Baylor, Dave Aranda hiring Nevada assistant Ronnie Wheat

Dave Aranda is reuniting with an old colleague, according to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellinger. Nevada linebackers coach Ronnie Wheat will reportedly join Aranda’s staff at Baylor as safeties and special teams coach.

Wheat was a defensive analyst working with Aranda at LSU during their 2019 national championship season. He spent seven years in Baton Rouge before Nevada brought him on to coach safeties. He then moved to linebackers coach in Reno.

Wheat, a Mississippi native, played baseball and football at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss.

During Ronnie Wheat’s time in Reno, the Nevada Wolfpack finished 67th in the country in overall scoring defense, allowing 26.5 points per game. The Wolfpack went 8-5 this season, including a loss to Western Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Baylor losing wide receivers coach

Marcus Freeman is expected to hire Baylor wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey for the same role at Notre Dame, On3’s Matt Zenitz confirmed on Wednesday. The Athletic’s Pete Sampson first reported the move. Stuckey just wrapped up his second season with the Bears.

Earlier Wednesday, Blue and Gold reported Stuckey was on Notre Dame’s campus for an interview. The Fighting Irish also interviewed Purdue co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard, according to BGI.

Stuckey was a two-time All-ACC wide receiver at Clemson and went to the New York Jets in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played in the league from 2007-11 for the Jets, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.

He jumped to the coaching ranks at his alma mater as a graduate assistant in 2019 and moved up to offensive player development coach in 2020. Baylor hired him after that year as its receivers coach. Now, he’s apparently heading to South Bend.

While at Baylor, Stuckey helped mentor Tyquan Thornton, who finished the year as the Big 12’s No. 4 receiver with 942 yards. He earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors for his efforts this season.