30 rising star Power Five assistant coaches you need to know

This past coaching cycle featured five new FBS head coaches — Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, Purdue’s Ryan Walters, USF’s Alex Golesh, Western Michigan’s Lance Taylor and Texas State’s GJ Kinne — who all had something in common from an On3 standpoint. Each had been selected at some point in the last couple years for either On3’s preseason rising star assistant coach list or On3’s in-season stock up assistant coach.

Each year, the goal for the lists is to identify top up-and-coming coaches around the country positioned for continued advancement moving forward. In addition to the now current head coaches, there have also been other former rising star selections such as Ohio State’s Brian Hartline, Tennessee’s Joey Halzle and Iowa State’s Nathan Scheelhaase who have since moved into coordinator roles at those schools as well as plenty of other coaches who have since been hired by bigger schools.

Now, it’s time for this year’s preseason rising star assistant selections. As always, the picks are based on votes and feedback from numerous sources around the coaching world and doesn’t include coaches that were on previous On3 preseason rising star lists. It’s also limited to coaches 45 and under. 

Here are our 2023 selections at the Power Five level (listed alphabetically).

Malcolm Agnew, Stanford running backs coach

While his dad and brother help teams at the NFL level — his father as the assistant general manager for the Detroit Lions and his brother as a pro scout for the New York Jets — this member of the Agnew family continues to carve out a strong reputation in the college space.

Agnew worked at FCS Sacramento State the last three seasons prior to being hired as part of Troy Taylor’s first staff at Stanford this offseason. Under Agnew, Sacramento State running back Cameron Skattebo was an FCS All-American last season.

“Malcolm is not only an incredible running backs coach but also one of the most genuine people you will ever meet,” Taylor said after hiring Agnew. “He develops great relationships with his players and is able to bring out the very best in them.”

CJ Ah You, Texas Tech outside linebackers coach

In his first season at Texas Tech, Ah You helped Tyree Wilson become the highest drafted defensive player in program history and also the first Red Raiders defensive end or outside linebacker since 2009 to be a first-team All-Big 12 selection.

Led by Ah You’s unit, Texas Tech led the Big 12 in tackles for loss last year.

“When you look at his position room, the growth and production is off the charts,” Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire told On3 of Ah You. “Not only did he have a top round draft pick in Tyree Wilson but the young players like Joseph Adedire and Isaac Smith played their best football at the end of the year.”

It also may not be long before he produces some more all-conference selections and NFL draft picks considering the current buzz coming out of Lubbock regarding two current members of Ah You’s group — Steve Linton and Myles Cole.

Ah You, a former Oklahoma first-team All-Big 12 defensive end, played five seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams. He took the Tech job after spending 2021 as an analyst at USC. Before that, he was a defensive line coach in the XFL and an assistant at Vanderbilt.

Josh Aldridge, Auburn linebackers coach

Of the several noteworthy recruiting wins for Auburn in the last month, Aldridge has been a factor in two of the top ones as the primary recruiter on five-star linebacker Demarcus Riddick, who flipped to the Tigers from Alabama July 26, and then as a secondary recruiter on four-star Class of 2025 EDGE Jakaleb Faulk, who committed to Auburn Monday.

Aldridge is very much respected by Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze and others for his coaching ability, too.

Before following Freeze to Auburn, Aldridge spent four seasons as an assistant under Freeze at Liberty, including as the Flames’ defensive coordinator last year. Under Aldridge, Liberty ranked first nationally in tackles for loss, fourth in sacks, 15th in interceptions and 19th in third-down defense.

“Really good work ethic and knowledge of defensive football,” Freeze told On3 of Aldridge. “Incredible energy and relentless recruiter.”

Robert Bala, Alabama inside linebackers coach

Freeze jokingly referred to Bala as “the one that Nick stole away from me.”

Bala was part of Freeze’s 2022 staff at Liberty as an analyst and had been set to be the Flames’ linebackers coach under new head coach Jamey Chadwell but was hired by Alabama after Austin Armstrong left for the defensive coordinator job at Florida.

