Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby is expected to hire Coleman Hutzler as its new defensive coordinator, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported Wednesday morning.
Hutzler has spent the last two seasons coaching outside linebackers and special teams at Alabama, and was the special teams coordinator at Ole Miss in 2021, when Lebby was the Rebels’ offensive coordinator. He was the co-defensive coordinator at Texas in 2020, prior to which he coached special teams and linebackers at South Carolina.
During his time with the Gamecocks, Hutzler was nominated for the Broyles Award, which recognizes the best assistant coach in college football, in 2017. Under his tutelage in Columbia was Deebo Samuel, now of the San Francisco 49ers, who returned four kickoffs for touchdowns with South Carolina.
Hutzler has also coached special teams and linebackers at Boston College (2015), Florida (2010-11 and 2014) and New Mexico (2012-13). He began his coaching career at the University of San Diego under Jim Harbaugh in 2006, then followed Harbaugh to Stanford and became a recruiting assistant for one year and a defensive assistant in 2008 and 2009.
A native of Las Vegas, Hutzler played at Middlebury College in Vermont, serving as team captain as a senior in 2005 and ranking second in program history in tackles upon graduation.
The Bulldogs’ 2023 defense, coordinated by Matt Brock, ranked 10th in the Southeastern Conference in points allowed per game (26.6) but was a respectable sixth in total defense, allowing 350.6 yards per game. MSU gave up at least 37 points in each of its first three conference games, but the defense improved late in the season with solid showings against Arkansas, Kentucky and Ole Miss.
The heart of the Bulldogs’ defense, linebackers Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson and Jett Johnson, are both out of eligibility and have declared for the NFL Draft, as have defensive linemen Jaden Crumedy and Nathan Pickering and safeties Shawn Preston Jr. and Marcus Banks.
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