Report: UConn football to hire Matt Brock as defensive coordinator

The UConn football program is set to hire Matt Brock as its defensive coordinator, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on X Friday morning.

The defensive coordinator at Mississippi State last year, Brock joins UConn’s coaching staff in its third season under head coach Jim Mora. The program did not fill the defensive coordinator role after Lou Spanos, who held the position from 2019-21, took a leave of absence before the 2022 season-opener and left the program before the 2023 season. Mora handled the role in his first two seasons in Storrs, with much of the responsibilities being done by committee.

Brock started his coaching career at Baker University as a graduate student after he played four years at linebacker. He joined Texas Tech as a defensive quality control coach in 2013 and was promoted to inside linebackers coach for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He then took a job coaching special teams and linebackers at Bowling Green for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Brock was a nominee for the Broyles Award in 2017, which is given to the top assistant coach in the country. His special teams units ranked among the nation’s top 20 in net punting average (fourth), kickoff return defense (third) and punt return defense (20th), according to his Mississippi State profile.

Brock went to Washington State in 2018 and spent two seasons coaching special teams and outside linebackers before joining Mississippi State in the same role in 2020. He served as the Bulldogs’ defensive play caller in their 19-10 win over Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl and was promoted to defensive coordinator days later.

Mississippi State finished 5-7 overall and 1-7 in the SEC in 2023. The Bulldogs’ defense allowed 350.6 total yards (No. 40 of 130 FBS programs) and 26.6 points per game (No. 66) last season. UConn’s defense, against much worse competition,…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/report-uconn-football-hire-matt-180900996.html

Author : Hartford Courant

Publish date : 2024-02-09 18:09:00

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