It was the continuation of an incredible rise for Bala, whose first job at the FBS level was the analyst position at Liberty last year. Nevertheless, people that have worked around Bala rave about him to the point that a former Liberty colleague sent On3 an unprompted message after Bala was hired by Alabama that read, “Absolute stud and such a genuine person.”

Before Liberty, Bala spent four seasons at FCS Southern Utah, including the last two years as defensive coordinator. Prior to that, he worked at NAIA Ottawa University and at the junior college level.

“Robert is a smart young coach who has paid his dues across all levels of college football, and we are excited to add him to our staff,” Nick Saban said after hiring Bala. “He has a wealth of experience and a proven track record of developing football players both on and off the field. He is an excellent teacher, an excellent recruiter and coaches with great passion and enthusiasm.”

Ray Brown, Washington State cornerbacks coach

Brown, whose first Division I job came as a graduate assistant at Washington State in 2013, returned to Pullman last year after stints at Utah State and Troy.

In his first season back, Brown helped first-year starter Chau Smith-Wade break out to the point that he now enters this season as a preseason All-Pac 12 selection.

“Awesome coach,” a coaching source told On3 of Brown. “Brings the energy. Does an awesome job recruiting, too.”

In his one season at Utah State, Brown was part of the Aggies’ turnaround from 1-5 in 2020 to 11-3 in 2021. He also produced all-conference selections each of his two years at Troy.

Russ Callaway, Florida tight ends coach

Back in 2020, Callaway’s work as an analyst at LSU was so respected by Ed Orgeron that he earned quite the compliment from the former Tigers head coach.

“I didn’t know how good he was, to be honest with you, until we got him,” Orgeron said at the time. “And his enthusiasm is infectious. He’s an outstanding coach and taught well by his dad (veteran coach Neil Callaway) and learned well. I do believe the guy’s going to be a coordinator and a head coach, and it won’t be long because he’s one of those type minds.”

Three years later, Callaway is entering his first season as an SEC assistant. He was promoted to tight ends coach at Florida earlier this year after a season as an analyst for the Gators.

In between LSU and Florida, Callaway worked in the NFL with the New York Giants. Before LSU, Callaway was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at FCS Samford, where he helped quarterback Devlin Hodges win the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in the FCS. Hodges also broke the FCS record for career passing yards previously held by 2003 NFL MVP Steve McNair.

“Russ is a superstar,” a coaching source said of Callaway.

Nic Cardwell, Cincinnati offensive line coach

Cardwell made the move to Cincinnati with Scott Satterfield after working under Satterfield at Louisville last season.

At Louisville, Caldwell produced two All-ACC offensive linemen, Caleb Chandler and Bryan Hudson, and contributed to the Cardinals ranking No. 2 in the ACC in rushing offense last season.

Prior to that, Cardwell worked for two seasons at his alma mater, Appalachian State. His 2021 offensive line group was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s top offensive line. Three members of his 2021 offensive line garnered all-conference honors, including two first-team selections. Cardwell also coached tight ends at App State.

Aided by the offensive line and tight ends, the Mountaineers ranked No. 7 nationally in rushing offense in 2020.

As a player at App State, Cardwell went from a walk-on to eventually a team co-captain. 

“Just a worker,” Cincinnati offensive coordinator Brad Glenn told On3. “He’s so driven. Wants to be really good. Wants to be a great coach. And he was the same way as a player. I was his position coach for a year at App State when he played tight end. And he walked on there,  average talent but just was driven to be great and would stop at nothing to be successful. And he’s kind of carried that mentality over from a player to a coach. Just real conscientious about coaching those guys and how he prepares those guys on a daily basis. Relentless recruiter. Just the total package.”

Bryan Carrington, Arizona State cornerbacks coach

After establishing himself as a behind-the-scenes recruiting star at Houston and as Tom Herman’s director of recruiting at Texas, Carrington is now quickly emerging as an up-and-comer as a coach.

