Matt Brock of Mississippi State will be the first defensive coordinator hired by UConn football under Jim Mora, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.
UConn football has mostly relied on committee coaching, including the Defensive Coordinator post, since Jim Mora was hired two years ago.
But with the addition of Eddie Hernon as general manager, Jeremiah Bogan as director of player personnel, and Tyson Brown as director of strength and conditioning, this has been the offseason of program expansion.
UConn will now bring on a fourth head coach, luring Matt Brock away from the SEC.
Following are the two teams’ respective rankings in several of the most important defensive measures among the 133 FBS collegiate football teams:
Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were in direct rivalry with one another for the most of their remarkable and storied careers
In ten years, they faced off eight times in the playoffs. And over those ten years, they got along nicely. Because this is a tale of reverse beef—direct rivalry produced friendship.
The lack of direct competition and the overlap in their playing schedules translated into… conflict. Have fun.
It’s important to remember that Mississippi State was playing against SEC teams, including Louisiana State University, which boasts the best offensive unit in college football this year.
Mississippi State was 5-7 with a 1-7 in-conference record this season, thus they weren’t particularly good.
They would finish behind Auburn and ahead of only Arkansas in the SEC West, placing them second to last.
Brock has coached football since 2011, starting off with the Baker University Wildcats from 2011-2012 as a Graduate Assistant.
He would move on to Texas Tech from 2013-2015, starting as a Defensive Quality Control Coach before moving on to be the Inside Linebackers Coach.
He would go to three more teams between 2016 and 2022, beginning with Bowling Green from 2016-2017 as the Special Teams Coordinator & Linebackers Coach, before moving to Washington State as the same role (with the exception of changing to Outside Linebackers Coach) from 2018-2019, and then to his current spot.
He would start off at Mississippi State in 2020 with his previous role as the Special Teams Coordinator & Outside Linebackers Coach, before moving up to Linebackers Coach, and then eventually Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach in 2023.In 2023, coordinator and linebackers coach.
He was also a candidate for the 2017 Broyles Award, which goes to the best assistant coach in the country.
Recently, he has received rapid advancement, and he should be a huge asset to UConn football’s defensive playcalling staff. Because of his background coaching linebackers, he may also play a significant role in Julien Simon’s future development as a freshly acquired transfer linebacker.
