What Doug Belk needs to do as a defensive back coach and recruiter at USC

Doug Belk has to match what D’Anton Lynn is doing.

USC announced former Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk as the program’s next defensive backs coach last weekend. He replaces Donte Williams, who moved on to the Georgia Bulldogs.

Belk becomes the third defensive newcomer to Lincoln Riley’s coaching staff this offseason, joining new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and new linebacker coach Matt Entz.

“Doug Belk is another tremendous addition to our staff,” Riley said in a release. “His impressive body of work and reputation as a high-level coach and recruiter speak for themselves. I’m excited to welcome him to USC.”

Belk spent the previous five seasons at Houston, where he held the associate head coach/defensive coordinator role since 2021. In 2019 and 2020, he was a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach.

In his time with the Cougars, Belk coached 13 All-AAC selections, including five first-teamers. He also coached eight All-Big 12 honorees, including two first-teamers.

Belk got his coaching start as a defensive assistant and then as a secondary coach at Valdosta State in 2011. He spent three seasons there before serving as a grad assistant at Alabama under Nick Saban from 2014-16.

In 2017, he was hired by Dana Holgorsen to be the corners coach at West Virginia. Belk spent two seasons with the Mountaineers before following Holgorsen to Houston in 2019. He was the safeties coach and co-DC at Houston during his first two seasons there.

Belk will need to keep the top secondary recruits in the nation interested in playing in the Big Ten and for USC.

LSU, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, Florida State and Alabama all have a claim to being “DBU.” In USC’s primes in both the 1970s and under Pete Carroll in the 2000s, the secondary was elite. Belk will need to keep that same energy in the recruiting and portal world.

D’Anton Lynn has brought multiple defensive backs from UCLA plus Akili Arnold from Oregon State. Belk needs to create his own pipline, whether from Houston or other places.

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