After spending 2021 as a running backs analyst at USC and last season as a running backs analyst and recruiting coordinator for national runner-up TCU, Carrington landed his first on-field coaching opportunity this offseason when Dillingham hired him as his cornerbacks coach at Arizona State. With Carrington and former On3 rising star selection Ra’Shaad Samples, the Sun Devils have already secured commitments from six players from the state of Texas. That includes On3 four-star defensive backs Chris Johnson and Tony Louis-Nkuba.

Carrington is also the leader of an Arizona State cornerback group that includes players such as NFL prospect Ro Torrence.

“Bryan’s professional, social and mental intelligence is as good as any young coach I have ever been around,” Dillingham told On3. “He is a RISING star in this profession!”

Tashard Choice, Texas running backs coach

There were two running backs taken in the top 12 picks of this year’s NFL draft. Both were coached by Choice — No. 8 overall pick Bijan Robinson at Texas and No. 12 overall selection Jahmyr Gibbs at Georgia Tech, where Gibbs spent two years under Choice before finishing his college career at Alabama last season.

Choice also had another 2023 draft pick in fourth-round pick Roschon Johnson, who was another member of his running back room at Texas last season.

Choice, who played running back at Georgia Tech and then for six years in the NFL, worked at Georgia Tech from 2019 to ’21. In his first season at Texas last year, Choice’s duo of Robinson and Johnson posted the second-highest rushing yardage total in program history from a running back tandem (2,134).

Choice also continues to have success as a recruiter. After signing players like Gibbs at Georgia Tech, he has now landed players with the Longhorns such as Class of 2023 five-star CJ Baxter and Class of 2024 four-stars Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark. Gibson is ranked as the No. 5 running back and No. 65 overall prospect in the 2024 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

“He played in the NFL, high energy,” a coaching source told On3 of Choice. “He’s going to be a star. He can recruit like a son of a gun. He’s an awesome human being. And he’s got tremendous energy. He’s just a magnetic guy. He’s got a bright future.”

Chris Collins, Kentucky defensive backs coach

In Collins’ first two seasons at Kentucky, he’s contributed to Wildcats defenses that finished fourth-best in the SEC in 2021 and then second-best last season.

With help from Collins and his group, Kentucky also improved to second in the conference in pass defense last year after finishing eighth in that category in 2021.

One member of his group, Keidron Smith, was a second-team All-SEC selection. Another, Carrington Valentine, was a seventh-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers.

Before joining Kentucky’s staff in 2021, Collins worked at Georgia State for four seasons.

“Chris is a really good teacher,” Troy head coach Jon Sumrall, who worked at Kentucky with Collins in 2021, told On3. “He’s thoughtful. And he takes pride in the details of his work. Those are really the things that stick out to me about Chris.”

Evan Cooper, Nebraska defensive backs coach

Cooper has been a valued staffer for Matt Rhule with Temple, Baylor, the Carolina Panthers and now Nebraska.

After serving as Rhule’s director of player personnel at Temple in 2015 and ’16 and then for the first year of Rhule’s tenure at Baylor in 2017, Cooper became an on-field coach in 2018 and has been a defensive backs coach for Rhule ever since. In addition to being a secondary coach, the former Temple defensive back was also recruiting coordinator at Baylor in 2019 and the director of player evaluation for the Panthers the last three seasons to go along with being the team’s cornerbacks coach. Aided by Cooper, the Panthers ranked fourth in the NFL in pass defense in 2021.

At Nebraska, Cooper has been the lead recruiter on at least six current Cornhuskers commits, including four-star safety Roger Gradney and four-star cornerback Mario Buford.

“He’s a stud,” a Nebraska source told On3 of Cooper.

Kevin Cummings, Arizona wide receivers coach

Although this is set to change in the near future with five-star EDGE Elijah Rushing, Cummings is responsible for landing the player that currently stands as the highest-ranked recruit to sign with Arizona during the modern recruiting era — Class of 2022 top-45 overall prospect Tetairoa McMillan.

