The college football awards process is a pretty simple four phase process as you go from watch list season to the actual season to the semifinalist lists to the actual awards being announced in early December. As we approach Week 12 of the 2019 campaign, we’re firmly into the third phase of announcing a narrowing of the field and limiting who can actually take some hardware home after the regular season is finished.
To that end, The Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation announced on Wednesday the 41-person strong list of nominees for the Broyles Award, which goes to college football’s top assistant coach. As you would expect, there are quite a few big names under consideration as the assistants in question have either helped lead remarkable turnarounds with their specific side of the ball or have helped elevate their team into conference and/or the national title conversation.
Here’s the full list of 41 names and their titles:
ALABAMA – Steve Sarkisian, Offensive Coordinator/QB
APPALACHIAN STATE – Ted Roof, Defensive Coordinator
ARKANSAS STATE – Keith Heckendorf, Offensive coordinator/QB
AUBURN – Kevin Steele, Defensive Coordinator
BALL STATE – Joey Lynch, Offensive Coordinator/QB
BAYLOR – Phil Snow, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
BYU – Aaron Roderick, Passing Game Coordinator/QB
CALIFORNIA – Tim DeRuyter, Defensive Coordinator
CENTRAL MICHIGAN – Charlie Frye, Offensive Coordinator/QB
CINCINNATI – Marcus Freeman, Defensive Coordinator
CLEMSON – Jeff Scott, Co-Offensive Coordinator/WR
FLORIDA – Billy Gonzalez, Wide Receivers
GEORGIA – Dan Lanning, Defensive Coordinator/Outside LBs
GEORGIA STATE – Brad Glenn, Offensive Coordinator
INDIANA – Kalen DeBoer, Offensive Coordinator/QB
IOWA – Phil Parker, Defensive Coordinator/DB
IOWA STATE – Tom Manning, Offensive Coordinator/Run Game Coordinator
LOUISVILLE – Dwayne Ledfors, Offensive Line
LOUISIANA – Ron Roberts, Defensive Coordinator
LSU – Joe Brady, Passing Game Coordinator/WR
MEMPHIS – Pete Lembo, Special Teams Coordinator
MICHIGAN – Don Brown, Defensive Coordinator
MINNESOTA – Kirk Ciarrocca, Offensive Coordinator/QB
MISSOURI – Ryan Walters, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
NAVY – Brian Newberry, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
OHIO STATE – Jeff Hafley, Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary
OKLAHOMA – Alex Grinch, Defensive Coordinator/ Safeties
OLE MISS – Mike MacIntyre, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
OREGON – Andy Avalos, Defensive Coordinator
OREGON STATE – Brian Lindgren, Offensive Coordinator/QB
PENN STATE – Brent Pry, Defensive Coordinator/LB
PITTSBURGH – Randy Bates, Defensive Coordinator
SAN JOSÉ STATE – Ryan Gunderson, Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator
SMU – Rhett Lashlee, Offensive Coordinator/QB
TROY – Ryan Pugh, Offensive Coordinator/OL
TULANE – Will Hall, Offensive Coordinator/
UAB – David Reeves, Defensive Coordinator
UCF – Randy Shannon, Defensive Coordinator
UTAH – Morgan Scalley, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
WESTERN KENTUCKY – Clayton White, Defensive Coordinator/CB
WISCONSIN – Jim Leonhard, Defensive Coordinator
Obviously there’s a ton of well deserving candidates but it might be hard to top LSU’s Brady for the award given how big of a jump the Tigers’ offense has made with his arrival in Baton Rouge. Ohio State’s Hafley and Oklahoma’s Grinch also have made huge strides with their respective teams but even at the Group of Five level there’s a ton of guys who have been terrific this season.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday, December 10th and the award is usually a good sign for whoever takes home the trophy becoming a head coach in the near future. Former Alabama OC Mike Locksley won the Broyles Award last year while past winners have included Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley and current Texas coach Tom Herman when he was at Ohio State.