A year ago, Michigan football produced the top-named assistant in all of college football as former offensive coordinator Josh Gattis won the coveted Broyles Award. The Broyles Award is given to the nation’s top assistant coach, and while there certainly could have been a case made for former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, as well, Gattis earned the prize of the top coach in the country.
Could another Michigan football assistant take home the prize for a second-straight year?
The thought when Macdonald departed for the Baltimore Ravens was that the Wolverine defense would take a massive step back. However, the maize and blue are excelling on all fronts in that unit, currently rated the No. 1 total defense, the No. 1 scoring defense, the No. 4 pass defense, and No. 1 run defense in the country through Week 11. The Wolverines also lead with the fewest amount of first downs allowed thus far this season. All of this is a credit to Jesse Minter, who oversaw Vanderbilt’s defense last year after going to the Commodores via the Baltimore Ravens.
[lawrence-related id=65532,65528,65529]
And Minter has found himself a nominee for the Broyles Award in 2022.
Here is the complete list of 2022 Broyles Award nominees! pic.twitter.com/99628BeS1t
— BROYLES AWARD (@BroylesAward) November 15, 2022
Should the Wolverines manage to hold Illinois running back Chase Brown and then the Ohio State offense at bay, there’s a good chance that Minter would earn the award this year. But those are both big ifs.
Fellow former Michigan assistant, Shaun Nua, is a nominee in his first year coaching at USC.
[listicle id=65535]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]