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Newsstand: Notre Dame graduate assistant takes job at Western Illinois

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•02/07/24•

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Ashton Derico
Notre Dame graduate assistant Ashton Derico. (Photo courtesy of Ashton Derico on X/Notre Dame Athletics)

Notre Dame graduate assistant Ashton Derico has accepted the defensive line coach job at Western Illinois, the Leathernecks announced Tuesday. Derico worked with the defensive line in South Bend.

Prior to joining the Fighting Irish coaching staff, Derico was a defensive line assistant at Wester Virginia from 2021-22 and a graduate assistant at Troy from 2020-21.

Working under Irish defensive line coach Al Washington in 2023, Derico helped the front four become one of the most effective units in the country. In particular, defensive tackle Howard Cross III was named a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and a second-team All-American by four different outlets.

“Ashton has worked under two of the top defensive line coaches in the country over the past three years and was an excellent player at the position,” Western Illinois head coach Joe Davis said. “His intricate involvement in the development of the defensive line room at two different power four programs was attractive to us as we vetted candidates. Most importantly, Coach Derico will be an outstanding mentor and teacher within the program and create an excellent experience for our student athletes.”

The Irish still have one defensive assistant: Nick Sebastian, who also works primarily with the defensive line.

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Quote of the day

“When I heard about the opening, my agent asked me, ‘Is this something you want?’ I said, ‘It’s Notre Dame. How could you not?’ I’ve been fortunate to do a lot of great things in my career, but to ultimately be a part of a program that has history and the legacy that Notre Dame does, it was a no-brainer.”

— Notre Dame director of football performance Loren Landow

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