Cummings is also the leader of a wide receiver group that featured three players with at least 700 receiving yards last season, including two with more than 1,000. It was the first time in school history the Wildcats had two players with at least 1,000 receiving yards. The production from the receiver group also helped Arizona finish the season ranked sixth nationally in passing offense.

The Wildcats improved from 101st nationally in total offense in Cummings’ first season with the team in 2021 to 21st last year. Before Arizona, Cummings worked at San Jose State for four seasons.

Nick Edwards, Washington State wide receivers coach

Before jumping to the NFL, Los Angeles Rams star Cooper Kupp and New England Patriot Kendrick Bourne were actually part of the same wide receiver unit together at FCS Eastern Washington.

Their position coach? Edwards. That run from 2014 to ’16 was the first coaching job for Edwards, a former FCS All-American wide receiver at Eastern Washington receiver himself who led the FCS with 19 receiving touchdowns in 2011.

After aiding in the college development of Kupp and Bourne, Edwards moved on to FCS Cal Poly, where he eventually served as offensive coordinator in 2020 and ’21. Now, Edwards has his first FBS (and Power Five) opportunity after spending last season as an offensive assistant in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.

“Nick is highly intelligent,” a coach source told On3. “He’s very detail driven in both his coaching and his approach to just work in general. Great personality. Great guy to be around. And relates well with the players. He brings a lot to the table.”

Bryant Gross-Armiento, Texas A&M defensive backs coach

After two seasons as an A&M analyst, Gross-Armiento was promoted to his current role in February and has been one of most productive recruiters in the nation since that point.

Gross-Armiento has been the lead recruiter on four four-star Aggies commits, including two top-85 overall recruits in wide receiver Drelon Miller and offensive tackle Weston Davis, whom On3 ranks as the No. 2 offensive tackle and No. 20 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. 

Gross-Armiento, who was on the radar for some NFL coaching opportunities this past offseason, was an analyst at Georgia in 2020 before joining the staff at Texas A&M. 

As a player, he was a defensive back at Rutgers and Wake Forest.

“I think he really relates to the kids,” an A&M source told On3. “He’s really sharp and also knows how to get the message to the kids. A lot of these coaches know their Xs and Os, but he’s able to relay the Xs and Os in a way that players can understand it. I think he does a really good job with that. Just a sharp guy and an organized guy, too, from recruiting to anything he has to do with his players, which is really beneficial. You see a lot of coaches out there that are all over the place and it kind of translates. So those are probably his two biggest things that I think are really impressive.”

Ryan Gunderson, UCLA quarterbacks coach

Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith isn’t the only former Beavers quarterback now on the rise as a coach. Gunderson is another one.

As UCLA’s quarterbacks coach, Gunderson helped put Dorian Thompson-Robinson in position to accumulate 69 total touchdowns the last two years, to break the school completion percentage record last season and to become a fifth-round pick in this year’s NFL draft. Now, Gunderson is leading a QB group that includes five-star freshman Dante Moore.

Before UCLA, Gunderson was the quarterbacks coach at San Jose State for four seasons. Prior to that, he worked on the personnel and recruiting side as the director of player personnel at Nebraska and Oregon State.

As a QB at Oregon State, Gunderson was a team captain as a senior in 2007.

“He’s extremely intelligent but can also talk to the guys about things other than football,” a coaching source told On3. “He’s got personality. He’s a normal dude. He’s played the position and he’s got superior intellect, but he’s also got that personality and can coach all of the guys and can coach them hard and can still make it fun for them. He’s as good as anyone I’ve ever been around.”

Jim Harding, Utah offensive line coach

Of the first-team All-Pac 12 offensive linemen from last season, two were from Harding’s group at Utah.

Harding, who has been at Utah since 2014, has continued to establish himself as not only one of the best offensive line coaches in the Pac-12 but as one of the top offensive line coaches in the entire country.

