Tag: Terrance Knighton

Former Husker coach to join Florida State staff

A former Husker coach will join Tony White in Tallahassee.

A former member of Nebraska’s coaching staff is heading to Tallahassee. The Florida State Seminoles announced Saturday that they hired former Nebraska safeties coach Evan Cooper.

Cooper resigned from the Huskers before training camp commenced in July. He now returns to coaching after a five-month absence, joining former Husker defensive coordinator Tony White and former defensive line coach Terrance Knighton in Tallahassee.

Cooper spent one season at Nebraska and 11 consecutive under Matt Rhule before resigning. In his lone season with the Huskers, Cooper put together a tough secondary.

The secondary recorded seven interceptions and 30 pass breakups in 2023, and the Blackshirts’ pass defense limited opponents to 6.1 yards per attempt, which ranked ninth nationally in the same year. Nebraska also kept seven of 12 opponents to less than 200 passing yards, including two under 100 yards.

Cooper joins a Florida State team that allowed 7.41 passing yards per attempt and only four interceptions. The Seminoles kept teams under 200 passing yards and one team under a hundred. The most passing yards the team allowed occurred in its win over California, where it surrendered 303 passing yards.

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Report: Terrance Knighton joining Florida State coaching staff

Terrance Knighton will be joining the Florida State coaching staff

Nebraska defensive line coach Terrance Knighton is leaving to take the same position at Florida State. This was reported by On3’s Sean Callahan. Knighton confirmed the news himself with a goodbye tweet to Huskers fans.

Knighton was part of Matt Rhule’s initial staff when the latter took the head coach position in 2022. He quickly was able to establish his style on the Huskers defensive line. The defensive line enjoyed tremendous success, as they had a top-15 rush defense nationally.

Knighton’s departure did not have any instant ramifications on the 2025 recruiting class. Knighton recruited the likes of Tyson Terry, Kade Pietrzak, and Malcolm Simpson. All three signed their letter of intent to play in Lincoln on Wednesday.

It will be interesting to see who replaces Knighton. The position itself has a ton of talent at its disposal for the future. In terms of player personnel, there will be several holes to fill on the line. Losing Knighton will certainly be a challenge for a Huskers defensive line that has to start over.

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Report: Tony White expected to be named Florida State defensive coordinator

Defensive coordinator Tony White and defensive line coach Terrance Knighton appear to be headed to Florida State.

Nebraska football defensive coordinator Tony White is expected to take the same position with the Florida State Seminoles. According to a report from Rivals.com Greg Smith, defensive line coach Terrance Knighton is also expected to join White at Florida State.

Nebraska ranked 19th in the NCAA in total defense this season. They gave up 5.39 yards per play and 30 overall touchdowns.

Knighton, in particular, was instrumental in developing Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson. Those two recorded eight sacks combined on the season.

He was also instrumental in getting some of the top recruits for the class of 2025. Knighton recruited edge defenders Princewill Umamielen and Cameron Lenhardt into the program. He also did a lot of legwork for the 2025 recruiting class, including landing Kade Pietrzak and Malcolm Simpson.

This is interesting timing, given that early signing day is two days away. One has to wonder if Nebraska will look outwards for replacements or keep things in-house.

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Former Jags DT Terrance ‘Pot Roast’ Knighton joins Panthers’ coaching staff

Terrance Knighton is back in the NFL, this time as a coach, though.

While the Jacksonville Jaguars have been busy putting together a staff this week, others around the league have been making additions of their own, even the teams with established groups. The Carolina Panthers are amongst those who are bringing in additional coaches, and this week, they turned to a former Jags defensive tackle in Terrance ‘Pot Roast’ Knighton.

The former Jags draft selection, who will be a coaching assistant, confirmed the news Monday on his Twitter page by stating he was excited for his new opportunity with the Panthers’ logo attached to the tweet. 

Knighton, 34, was drafted by the Jags in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. During his collegiate career at Temple, which led up to his NFL journey, Knighton played under current Panthers coach Matt Rhule, which explains his connection to the Panthers. 

Knighton was with the Jags from 2009-12, then joined the Denver Broncos in 2013. Afterward, in 2015, he joined the Washington Football Team and spent some time with the New England Patriots during the 2016 offseason. Knighton ultimately retired in 2017 and finished his career with 230 combined tackles and 14 sacks.

After retirement, Knighton began coaching and joined Wagner University as a defensive line coach in 2019. After doing that for two seasons, it appears Rhule gave him a grand opportunity, and he’ll now look to pass down some of the things he learned in the NFL to the present group of players in the league. 

Panthers add Terrance Knighton to coaching staff, promote Frank Okam

Pot Roast has a Matt Rhule connection from Temple, so naturally he’s joining the Carolina Panthers’ coaching staff.

Pot Roast has a Matt Rhule connection from Temple, so naturally he’s joining the Carolina Panthers’ coaching staff.

According to the Charlotte Observer, Terrance Knighton has been hired as a coaching assistant.

Knighton had a strong run in the NFL from 2009-2015, playing defensive tackle for the Jaguars, Broncos and Washington a total of 108 games. Since then, he’s been working as a coach.

In related news, David Newton at ESPN is reporting that Frank Okam has been promoted to defensive line coach, replacing the void left by Mike Phair’s exit.

The Panthers have now made these changes official, via the team website. They also announced they’ve hired Don Johnson as a pass rush specialist and Garrett McGuire as a coaching assistant.

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