Auburn Football has called upon an old friend to fill the EDGE coach vacancy.
[autotag]Roc Bellantoni[/autotag], who served as EDGE coach and special teams coordinator under [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] during the 2022 season, is heading back to the Plains after a two-year stint with Tom Herman’s staff at Florida Atlantic. On3’s Justin Hokanson reported this news.
He joined Auburn’s staff in 2022 after serving as special teams coordinator at Utah State. He has also coached at Washington State, Buffalo, Villanova, and Eastern Illinois. Bellantoni spent the last two seasons as FAU’s defensive coordinator. Last season, FAU finished No. 10 in the American Athletic Conference in points allowed (30.3) and No. 9 in yards allowed per game (416.7).
During the 2022 season, Bellantoni coached [autotag]Colby Wooden[/autotag] and [autotag]Derick Hall[/autotag], who would become the defense’s top pass rushers. The duo ended the season in the top two in pressures created. Hall led the team with 47 pressures (28 quarterback hurries), and Wooden was next in line with 35 pressures (24 quarterback hurries). Both players were taken in the top four rounds of the 2023 NFL draft.
Similar success is possible for Bellantoni in his second stint as Auburn’s EDGE coach. [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] returns to the unit after making 81 stops with eight sacks and a forced fumble during his first two seasons on the Plains. Freshmen [autotag]Amaris Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag] had great first seasons and will be key players on defense again this season.
The future at the position is bright as well. Five-star freshman [autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag] is set to join the program in the fall, and Auburn also added former Sam Houston EDGE rusher [autotag]Chris Murray[/autotag] from the transfer portal to add depth.
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