In total, he’s now produced eight first-team all-conference selections since 2016, including four the last four years. In addition, six of his Utah offensive linemen have been drafted, including Braeden Daniels in the fourth round of this year’s NFL draft.

Harding has also continued to stand out as a recruiter, too. He landed the two highest ranked players in Utah’s 2023 recruiting class that ranked 23rd-best nationally — offensive linemen Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, who were both On3 top-80 overall recruits. Harding also recently won a recruiting battle over schools such as Oregon, USC and Stanford for Class of 2024 four-star offensive lineman Isaiah Garcia. 

“Jim Harding, as I’ve said many times, is one of the best offensive line coaches in the country at any level,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said last year of Harding.

Before Utah, Harding was the offensive line coach at Wyoming from 2009 to 2013. As a player, he was a four-year starting offensive lineman at Toledo. He was first-team all-conference and a team captain as a senior in 2000 for a Rockets team that finished 10-1 and ranked in the top 25.

Scott Huff, Washington offensive line coach

Huff has been at Washington since 2017, working under Chris Petersen, Jimmy Lake and now Kalen DeBoer.

Under Huff, the Huskies have had seven first-team All-Pac 12 offensive line selections the past five seasons, including Jaxson Kirkland each of the last three years.

With help from Huff and his offensive line, Washington improved from 114th nationally in total offense and 73rd in passing offense in 2021 to second nationally in total offense and first in passing offense last year in DeBoer’s debut season as head coach.

Washington’s offensive line allowed only seven sacks all season, the second-fewest in the FBS, and paved the way for the Huskies to also rank 25th nationally in rushing offense. In addition Kirkland, Huff also had another All-Pac 12 player last year in second-team selection Troy Fautanu.

“Huff is a really good f—- coach,” a Washington source told On3.

Andrew Jackson, West Virginia defensive line coach

Through his first two seasons at West Virginia, Jackson has coached players such as Dante Stills, who was a first-team All-Big 12 selection each of his two years under Jackson before being selected in the sixth round of this year’s NFL draft.

Aided by Jackson and his unit, the Mountaineers ranked fourth in the Big 12 in rush defense last season.  Prior to West Virginia, Jackson was the defensive line coach at Old Dominion, the defensive tackles coach at James Madison and an analyst at Mississippi State. He was a graduate assistant at Penn State in 2015 and ’16.

“Coaches the guys in a smart way,” a source told On3. “Teacher first. Like his personality a lot.”

Carlos Locklyn, Oregon running backs coach

After several years as a high school offensive coordinator in Tennessee, Locklyn made the move to the college level in 2017 and has progressed from weight room assistant, analyst and director of high school relations at Memphis to being director of player relations for Mike Norvell at Florida State in 2020 to now being in his second season as Dan Lanning’s running backs coach at Oregon.

Locklyn was hired by the Ducks after one year as the running backs coach at Western Kentucky in 2021. Led by Locklyn, Oregon was the only school in the Pac-12 last season to have two running backs with more than 775 rushing yards. His top two backs, Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington, were also just two of eight Pac-12 running backs to average more than six yards per carry in conference games.

In addition, Locklyn has continued to earn respect for his work as a recruiter. He landed two four-star Class of 2023 running backs, including Dante Dowdell, who ranked as the eighth-best running back in the ’23 class.

“Consistent energy, consistent mindset, consistent coaching,” a coaching source told On3. “He’s a very consistent dude. You know what you’re getting every single day with Lock.”

Kenny Martin, UCF defensive tackles coach

An Orlando native, Martin has been back home since joining Gus Malzahn’s original staff in 2021. It came after he was the defensive tackles coach at his alma mater, Western Kentucky, from 2018 to 2020.

Aided by Martin and his group, UCF ranked fifth nationally in red zone defense last season. Meanwhile, Ricky Barber, who followed Martin from Western Kentucky to UCF, was a first-team All-AAC selection for the Knights last year. As a player at Western Kentucky, Martin started 42 career games at defensive tackle.

