Football
Lineburg, Wayne
Wayne Lineburg
- Title:
- Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends
- Email:
- football@rice.edu
Wayne Lineburg joined Scott Abell’s staff in January of 2025 as the Owls’ assistant head coach and tight ends coach.
Lineburg came to South Main after eight seasons at Wake Forest, coaching the tight ends and coordinating the Demon Deacons’ special teams.
Over those eight seasons, he produced four All-ACC selections who contributed mightily to Wake Forest’s record-breaking offense.
The Deacons established nearly 400 school records, including marks for points scored, points per game, total offensive yards, first downs, and passing yards over the past five seasons. Also, the Deacs were the only football program in the ACC to average at least 30 points per game each year from 2017-22. That run ranks as the fourth longest in ACC history.
In 2022, Demon Deacons tight ends combined for 33 receptions, 369 receiving yards, and five touchdown catches. QB Sam Hartman ended his Demon Deacons career as the ACC leader in career passing touchdowns (110) in part because of the positive role that Lineburg’s tight ends play in Wake Forest’s offense.
In 2021, Wake Forest scored a program-best 574 points and averaged a school-record 41.0 ppg. That point total ranks 43rd in modern FBS history and the fourth-most in ACC history. Additionally, Wake Forest became the 20th ACC team in the modern college football era (Post-WWII) to surpass the milestone of scoring 500 points in a single season. Individually, the Deacons topped 35 points in a game 12 times during the 2021 campaign.
Wake Forest capped off 2021 on New Year's Eve, defeating Big Ten foe Rutgers in the 77th annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl 38-10 inside TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
Behind a record-breaking offense, Wake Forest (11-3, 7-1 ACC) became just the second team in program history to win double-digit games and tied the program record with 11 victories while also setting a program record with seven conference victories and finished the home season with a perfect 6-0 mark. Wake Forest went 5-3 in road or neutral site games for the first time since the 2018 season.
Additionally, with a perfect 6-0 mark this season, the Deacs recorded their first undefeated home record for the first time since 1979 and just the third time since Wake Forest’s 1970 ACC Championship team. Meanwhile, six home wins tie the program record set in 2019.
Wake Forest was one of 10 Power-5 schools in 2021 to win 11 games.
The Demon Deacons were also the first school in the conference to become bowl-eligible with a perfect mark of 6-0 in 2021. The Deacons 8-0 The start of the season was the best in school history, and they had the longest winning streak in school history.
Lineburg coached tight ends Brandon Chapman and Blake Whiteheart to a combined 27 catches for 270 yards and six touchdowns in 2021. Chapman was a two-time captain and Whiteheart was a captain in 2022. Three years ago in 2019, Lineburg led Jack Fruendenthal to an All-ACC season as he caught 34 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns in his final year in Winston-Salem.
From 2018-21, Lineburg tutored placekicker Nick Sciba to a record-setting career. The Clover, S.C. native set an NCAA record with a 89.9 career field goal percentage (80-of-89) mark. That tally came with a minimum 1.2 FGM per game and 30 made in a career.
Additionally, Sciba’s 80 made field goals were tied for 10th in NCAA history, and his 431 career points ranked 16th among kickers all time in NCAA history, and that total ranked 22nd overall among all players. Those two marks ranked second (80 field goals made) and third (431 points scored) in Atlantic Coast Conference history, respectively. Additionally, they are Wake Forest records.
During the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Sciba set the NCAA record by converting 32 consecutive field goals. He garnered first-team All-ACC honors in 2019 and 2021 and third-team accolades in 2020.
In 2022, redshirt freshman Matthew Dennis led the Demon Deacons in scoring with 92 points as he went 12-for-14 on field goal attempts and 56-for-57 on extra points.
Lineburg's scheme and guidance led Wake Forest to kick return touchdowns in three of his last four seasons. Donavon Greene’s 96-yard return to the end zone against Campbell on Oct. 2, 2020, was Wake Forest's first kick return touchdown in 13 years.
A 1996 graduate of Virginia, Lineburg was a four-year quarterback for the Cavaliers and played on three bowl teams.
He started coaching in 1996 as an assistant coach at William & Mary before returning to Virginia in 1998 as a graduate assistant coach. He rejoined William & Mary as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator in 2000 before joining Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson’s staff at Richmond in 2004.
Lineburg was named the wide receiver coach at Virginia in 2007 and moved to running backs coach in 2009. He returned to Richmond in 2010 for a four-year stint in several positions, including offensive coordinator, associate head coach, and recruiting coordinator, while also coaching, at different times, quarterbacks and running backs. In 2011, Lineburg served as the interim head coach at Richmond.
In 2014, he was hired at Connecticut where he served as special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach in his first season before taking over the quarterbacks the last two seasons.
He coached at Richmond from 2006-06 and again from 2010-13, serving in several roles, including offensive coordinator, associate head coach, and recruiting coordinator, while also coaching, at different times, quarterbacks and running backs.
In 2011, Lineburg served as the interim head coach at Richmond.
He coached at his alma mater (Virginia) from 2007-09, working with the Cavaliers wide receivers in 2007-08, and running backs coach in 2009.
He began his career at William and Mary from 2000-03, coaching the Tribe’s running backs coach and recruiting coordinator.
A 1996 graduate of UVA, Lineburg played quarterback on three bowl teams and was a member of the 1995 ACC championship team.
Lineburg’s father, Norman, was the long-time coach at Radford (Va.) High School and is a member of the Virginia High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Wayne was an all-district quarterback while playing high school football for his father.
Lineburg’s brother, Robert, is the athletic director at Radford University, his brother Mark is the superintendent of schools in Halifax County, Va. and his brother Paul is the principal at Northside Middle School in Roanoke, Va. Wayne’s cousin, Mike Young, is the head basketball coach at Virginia Tech.
