jackson broke the program record for the longest kickoff return with a 100-yard return at UConn to eclipse the previous mark (99), which stood for 50 years. Jackson was named the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Special Teams Player of the Week following that performance and he finished the season with 589 kick return yards to rank fifth in the nation. Jackson was the first Rice player to return a kickoff for a touchdown since 2012.
In 2023, Alamar’s kickoff return defensive unit was 15th nationally, limiting opponents to just 16.39 yards per return. That year, Rice blocked two field goals and also blocked a punt. In contrast, the Owls did not have a kick or punt blocked by the opposition.
He took over as the Owls’ special teams coordinator prior to the 2023 season, after spending the previous 11 years at Stanford (2012-22) as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach. He also served in that role at Fresno State for two years (2010-11) and Cal (2003-09).
Alamar’s specialists and special teams units have consistently ranked among the nation’s best during his career. He has coached on eight teams that won at least 10 games -- two at Arizona, two at Cal and four at Stanford -- and has been a part of 18 bowl teams.
With Alamar’s instruction, Stanford kicker Joshua Karty was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award after the 2022 season, finishing 18-for-18 on field goals with 13 of those from 40 or more yards and three from 50+, highlighted by a school-record 61-yarder. He was the nation’s only kicker without a miss during the season.
Karty was a two-time All-American and two-time All-Pac 12 selection before being selected in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.
The Cardinal’s 2022 kickoff return defensive unit led the Pac 12 with just 17.09 yards per return.
In 2021, Alamar's unit continued to be a bright spot for Stanford. Nathaniel Peat led the conference with 663 kickoff return yards, averaging 24.6 yards per return, and was named to Phil Steele's All-Pac-12 first team on special teams. Punter Ryan Sanborn continued his impressive career with a junior season that saw him average 43.3 yards per punt off 63 punts. The kickoff return defensive unit was fourth in the nation and paced the league, yielding 13.8 per kickoff. His punt return unit was also 10th (13.85) that season.
Jet Toner finished his kicking career at Stanford in 2020 with a school-record 113 consecutive PATs made, while his 280 career points scored were the third most in program history.
The Cardinal ranked sixth nationally in 2019 with four blocked kicks, including one that went for a touchdown. In 2018, Stanford’s special teams were at the top of the Pac-12 Conference, led by punter Jake Bailey and kicker Toner. Bailey, who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, finished as Stanford's all-time career leader in punting average (43.81). Toner led the league and was No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage as he made 14-of-15 and all 34 extra-point attempts. Both specialists took second-team All-Pac-12 honors.
In 2016, Alamar’s work with Conrad Ukropina made him one of the most prolific kickers in Cardinal history. Ukropina and the Cardinal set single-season team records for field goals made (22) and extra-point percentage (1.000). He set individual career school records for field goal percentage (.824), consecutive extra points made (108), and individual single-season school records were set for field goals made (22), field goal percentage (.900), extra points made (67) and extra point percentage (1.000).
Under Alamar’s tutelage, Christian McCaffrey won the 2015 Jet Award as the nation’s top kick returner, becoming the third Cardinal with more than 1,000 kickoff return yards (1,070) in a season. McCaffrey was second nationally in combined kick returns (1,200).
Alamar was named Phil Steele's Special Teams Coach of the Year following the 2013 season when Stanford’s kickoff return unit ranked second nationally in return average at 27.4 yards/return. Ty Montgomery returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, going 99 yards on the opening kickoff against Washington and a school-record 100 yards at Utah. The kickoff coverage unit was equally as good, allowing just 18.1 yards/return to rank 10th nationally.
He coached All-America punt returner DeSean Jackson during his time at Cal, who led the nation with an average of 18.2 yards per return and set a pair of Pac-10 records with four touchdown returns in 2006. Sporting News rated Cal’s special teams as the best in the Pac-10 following the year.
Alamar earned three letters as an offensive lineman at Western Oregon (1) and Cal Lutheran (2), and played on two national playoff teams, one at each school.
A native of Thousand Oaks, California, he earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cal Lutheran in 1983. He and his wife, Tina, have three daughters -- Alicia, Alexandra and Amanda.