“I think it starts with his ability to recruit,” Texas State head coach GJ Kinne, who worked with Martin at UCF, told On3. “I think he’s one of the best recruiters in the whole country. And then, he’s a guy that develops those real relationships with his players. His players love him and they play really hard for him. He’s a great technician at the d-line spot and another one of those guys that, like the article’s about, he’s a rising star for sure.”

JaMarkus McFarland, TCU defensive line coach

The coach that McFarland replaced at TCU, current Georgia assistant Chidera Uzo-Diribe, was on this list last year. Now, McFarland is on here, too.

The former Oklahoma defensive lineman has emerged as one of the top up-and-coming defensive line coaches in the nation. After working at FCS Stephen F. Austin (and contributing to the team ranking third in the FCS in sacks in 2021), McFarland joined TCU’s staff last year and helped the Horned Frogs tie for first in the Big 12 in sacks against conference opponents. One member of McFarland’s 2022 defensive line group, Dylan Horton, set a single-game College Football Playoff record with four sacks in the Horned Frogs’ semifinal win over Michigan and was selected by the Houston Texans in the fourth round of this year’s NFL draft.

As a recruiter, McFarland led the way on four TCU Class of 2023 signees, including two four-star defensive linemen. McFarland, who was a top-40 overall recruit in the 2009 recruiting class, finished his playing career at Oklahoma with 17 career tackles for loss and was an All-Big 12 selection as a senior in 2012.

“Handles his business, commands respect but is also very relatable,” a coaching source told On3 of McFarland. “High level analytical thinker and knows how to motivate.”

Matthew Middleton, Kansas State wide receivers coach

Two of the top wide receiver transfers from this past cycle were both coached by Middleton at Kent State before moving on to bigger schools — Penn State’s Dante Cephas and North Carolina’s Tez Walker.

Both were first-team All-MAC selections last season. Now, they’re both at the Power Five level and so is Middleton, a Kansas native who’s now working in his home state. Middleton had been set to be Alex Golesh’s wide receivers coach at USF but was plucked away by Chris Kleiman and Kansas State.

“He is an energetic coach who will jump right in and develop a great relationship with our receivers, offensive unit and team as a whole,” Klieman said after hiring Middleton. “He has experience developing wide receivers into great football players and phenomenal young men, and his ties to the state of Kansas and the ability to bring him back home were added bonuses.”

Eman Naghavi, Houston offensive line coach

The offensive and defensive line coaches from Tulane’s 12-2 team last season are both now working at the Power Five level — defensive line coach Travian Robertson at South Carolina and Houston native Naghavi with the Cougars.

In one season with Tulane, Naghavi helped the Green Wave rank No. 12 nationally in rushing touchdowns and No. 19 scoring offense after ranking 74th and 73rd in those categories, respectively, during Tulane’s 2-10 season in 2021. Aided by Naghavi’s offensive line group, the Green Wave posted 305 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns and an average of nine yards per carry in their 46-45 win over Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams and USC in the Cotton Bowl.

Under Naghavi, three Tulane offensive linemen were All-AAC last season, including two first-team selections. Before Tulane, Naghavi worked at Georgia State, where he coached two all-conference offensive linemen in 2021. He was previously the offensive coordinator at Louisiana-Monroe.

As a player, Naghavi was a three-time all-conference offensive lineman at FCS McNeese State.

“He has a tremendous knowledge of the game from more than 10 years of experience,” Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen said after hiring Naghavi. “He’s a Houston-area guy and former team captain and state champion at Katy High School who has been successful everywhere he’s been. When you look at what Tulane did offensively up front last year, they were extremely disciplined and effective.”

Wes Neighbors, Ole Miss safeties coach

Lane Kiffin was impressed enough with Neighbors as a graduate assistant and analyst at Alabama that he hired him as his safeties coach at FAU in 2018. Now, Neighbors is back working under Kiffin once again.