Lineburg and his wife Tracey have two daughters, Addyson and Alexis.
Lineburg came to South Main after eight seasons at Wake Forest, coaching the tight ends and coordinating the Demon Deacons’ special teams.
Over those eight seasons, he produced four All-ACC selections who contributed mightily to Wake Forest’s record-breaking offense.
The Deacons established nearly 400 school records, including marks for points scored, points per game, total offensive yards, first downs, and passing yards over the past five seasons. Also, the Deacs were the only football program in the ACC to average at least 30 points per game each year from 2017-22. That run ranks as the fourth longest in ACC history.
In 2022, Demon Deacons tight ends combined for 33 receptions, 369 receiving yards, and five touchdown catches. QB Sam Hartman ended his Demon Deacons career as the ACC leader in career passing touchdowns (110) in part because of the positive role that Lineburg’s tight ends play in Wake Forest’s offense.
In 2021, Wake Forest scored a program-best 574 points and averaged a school-record 41.0 ppg. That point total ranks 43rd in modern FBS history and the fourth-most in ACC history. Additionally, Wake Forest became the 20th ACC team in the modern college football era (Post-WWII) to surpass the milestone of scoring 500 points in a single season. Individually, the Deacons topped 35 points in a game 12 times during the 2021 campaign.
Wake Forest capped off 2021 on New Year's Eve, defeating Big Ten foe Rutgers in the 77th annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl 38-10 inside TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
Behind a record-breaking offense, Wake Forest (11-3, 7-1 ACC) became just the second team in program history to win double-digit games and tied the program record with 11 victories while also setting a program record with seven conference victories and finished the home season with a perfect 6-0 mark. Wake Forest went 5-3 in road or neutral site games for the first time since the 2018 season.
Additionally, with a perfect 6-0 mark this season, the Deacs recorded their first undefeated home record for the first time since 1979 and just the third time since Wake Forest’s 1970 ACC Championship team. Meanwhile, six home wins tie the program record set in 2019.
Wake Forest was one of 10 Power-5 schools in 2021 to win 11 games.
The Demon Deacons were also the first school in the conference to become bowl-eligible with a perfect mark of 6-0 in 2021. The Deacons 8-0 The start of the season was the best in school history, and they had the longest winning streak in school history.
Lineburg coached tight ends Brandon Chapman and Blake Whiteheart to a combined 27 catches for 270 yards and six touchdowns in 2021. Chapman was a two-time captain and Whiteheart was a captain in 2022. Three years ago in 2019, Lineburg led Jack Fruendenthal to an All-ACC season as he caught 34 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns in his final year in Winston-Salem.
From 2018-21, Lineburg tutored placekicker Nick Sciba to a record-setting career. The Clover, S.C. native set an NCAA record with a 89.9 career field goal percentage (80-of-89) mark. That tally came with a minimum 1.2 FGM per game and 30 made in a career.
Additionally, Sciba’s 80 made field goals were tied for 10th in NCAA history, and his 431 career points ranked 16th among kickers all time in NCAA history, and that total ranked 22nd overall among all players. Those two marks ranked second (80 field goals made) and third (431 points scored) in Atlantic Coast Conference history, respectively. Additionally, they are Wake Forest records.
During the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Sciba set the NCAA record by converting 32 consecutive field goals. He garnered first-team All-ACC honors in 2019 and 2021 and third-team accolades in 2020.
In 2022, redshirt freshman Matthew Dennis led the Demon Deacons in scoring with 92 points as he went 12-for-14 on field goal attempts and 56-for-57 on extra points.
Lineburg's scheme and guidance led Wake Forest to kick return touchdowns in three of his last four seasons. Donavon Greene’s 96-yard return to the end zone against Campbell on Oct. 2, 2020, was Wake Forest's first kick return touchdown in 13 years.
A 1996 graduate of Virginia, Lineburg was a four-year quarterback for the Cavaliers and played on three bowl teams.
He started coaching in 1996 as an assistant coach at William & Mary before returning to Virginia in 1998 as a graduate assistant coach. He rejoined William & Mary as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator in 2000 before joining Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson’s staff at Richmond in 2004.
Lineburg was named the wide receiver coach at Virginia in 2007 and moved to running backs coach in 2009. He returned to Richmond in 2010 for a four-year stint in several positions, including offensive coordinator, associate head coach, and recruiting coordinator, while also coaching, at different times, quarterbacks and running backs. In 2011, Lineburg served as the interim head coach at Richmond.
In 2014, he was hired at Connecticut where he served as special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach in his first season before taking over the quarterbacks the last two seasons.
He coached at Richmond from 2006-06 and again from 2010-13, serving in several roles, including offensive coordinator, associate head coach, and recruiting coordinator, while also coaching, at different times, quarterbacks and running backs.
In 2011, Lineburg served as the interim head coach at Richmond.
He coached at his alma mater (Virginia) from 2007-09, working with the Cavaliers wide receivers in 2007-08, and running backs coach in 2009.
He began his career at William and Mary from 2000-03, coaching the Tribe’s running backs coach and recruiting coordinator.
A 1996 graduate of UVA, Lineburg played quarterback on three bowl teams and was a member of the 1995 ACC championship team.
Lineburg’s father, Norman, was the long-time coach at Radford (Va.) High School and is a member of the Virginia High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Wayne was an all-district quarterback while playing high school football for his father.
Lineburg’s brother, Robert, is the athletic director at Radford University, his brother Mark is the superintendent of schools in Halifax County, Va. and his brother Paul is the principal at Northside Middle School in Roanoke, Va. Wayne’s cousin, Mike Young, is the head basketball coach at Virginia Tech.
Lineburg and his wife Tracey have two daughters, Addyson and Alexis.
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