Tim Horton

Biography

Tim Horton is in his sixth season as running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Air Force. Horton returned to the Academy in 2021 after coaching wide receivers and running backs under legendary Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry from 1999-2005. In Horton’s five seasons with the Falcons, the offense led the nation in rushing in 2021 with a 327.7 average and in 2022 with a 326.7 norm. With the emergence of DeAndre Hughes in 2021 and John Lee Eldridge III in 2022, the Falcons had back-to-back 10-win seasons and bowl victories over Louisville and Baylor. The kicking game flourished with kicker Matthew Dapore in 2024, a Lou Groza Award National Placekicker of the Year semifinalist, and punter Luke Freer, who was a second-team all-Mountain West selection in 2024. Freer broke the school record set in 1985 for punting average with a 47.5 mark. He would have ranked fourth nationally, but lacked enough attempts to qualify. Dapore finished his career as Air Force’s all-time leading scorer with 270 points. Horton came to the Academy after spending the previous two years as running backs coach at Vanderbilt. Horton has a wealth of experience in the Southeastern Conference, coaching for over a decade as an offensive assistant at Auburn and Arkansas. During that time, he coached five SEC Players of the Year and nine all-conference running backs. In 2019, Horton’s top Vanderbilt pupil Ke’Shawn Vaughn topped the Commodore offense with 1,298 all-purpose yards. Vaughn went on to be s