Kiffin hired Neighbors this offseason after he spent the last few years as the safeties coach at Maryland, Louisiana under Billy Napier and USF. At Maryland, Neighbors coached players like Beau Brade, who broke out as a first-year starter under Neighbors to the point that he’s now viewed by NFL scouts as a potential early-round 2024 draft pick. Louisiana ranked 14th nationally in pass defense during Neighbors’ season with the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2021.

“This is another step in taking our staff to a championship level here at Ole Miss,” Kiffin said after hiring Neighbors. “I saw firsthand working with Coach Neighbors at Alabama how special he is at developing players on and off the field. His secondaries have experienced tremendous success at each of his stops.”

Before getting his start in coaching at Alabama as a student assistant in 2011, Neighbors was a Crimson Tide defensive back and contributed on Alabama’s special teams units.

Grant Newsome, Michigan tight ends coach

After an unfortunate and premature end to a promising playing career at Michigan, Newsome is now instead shining for the Wolverines as a coach.

In his first season as an assistant coach, Newsome helped Michigan overcome the loss of standout tight end Erick All and contributed to previously overshadowed senior Luke Schoonmaker emerging as an All-Big Ten selection and a second-round pick in this year’s NFL draft. In addition, a young member of the Wolverines’ tight end unit, then-freshman Colton Loveland, became a late-season contributor under Newsome and had touchdowns in two of Michigan’s final three games.

Also, in April, Newsome led the way as the Wolverines landed a commitment from highly ranked four-star tight end Brady Prieskorn, who ranks as the 85th-best overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Prior to being promoted to tight ends coach, Newsome was an offensive line graduate assistant for the Wolverines for two seasons, which came after two years as a Michigan student assistant.

Kelsey Pope, Tennessee wide receivers coach

Through his first two seasons at Tennessee, Jalin Hyatt had just 41 total catches, 502 total yards and four total touchdowns.

By no means was Hyatt viewed as an All-American possibility or top-end prospect for the 2023 NFL draft at this point last year. Pope helped to change that.

In his first season under Pope, Hyatt posted six more touchdown catches than anyone else in the SEC (15), became Tennessee’s first-ever unanimous All-American at wide receiver, won the Biletnikoff Award and ended up being selected in the third round of this year’s NFL draft. He was one of five members of Pope’s receiver unit with at least 30 catches and at least 417 receiving yards. 

Although Hyatt and fellow third-round pick Cedric Tillman are now in the NFL, Tennessee is once again optimistic about the outlook for Pope’s group with returning contributors such as Bru McCoy, Ramel Keyton and Squirrel White to go along with others like Oregon transfer Dont’e Thornton. 

Pope, who got the Vols receivers coach job after a year as a Tennessee analyst, has also now landed some promising wide receivers for the future, including commitments from Class of 2024 five-star Mike Matthews and top-140 overall recruit Braylon Staley. 

Prior to Tennessee, Pope was a wide receivers coach at the FCS level at Gardner-Webb and Tennessee Tech. A former Samford wide receiver, Pope finished his college playing career as Samford’s all-time leader with 250 career catches.

“I think Kelsey’s an expert wide receivers coach,” a coaching source told On3. “To me, he’s a master teacher of the receiver position. He played the position at a really high level and he understands the game. The second thing that I think makes him is really good is he’s super relatable. Kids gravitate to him and relate to him. And that’s part of why he got the job at Tennessee because the kids really stood on the table and wanted him to have the job. And you can see the product with his development of Hyatt and landing the No. 1 receiver all-time recruiting-wise at Tennessee. He’s rising quick. First year coaching and you get the Biletnikoff Award winner. That’s pretty good.”

Pope’s twin brother, Kyle, is a defensive line coach at Memphis and was selected to the On3 rising star coaches list in 2021.

Tony Tokarz, Florida State quarterbacks coach

Tokarz has been with Mike Norvell since 2017, starting with him as a graduate assistant at Memphis before progressing in recent years to his tight ends coach with the Tigers, a senior analyst for Norvell’s first two seasons at Florida State and eventually to quarterbacks coach at FSU in December 2021.

