Purdue hires Akron's Neal Renna as defensive analyst

Purdue coach Barry Odom continues to build out his first staff, hiring Neal Renna as a senior analyst for linebackers.
Renna just finished his third season as safeties coach at Akron for head coach Joe Moorhead.
Renna worked with Odom at Missouri from 2015-18, serving as a defensive analyst with the linebackers in 2018. From 2015-17, Renna was a GA at Mizzou, working with the d-line. He was the Tigers’ acting defensive line coach for the final two games of the 2016 season.
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A native of Chicago, Renna joined the Akron staff after serving three seasons at Eastern Illinois. He was named co-special teams coordinator in 2020 in addition to working with the safeties.
Renna began his career as defensive backs coach at Kansas Wesleyan (2012-13), moving on to be recruiting assistant at Northwestern (2014).
He played football at Heidelberg (Ohio) University (2007-10).
MORE: GoldandBlack.com content hub: Welcome to the Barry Odom era | Transfer tracker: Who is coming? | Meet Barry Odom’s first staff