In his first season under Tokarz, Seminoles QB Jordan Travis took another step forward as a player, earning second-team All-ACC honors and becoming just the fourth quarterback in school history to post at least 3,000 total yards and 30 total touchdowns in a season. The only others? Heisman winners Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke and Jameis Winston.

It went beyond just Travis, though. Another member of Tokarz’s QB group, Class of 2020 three-star recruit Tate Rodemaker, was forced into action against Louisville due to a Travis injury and threw two touchdowns in leading a second-half comeback.

“He understands the importance of all the details within this offense,” Norvell said of Tokarz last year. “He’s a great teacher. He coaches his players from the heart. So building those relationships, making sure that he’s there to support his room and players, very knowledgeable and has a big-picture approach to the offensive scheme. He’s somebody who is willing to invest. He’s got a great eye for what happens throughout the course of plays. So I’m excited about what his future is going to be. It’s good to see him take ownership of that room and the steps that these guys are taking.”

Phil Trautwein, Penn State offensive line coach

A two-time All-SEC left tackle from the Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow era at Florida is now the leader of one of the nation’s best offensive line units.

Aided by Trautwein, all five of Penn State’s starting offensive linemen from last season earned at least honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition, including All-American Olu Fashanu and third-team all-conference selection Juice Scruggs.

Under Trautwein, Scruggs developed into a second-round NFL draft pick. Fashanu will be Trautwein’s next early-round pick as he enters the season with a legitimate chance to be a top-10 selection in next year’s draft.

Trautwein has also been the lead recruiter on five current Class of 2024 Penn State commits, including top-100 defensive lineman Liam Andrews, after serving as the primary recruiter on the two highest ranked players from the Nittany Lions’ 2023 class.

“He’s really dedicated, he’s very detailed and his coaching style reflects that,” Penn State offensive lineman Hunter Nourzad said of Trautwein last year. “He is not like a screamer or anything like that. He’s usually controlled, in my opinion, and all that detail goes into the resources he gives us every week.”

Deron Wilson, Arkansas defensive backs coach

Wilson joined the Arkansas staff earlier this year after spending last season as a defensive backs analyst at Florida, where he worked closely with highly respected defensive backs coach Corey Raymond.

The early feedback from the Razorbacks on Wilson has been very much positive. Wilson and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson recently landed a commitment from highly ranked Texas cornerback Selman Bridges, a top-80 overall player in the 2023 class.

“He’s doing awesome,” one source told On3 of Wilson.

Before Arkansas and Florida, Wilson was defensive coordinator at FCS McNeese State and guided the defense to improvement in areas such as scoring defense, rush defense and pass defense. He also contributed to McNeese having the conference defensive player of the year and three other first-team all-conference selections. Prior to that, he was the cornerbacks coach at UTSA for two seasons.

As a player, Wilson was a cornerback at Southern Miss. He made 39 career starts and finished his career with 171 tackles, eight interceptions and four pick-sixes.

Brian Wozniak, Oregon State tight ends coach

In the past two NFL drafts, there have been three Oregon State players drafted. Two have been members of Wozniak’s tight end group.

That includes Luke Musgrave, who evolved under Wozniak into a 2023 second-round draft pick. Teagan Quitoriano was a two-time All-Pac 12 selection under Wozniak and went in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft.

In addition, one of Wozniak’s current tight ends, Jack Velling, was an honorable mention Freshman All-American last year. Wozniak, a former starting tight end at Wisconsin, has been at Oregon State since 2015. He was promoted to tight ends coach in 2018 after three seasons as a graduate assistant.

“Very sharp from an Xs and Os standpoint,” a coaching source told On3. “Does a great job relationally with his players. With him being a former tight end, I think that helps resonate with the tight ends he coaches. He’s had a lot of success and his resume kind of speaks for itself in terms of the guys he’s coached. He could coach tight ends at any school in the country in my opinion and NFL as well.”